Llangorse Lake

Infobox lake
lake_name = Llangorse Lake
image_lake =
caption_lake =
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location = south Wales
coords = coord|51|55|51.46|N|3|15|45.92|W|region:GB_type:waterbody|display=inline,title
type = eutrophic glacial
inflow =
outflow =
catchment =
basin_countries = United Kingdom
length =
width =
area = 1.53 km²
depth =
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elevation = 154 m
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Llangorse Lake (Welsh: "Llyn Syfaddon", variant: "Llyn Syfaddan") is the largest natural lake in south Wales, and is situated within in the Brecon Beacons National Park [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/595151] , near to the town of Brecon and the village of Llangors.

The lake is famous for its coarse fishing (particularly pike), watersports, the afanc (nick-named 'Gorsey') and the only example of a crannog in Wales and England. Llangorse lake is also one of the most mentioned sites in Welsh folklore.

Due to Llangorse Lake's long history of human activity it has been known by several different names during its history both in the Welsh language and in English, other names include the lake's original Welsh name, Llyn Syfaddon/Syfaddan, and Brycheiniog Mere, (the English name Llangorse Lake is comparatively recent).

Geography

Llangorse Lake is a eutrophic glacial lake with a convert|5|mi|km circumference covering an area of convert|327|acre|km2. The lake is convert|1|mi|km|sing=on long and 154 m above sea level¹. The lake is sited between the basins of the River Wye to the north and the River Usk to the south and was formed by debris deposited by melting glaciers trapping water on a plateau over time. The water eventually spilled over this barrier forming the Afon Llynfi stream.

Natural history

The lake is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and has long been regarded as a place where fish and birds are found in unusually high numbers. Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis) mentioned the abundance of waterfowl in his topographical work, "The Description of Wales"² in the 12th century A.D..

The largest pike caught by rod in the UK was caught in Llangorse Lake in 1846 by O.Owen and weighed 68lbs³. More recently the carcass of a pike of unknown weight, but comparable size to O.Owen's catch was found on the shores of the lake in 2004, this was taken away by The Environment Agency for Age Testing.⁴

The Llangasty Nature Reserve forms an important protected area around the lake's boundary.

The lake is habitat for Ishnura pumilio, a dragonfly thought to breed here and at only one other spot in the UK.

Gorsey, the Afanc of Llangorse Lake

The earliest known surviving literary reference to the afanc or lake monster of Llangorse is in a poem by the 15th century Welsh poet or bard, Lewys Glyn Cothi:

:Yr avanc er ei ovyn:Wyv yn llech ar vin y llyn;:O don Llyn Syfaddon vo:Ni thynwyd ban aeth yno::Ni’m tyn men nag ychain gwaith,:Oddiyma heddyw ymaith.

:The afanc am I, who, sought for, bides:In hiding on the edge of the lake;:Out of the waters of Syfaddon Mere:Was be not drawn, once he got there.:So with me: nor wain nor oxen wont to toil:Me to-day will draw from here forth.

The Afanc would have been well known in local folklore at the time of the composition of the poem and is still sighted to this day Fact|date=August 2007.

Oll Lewis, an Ecologist and Cryptozoologist in the Centre for Fortean Zoology has been studying the Afanc of Llangorse Lake for several years has proposed the hypothesis that the Afanc may be sightings of the abnormally large Pike of the lake.

References

# [http://www.brecon-beacons.com/llangorse-lake.htm Llangorse lake in the Brecon Beacons national park]
# [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext97/dscwl10.txt The Description of Wales by Geraldus Cambrensis at Project Gutenberg]
# The Domesday Book of Mammoth Pike by Fred Buller, Hutchinson, 1979 (ISBN 0-09-136170-2)
# [http://www.cfztv.org/llan.htm The Monster of Llangorse Lake documentary by Oll Lewis]

External links

* [http://www.brecon-beacons.com/llangorse-lake.htm Brecon Beacons national park information at the mountain hut]
* [http://www.jncc.gov.uk/ProtectedSites/SACselection/SAC.asp?EUCode=UK0012985 S.S.S.I. listing]
* [http://www.llangorselake.co.uk/ Lakeside Boat Hire - Caravan & Camping Park (sole fishing and boat hire agents at Llangorse lake)]
* [http://www.cfz.org.uk/ The Centre for Fortean Zoology]
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1092 'The Description of Wales' by Giraldus Cambrensis at Project Gutenberg]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2732255 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llangorse Lake and surrounding area]