Approaching the small town of Y Bala in North Wales from almost any direction means a trip through wilder lands: mountains and moors, liminal landscapes that somehow do little to prepare one for that first view of the lake, Llyn Tegid, giant mirror of the sky in all its moods, angry or calm, grey or glas – a Welsh word meaning anything from azure to greenish-blue and thus not easy to translate. Not only sky, the lake also mirrors the surrounding hills and mountains, forming the sides of a huge cauldron, and so we have mystery within mystery and face the impossibility of separating Cerridwen’s own cauldron and the Goddess Herself from the essence of the land here, from Her people and mythology. Something of the “great enchanted garden” of the traditional societies that Max Weber wrote of and in which people and land, rocks and soil, trees and animals and of course the lake itself share in sacred community, survives here.
Moods of the lake: stormy day below and bluest of skies above…. always beautiful.
Llyn Tegid is the largest natural lake in Wales, nearly four miles long and 35 metres deep, set within a geological fault that still occasionally groans and shifts a little. The name of this little town on its north shore simply means “outflow from a lake” and the sacred River Dee, whose true name is Dyfrdwy – the waters of the divinity – flows both out of and into the lake, which formed at the end of the Ice Age in a glacial valley along the fault line.
Why not come and visit? You don’t have to buy a thing to sit in our Temple: pray, meditate, talk to Cerridwen, or simply take some quiet space away from it all! Our little shop is also worth a browse, we have a lot of amazing books and much else besides. You can find us at 27 High Street, Bala, LL23 7AG.
Check out some of our books and other stock here! Our online shop is just a sample of what we have but if you see something you like or are curious about, contact us or give us a call on 01678 521117 and we’ll be happy to help, and payment/shipping can be arranged, of course.