Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake)

Llyn Tegid is the largest natural lake in Wales, a four-mile ribbon of water ringed by the Aran and Arenig mountains at the eastern edge of Eryri. For a pilot it's a rare inland option: still water reflecting big hills, the little town of Bala at the north end, and the narrow-gauge railway running along the southern shore. The lakeside Foreshore car park at Bala (Pensarn Road) is a Gwynedd Council pay-and-display right on the water, giving an easy launch onto open ground by the shore. Two things temper it. First, this is Eryri National Park, which permits recreational flying but actively discourages it at busy honeypots and asks you not to disturb people, livestock or wildlife - Bala foreshore is popular, so pick a quiet moment. Second, the lake is a major watersports venue with sailing, paddleboarding and open-water swimming, plus it's the only home of the gwyniad fish; fly over open water away from craft and swimmers. There's no airport FRZ here. Come on a still early morning when the surface glasses over and the sailors haven't launched - that's when the reflections and the mountain backdrop are at their best.