The History of Wales

On 21st September 1987, there was a reported sighting of the Afanc of Llyn Llangors (Llangorse Lake).

The Afanc is a lake monster from the mythology of Wales, described as taking the form of a giant beaver or large crocodile, which devoured anyone or anything that entered its waters.

The earliest known literary reference to the Afanc is in a poem by the 15th century Welsh poet, Lewys Glyn Cothi. One legend tells of the wild thrashings of the afanc causing flooding and another tells of a maiden taming the Afanc and letting it sleep in her lap, whilst other villagers attempt to capture it. However, the Afanc awakes and crushes the maiden. Later legends have King Arthur slaying the Afanc in Llyn Barfog in Gwynedd. Nearby is a rock with a hoof print mark in it, which was supposedly made when Arthur's horse, Llamrai, dragged the Afanc from the lake. Iolo Morgannwg then popularised a version in which two long-horned oxen dragged the Afanc from the lake, to be killed.