About

Llwyngwril is a coastal village with a population of around 500 which has strong links with the early days of the Society of Friends movement; the Quaker burial ground carries the date 1646. Castell-y-Gaer is a prehistoric hill fort overlooking the village and there are also many standing stones in the area. There is a local legend that these originate from the time when the lowland giant Gwril and his cousin, the mountain giant Idris (sitting on nearby 2,923' Cadair Idris), used to throw rocks at each other. No such danger today, however, just a peaceful, quiet, welcoming, scenic, village close to mountains, woods and the sea. There are many outdoor pursuits such as walking up through the hills and woods behind the village, climbing Cadair Idris (Idris' chair) and watching for buzzards, hen harriers, ravens, peregrine falcons and red kites, taking the Mawddach Estuary pathways, and visiting the local shingle beaches although when the tide is out there are big areas of sand to walk on and many rock pools to investigate.

Dolphins and seals are often in the bay, dolphins playing in the water and seals, languishing on the rocks by the ancient church of Llangelynin (dating from 12th Century.)

The river Gwril cascades down the mountain, and runs through the village. It feeds a man-made channel of water, which connects and fed the mills in the village, and at one time powered the village with electricity. This flows finally through Hendre Farm and out onto the beach. The beach is shingle but has sand when the tide is out. Many people take picnics to the beach and have a bonfire, and watch the sun go down, over the sea, which is often spectacular.

The Quaker Burial Ground is near the beach, and a house called Llwyn Du (black wood), dates from 1137, but is best known as the home of Quakers during their persecution in the 1600s, prior to leaving Wales for America.

Llwyngwril has a railway station on the Cambrian Coast line from Machynlleth to Pwllheli.