Translated as the spring of the waterfall, the impressive cascade, at 74 metres (240 feet) is the highest in Wales and is taller than Niagara Falls. It is also the most difficult of the seven wonders to reach.
In the farmhouse at the base of the falls, though there is a little tea shop. It is a blessing to find no tourist offices, welcome centres or gift emporiums, thus the falls can be enjoyed without interruption in their natural splendor as they descend down the steep, rocky hillside in a series of leaps. The water drops first into a rock basin, and then descends under a natural arch of stone. Of the justly-famed falls, 19th Century author and traveler George Borrow remarked: "I never saw water falling so gracefully, so much like thin, beautiful threads as here."
The best time to visit, of course, is in spring, when the melting snows from Moel Sych (2,700 ft) and his companions feed the mountain streams. While the area you should also visit 4-mile long Lake Vyrnwy, formed at the end of the last century to supply water to Liverpool and drowning the village of Llanwddyn in the process. The lake, nestled among thickly wooded hills, has a visitor center in a converted chapel. To get there, return from the falls to Llanrhaeadr; then take the road to Penybontfawr and the new village of Llanwddyn. A detour to Llangynog churchyard, on the road from Bala to Welshpool allows visitors to view three curious graves.
It seems that, long ago, a rope maker, a glass maker and a stone mason were on a pilgrimage to one of Wales' holy sites when all three fell ill and were close to death. They consequently made a pact that the survivors would provide a decent burial and a properly marked grave for the deceased. The rope maker died first, and he was duly buried by the other two, the mason chiselling a rope on the stone covering the grave. The glass maker was next to die, and the mason carved leaded windows into the cover on the second grave. The mason was now left all alone with no one to bury him or carve his tombstone. When he sensed death approaching, he lay down in his newly-dug grave and pulled the stone cover over him. His grave has a missing centre section, the piece that he pulled over his head!! (and, of course, it has no carving).
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