River Llugwy

Not to be confused with the River Lugg, a tributary of the River Wye.

Llugwy
River Llugwy upstream of Betws-y-Coed
Native name	Afon Llugwy (Welsh)
Location
Country	Wales
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Ffynnon Llugwy
Mouth
• location	confluence with River Conwy
Length	40 km (25 mi)

River Llugwy (Welsh: Afon Llugwy) is a tributary of the River Conwy, and has its source at Ffynnon Llugwy, a lake in the Carneddau range of mountains in Snowdonia in north-west Wales.

Location and catchment area

Swallow Falls, near Betws-y-coed

A rare phenomenon - ice circles in the River Llugwy at Betws-y-coed

The average annual rainfall in the catchment of the Llugwy is the highest recorded in England and Wales.

The Llugwy largely follows the route of the A5, passing firstly through the village of Capel Curig, then on to fall over the Swallow Falls, a popular tourist attraction.

On entering Betws-y-Coed it is crossed by the Miner's Bridge, a curious wooden bridge set at a steep incline over the river, and shortly after passing under Pont-y-pair road bridge it flows beside the main street before its confluence with the Conwy at the northernmost end of the golf course.

In landscape painting

The Llugwy was a favourite of many well-known Victorian artists such as Frederick William Hulme. The scenery around its banks was the subject of a number of important British paintings, including several included in Royal Academy exhibits. River Llugwy was a place of death of the painter James William Whittaker (1828–1876), who fell there trying to collect his painting gear and drowned.