ANGLESEY ISLAND ADVENTURE - APRIL 2014
By Adele Trapnell
Sunday, April 13th. My Anglesey Island adventure began with a ferry ride from Dublin to Holyhead,
arriving mid- afternoon, where I was met by tour leaders, Kate and Andrew Ross, and fellow
participants, Jean and Yvonne, who were returning from their first day’s hike. We spent the rest of
the day getting to know each other in our comfortable farmhouse, over a delicious dinner, cooked
by Kate, and later Andrew led worship appropriate to the day, which was Palm Sunday.
Monday, April 14th. Walk to Newborough, Malltraeth Sands and Ynys Llanddwyn
We couldn’t have had a more beautiful day for our first long distance walk. A half-hour drive
brought us to the edge of the pine forest where our walk began. It was so tranquil there. After
about an hour’s walking we came out onto a beautiful sea inlet with sand dunes and a marsh. This
led on to a gorgeous golden sandy beach, with stunning views leading to the causeway to Ynys
Llanddwyn, where we spent several hours. Although small, there is plenty to see and do. We ate
our picnic lunch by a ruined church dedicated to St. Dwynwen, a tragic princess who died around
460 A.D. One of the most interesting features of this island are beautifully coloured rocks,
especially pink ones. There was a lighthouse and some old coastguard cottages which housed a
fascinating little museum. It seemed a long walk back through the forest to the minivan and it felt
good to return to the house and be refreshed by a cup of tea, and later another delicious dinner and
evening worship.
Tuesday, April 15th. Walk from Bull Bay to Llanbadrig visiting St. Patrick’s Cave and on to Cemaes.
Another gloriously sunny day. I was surprised to learn during morning worship that St. Patrick is
celebrated and has a church named after him here in Anglesey. This was a linear walk, so we took
two vehicles, leaving from Bull Bay on the north coast, following the coastal path with lots of ups and
downs to charming little coves. We saw stunning views all along the way and there were several old
industrial ruins, which looked very picturesque, but must have been tough places to work in and an
island on which Patrick was shipwrecked, before he swam ashore and sheltered in a cave. A scenic
lunch stop on a high cliff, then on to Llanbadrig, the church dedicated to St. Patrick. Next came the
exciting part, clambering down some steep rocks to reach St. Patrick’s cave, where I was honoured
to be asked to read the special prayer attributed to St. Patrick, called the Lorica Prayer or St.
Patrick’s Breastplate. We were thrilled to see a harbour porpoise swimming about a hundred yards
from the rocks. Another 40 minutes walking brought us to the town of Cemaes and a very welcome
tea shop, before driving back to our farmhouse. Our tasty spaghetti dinner was followed by a lovely
evening stroll on the banks of a reservoir, and the day ended with some challenging evening
worship, centred on living “on the edge”.
Wednesday, April 16th. Visit to Din Lligwy, walk to Moelfre and the amazing Parys Copper Mine.
Another beautiful day which began with a visit to Din Lligwy, an ancient Welsh settlement built in
the 4th century A.D. at the end of the Roman occupation in Britain. It had many interesting ruins,
including some standing stones and a dolmen in a nearby field. There was also a ruined church. We
spent some time in this tranquil setting and chatted to a charming local man and his dog before
moving on. An interesting roadside stop , looking into a field, revealed a covered well which was
reputed to be where two saints, Cybi and Seriol , met. Our walk through woodland and fields
brought us to the town of Moelfre, where we joined the coastal path. We saw a monument to a
dreadful shipwreck which happened in the mid 1800s and was written about by Charles Dickens.
Only 60 from a total of about 300 survived. Lunch was at a pub, the Pilot Inn, followed by some
shopping at craft shops before returning to our home base about 4 p.m.
The amazing Parys Copper Mine Visit. 6 – 10 p.m.
What an exciting evening we spent here, lead by the genial Ollie, a volunteer at this ancient mine,
which has been closed for many years. We had to wear wellies, hard hats and boiler suits, to protect
us from muddy walls and passages several inches deep in coppery water. We descended by a series
of ladders, the same ones the miners would have used, to a depth of 40 fathoms. It was very tricky,
with only one person allowed on a ladder at a time. It was fascinating walking, stooping and
sometimes almost crawling along the long narrow passages. Ollie gave us a great tour, pointing out
fascinating formations called “snottites” hanging down from the walls and ceilings, and others which
looked like sea anemones. We had to very gingerly walk around some deep acid-red pools of water,
and at one point crawled down a slope which made me think about being in a birth canal. There
were some spectacularly beautiful rocks to see, and our head torches worked very well, as there was
no other light. One part of the mine actually dated from the Bronze Age. All too soon it was time
to return to the surface, and I was amazed to find that we had spent over 3 hours underground.
What a thrill it had been.
Thursday, April 17th. Walk to Aberlleiniog Castle, Penmon Priory, Beaumaris and Llangefni Art
Gallery.
Another wonderful day, sadly our last. The first stop on our walk was at Aberlleiniog Castle, built in
the 11th century by the Normans. Only the walls remain, but they looked very impressive. From
there we meandered along lovely country paths to Penmon Priory, where there was both a ruined
abbey and a modern church. We sat and prayed at the ancient holy well dedicated to St. Seriol, and
we sang the 23rd psalm “The Lord’s My Shepherd”, which was a beautiful spiritually uplifting
experience. From there we walked to Penmon Point, with its stately black and white lighthouse on
a tiny island. This was our lunch stop, and a cool breeze kept some people in the bus while others
ate on the shore. Hot coffee at a nearby café helped to warm us before we left for the town of
Beaumaris with its enormous castle, where we spent about an hour. Then to our last stop, the Art
Gallery at Llangefni, (Oriel Yns Mon) which was lovely and had paintings by many famous Welsh
artists, such as Kyffin Williams and Charles Tunnicliffe, We saw many beautiful wild flowers today,
including marsh marigolds, honesty, vipers bugloss, valerian and wood anemones. Our final dinner
together was a masterpiece, a delicious vegetarian couscous prepared and cooked so lovingly by
Kate. Then to our final evening worship, featuring celtic crosses, and reading beautiful prayers and
poems.
Friday, April 18th – Departure Day.
It was sad packing up and saying goodbye to each other after what had been such a joyous time
together . We ended with a final worship session, which make Journeying holidays so special. Very
grateful thanks to Andrew and Kate for their superb leadership. I do hope we will all meet again on
another Journeying adventure.