Teggie, Bala lake monster, Llyn Tegid, myths and legends

Teggie is the Welsh equivalent to Nessie (The Loch Ness Monster). With sightings since the 1920's it is said to resemble a crocodile or similar plesiosaur.

Teggie, taken from Llyn Tegid, the Welsh name for the lake and she's the kind of slippery character who makes Nessie look like a camera-obsessed celebrity.

Her last big film appearance was back in the Technicolor days of 1976, and, aside from breathless outbursts from fishermen and a submarine search by a Japanese film crew in 1999, she seems more closely related to Lord Lucan than her attention- seeking cousin.

Some believe that Teggie is actually the 'Pontrhydfendigaid witch, Mari Berllan Biter' who can transform herself into all kinds of shapes and forms.

Pontrhydfendigaid witch, Mari Berllan Biter image
Pontrhydfendigaid witch

Arwel Morris who manages Bala's lake and, like police chief Brody in Jaws, has spent much of his time nervously eyeing the water from a watchtower. "I have not seen anything in 12 years, but Dowie Bowen, my predecessor, did." Mr Bowen's story is potent inspiration for any dracontologist. "I was looking out at the lake and saw this thing coming towards the shore," he says. "It was at least 8ft long, similar to a crocodile, with its front and rear ends about 4ins above the water." He rushed to the shore but found nothing.

Bala Lake

Bala Lake - Llyn Tegid image
Bala Lake - Llyn Tegid

Llyn Tegid, was the largest natural body of water in Wales prior to the level being raised by Thomas Telford to help support the flow of the Llangollen Canal. It is 4 miles / 6.4 km long by a mile / 1.6 km wide) and is subject to sudden and dangerous floods. It is crossed by the River Dee and its waters are famously deep and clear. The town of Bala sits at its northern end and the narrow gauge Bala Lake Railway runs for several kilometres along the lake's southern shore.

Bala Lake has abundant pike, European perch, trout, eel and gwyniad. It also contains the very rare mollusk Myxas glutinosa - the Glutinous snail.

Also according to legend, while the Dee itself flows into the lake, the waters never mix.

Bala is on the A494, 22 miles west of Llangollen.
Bala Adventure and Watersport Centre hires watersports equipment (01678 521059).
Bala Lake Railway (01678 540666; runs from April to September.
The Tourist Information Centre (01678 521021) offers a free guided walk.

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Crafts from Wales .Bala Lake Monster Wales' on-line craft fair - Enter our Shop

The Bala Lake Monster

Bala Lake

Crafts from Wales .Bala Lake Monster
Wales' on-line craft fair - Enter our Shop