Bala is situated on the banks of Bala Lake in Gwynedd, North Wales. There is a wealth of history in Bala. The area and the lands around Bala would have been fought over for thousands of years as evidenced by the remains of three Roman Forts and no less than four earthwork Castles at the North end of the lake.
One of the signs of medieval occupation of the land is the Castle of Tomen y Bala. This is a medieval earthwork castle of the 11th to 12th Century situated close to what is now the High Street in Bala. The "Castle" is 40m wide and 9m high and is likely to have been the administrative centre of the commote of Tryweryn. It was still fortified in 1202 when Llywelyn ap Iorwerth drove out Elis ap Madog, Lord of Penllyn.