Llyn yr Afanc - The Afanc — Wales's Lake Monster

Reported / claimed activity

• The Afanc was said to inhabit deep, dark water, where it could remain hidden from anyone passing nearby. According to the legends, the creature was immensely strong and almost impossible to injure. Weapons such as spears and arrows were said to have little effect on its hide. When disturbed or angered, it could thrash violently enough to send water surging out of its pool and flood the surrounding land. Some traditions portray it as a predator that attacked people and animals entering its waters. Others give it a much larger role, linking the creature to catastrophic floods that threatened entire communities.

• ◇ The creature itself: Descriptions differ, but the Afanc is often imagined as a huge, powerful water beast, with some versions resembling a giant beaver and others a crocodilian monster. ◇ Its impenetrable hide: In the River Conwy tradition, attempts to wound the creature with harpoons, arrows and spears reportedly failed, adding to its terrifying reputation. ◇ The disturbed waters: The creature was blamed for violent movements and flooding, with its struggles said to threaten the surrounding valley. ◇ Its mysterious lairs: Different Welsh traditions associate the Afanc with several lakes and pools, including Llyn yr Afanc near Betws-y-Coed, Llyn Barfog and other locations. There is no single agreed location for every version of the legend

• ◆ The story of the Afanc and the two mighty oxen One of the best-known versions of the legend takes place at Llyn yr Afanc, a pool on the River Conwy. For generations, the creature was said to have terrorised the valley. It was too powerful to kill, and its violent movements could cause the river to burst its banks. Eventually, the local people decided that the only way to save themselves was to remove the monster from its home. According to the tale, a young woman approached the pool and began to sing. Drawn towards her, the Afanc emerged from the water and rested its enormous head in her lap, eventually falling asleep. While it slept, the villagers crept forward and secured heavy chains around its body. When the creature awoke, it thrashed furiously, desperately trying to return to the safety of the water. But the villagers had summoned two mighty, long-horned oxen associated with the legendary figure Hu Gadarn. The oxen strained against their harnesses, hauling the chained monster away from the pool and across the mountainous landscape towards a remote lake high in Snowdonia, traditionally identified with Llyn Ffynnon Las, now known as Glaslyn. The journey was said to be so difficult that one ox strained until its eye burst from its socket. The tears it shed supposedly formed a small pool known as Pwll Llygad yr Ych — the Pool of the Ox's Eye. At last, the Afanc was cast into the distant lake, where the deep, cold water and steep surroundings were said to prevent its escape. Whether the creature was ever truly captured is a question the legend leaves behind. But the story has become one of the most memorable monster tales in Welsh folklore.

Background and folklore, separate from member eyewitness experiences.