Llyngwyn
Brief description of fishery:
Llyngwyn (‘the white lake’) is located about three miles southeast of Rhayader in mid-Wales. It is spring fed and about 16 acres in size. It’s a trout fishery for most of the year but The Wild Carp Trust has secured exclusive access for carp fishing from the first Friday in July to the last Sunday in September.
The carp of Llyngwyn are possibly one of the oldest strains in the UK. They’re reputed to have been stocked by monks from the nearby Abbey-cwm-hir, which was in operation from 1142 until its dissolution in 1537. (Peak occupation was until 1401, when it was attacked during the Welsh Revolt, after which it was returned to the Cistercians.)
The llyn itself is steeped in Celtic mythology, being reputed to be the entrance to the otherworld realm of Gwyn Ap Nydd, the ‘fair folk’ king of Arthurian mythology. There is a crescent-shaped earthwork with a V-shaped ditch on the llyn’s eastern shore, marking an early enclosure which archaeologists associate with Strata Florida Abbey, some fifty miles away. Strata Florida was a place of pilgrimage, being the second-most important religious site in Wales (after St. Davids in Pembrokeshire), and it is traditionally believed that the enclosure next to Llyngwyn was used as a resting point for pilgrims sauntering to Strata Florida.
Llyngwyn became famous as a wild carp water in the early 1960s when Eddie Price and other members of The Carp Catchers’ Club began fishing there after they gave up the lease on the famous Redmire Pool. Chris Yates and Rod Hutchinson corresponded about Llyngwyn in the 1970s, and Peter Smith and John Bailey put Llyngwyn firmly on the map in the 1980s via their publications. Indeed, it was The Wild Carp Trust’s President John Bailey who arranged for the TV episode of Mortimer & Whitehouse Gone Fishing to be filmed there. It remains one of Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse’s favourite fishing adventures.
The lake is natural and surrounded by fields and woodlands. Mountains can be seen all around and the starlit dark sky can be spectacular – particularly during the August Perseid meteor shower. Red Kites and Buzzards are daily visitors, as are kingfishers and hawfinches. Ospreys visit regularly, diving spectacularly into the lake.
There’s a shallow bay next to the car park where carp can be found basking and patrolling at dawn and dusk. This was previously the recommended place to fish for the carp but it is now very shallow. Disabled pegs are located here for those who prefer fishing from a wooden staging, or being close to the car, of fisherman’s hut, or the portaloo…
At the rear of the bay bay is an island, after which the lake opens out and becomes deeper with depths to 55ft. The lakebed here is rocky and so fish need to be lifted quickly when playing them, else the rocks can cut through your line.
The carp in Llyngwyn are hungry fish, so respond well to feed and will search out your baited areas.
Address
Llyngwyn is located just south of Rhayader in mid-Wales. The post code is LD1 6EW (though note this covers the area from Nantmel to Nant-glas).
Parking & Access
Llyngwyn is located via the Nant Glas road from either the A44 or A470. (There is a signpost to the lake from the A44 turning.) The lake is accessed via a locked gate at the end of a gravel track. You’ll see it alongside an expanse of felled woodland. The gate is locked with a padlock. The combination code will be provided to you with your booking confirmation. The gate should be relocked once you’ve gone through.
Coordinates to the entrance gate, if you prefer these to a post code, are: 52.277466, -3.457954
Maps
Species
- Brown Trout
- Common Carp
- Tench
