Chwilog is a village in Eifionydd on the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welshcounty of Gwynedd. It forms part of the community of Llanystumdwy. The name means 'abounding in beetles' and was perhaps transferred from an earlier name of the river. It had a population of 640 as of the 2011 UK census, with 78% born in Wales. The village is fairly linear, built up around the B4354 which used to be a turnpike/toll road crossing the peninsula to Porthdinllaen. The Afon Wen or its original name Afon Carrog flows through the lower part of the village on its way to the sea at Afonwen, less than away. Nearby is Y Lôn Goed, a tree-lined path, first nicknamed by the local population, then made well known due to its reference in "Eifionydd" a poem by R. Williams Parry. It was originally named 'Ffordd Maughan' after John Maughan, land commissioner for Sir Thomas Mostyn. It is a wide tree-lined avenue created in the 18th century for transporting lime from the coast to the upland farms of Eifionydd. The track is no longer used for this purpose but is now popular with walkers. Talhenbont Hall is a Grade II listedmanor house. It was built in 1607 and was once the home of William Vaughan. In 1642, the owner William Lloyd was arrested as a Royalist sympathiser as Cromwell's men took over the Hall. In 1758 Talhenbont was the largest single owned piece of land in the district of Eifionydd. The estate was occupied by Sir Thomas Mostyn, the sixth baronet, from 1796. In 1884 the estate was split into sections to pay off debts that had crept up during the Napoleonic Wars. It is now operated as a holiday centre.
Amenities
Chwilog Primary School was opened in 1908 by Margaret Lloyd George, wife of David Lloyd George. The village was built around the railway station on the Caernarfonshire Railway Line situated at the centre of the village. Local businesses include a butcher's shop and a tractor sales outlet. The village pub, the Madryn Arms, is permanently closed as of 2019. The village is served by one main bus route - the number 3 from Pwllheli to Porthmadog - and is run jointly by Arriva Cymru and Caelloi. On Mondays to Saturdays there is also an hourly 3b service that runs on to Blaenau Ffestiniog until very late evening. On Sundays though there are just 6 journeys each way per day and only up to 18.30.
