A Discussion of Llyn Llydaw's Arthurian Connections
By David Nash Ford

L L Y N
L L Y D A W
Excalibur in Snowdonia

Nestling high up in the Snowdonia Mountains, just below Snowdon itself, sits the Northern Welsh claimant to be the home of the Lady of the Lake. Llyn Llydaw somehow, seems an unlikely setting for King Arthur's encounter with the Lady. He certainly would have had quite a climb to claim his magical sword, Excalibur. The battle weary Bedwyr must have felt it worst when returning his monarch's sword after the fateful Battle of Camlann. Local tradition says that this was fought close by in Cwm-y-llan, "The Valley of the Lake". Arthur himself was shot dead in Bwlch-y-Saethau - "The Pass of the Arrows" - and buried under the cairn known as Carnedd Arthur. This story, however, appears to be a very late addition to the Arthurian compendium. More likely candidates are the Camlan or Gamlan Valleys in nearby Merionydd. King Arthur, wounded in battle was taken to the Isle of Avalon, Bardsey Island in this case, to recover.