Our first stop was the town with the longest place name in the UK. In the 1800's this tiny town renamed itself Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantisiliogogogoch (Llanfair PG for short) to try to attract more tourists. This means "St. Mary's Church in the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave." The name change was a success for numerous tourists now come to get their picture under the railway station's sign.
Next, we saw Puffin Island and Penmon Priory. Puffin Island is another island just off of Anglesey named because of the large puffin population it once had. However, in the 1800's rats were accidentally brought to the island, severely decreasing the population. These days, the rats are being eliminated and the puffin population is slowly growing again. We were lucky to have a sunny, beautiful day; and the view was gorgeous.The older parts of Penmon Priory date back to around the 6th century and was established by St. Seiriol. Vikings destroyed a lot of the Celtic pieces but some such as two Celtic crosses remain (one pictured right). Even though they were a very weathered, it was cool to see in person something that was over a thousand years old. They are quite tall and very beautiful. They originally stood outside to mark a consecrated ground, but were moved inside to be preserved. After viewing the old monastery and a nearby dovecot, we walked along a little path to St. Seiriol's holy well. This well is hidden from the road and much different from St. Winifrede's. A little hut covered the actual well, and it has yet to be turned into a real tourist attraction. I don't know much about St. Seiriol; but the well is suppose to have healing ability, especially for the eyes.
We then spent a few hours in the little town Beaumaris. This town's main attraction is the Beaumaris Castle, King Edward's largest castle in Wales. This and Llanddwyn Island were my favorite stops of the day. Beaumaris is one of the most fortified castles. There are 14 elements of the castle the enemy must overcome to get to the main area, including an outer wall with 16 towers and murder holes at the gates. This castle even had a moat around it, but it didn't look too intimidating because it was only a foot deep when we saw it. While we were there, we walked on top the outer wall, found many dead ends in the passage ways, and saw a lovely chapel room with creamy-white walls and carefully crafted arches. It was a beautiful place and we spent most of our time in Beaumaris there.
A few of us got ice cream and ate lunch on the pier. Then we all loaded onto the bus and headed to the Marquis Tower. Marquis Tower is a tall column with a statue of the first Marquis of Anglesey standing on top. Henry William Paget (first Marquis of Anglesey) gained his fame by being a general in the Napoleon War and found in the Battle of Waterloo. The statue was added to honor him after his death. We climbed a spiral staircase inside the column up to the top. It was very narrow stairs and not very well lit. Someone counted 115 steps; and to be honest, the descent was a little terrifying.
The last stop of the day was amazing. We went to the beach and Llandwyn Island. I have been looking at the ocean from a distance this whole semester so far, so I was thrilled to finally get to touch it. We walked along and admired the views for a while until we reached Llandwyn Island. The tide was low enough when we were there that is was more like a peninsula so we just walked right onto it. This place had some of the coolest views; there were beautiful cliffs and huge waves crashing against the rocks, wild ponies, two lighthouses, and ruins of St. Dwynwen's chapel, the Welsh saint of lovers. It was a great place to end a beautiful day, and I hope to go back later during a warmer time of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment