LLEINIOG - A WALK THROUGH TIME

A place of past conflict is always a sacred spot and Lleiniog is no exception. It was here in the ninth century that the Welsh suffered defeat at the hands of the Saxons and the island was lost.

Today, the stony beach on the south east corner of Anglesey is a local beauty spot. Somewhere to walk the dog and skim stones out into the Menai Strait, attracting tourists summer and winter alike; not simply for the breath-taking vista that it offers, but because the atmosphere here is definitely something special.

The stretch of land between Beaumaris and Penmon has long been known as the fairest in all of Anglesey, so it's not surprising to discover that it has been bitterly fought-over. Twelve centuries have passed since the terrible 'Battle of Llanfaes', but the local people still talk about it. From time to time the tenacious farmland takes a sound battering from the sea, and stories abound of skulls and bones that are occasionally washed out from the crumbling cliff edges.
 

There’s a remarkable glacial backdrop to this natural drama. Strangely carved faces line the tide swept rocky shore. The soft, red gravel and sandstone stacks take the form of giant heads, each solemnly staring far out to sea. These 'people in the rocks' seem to disregard the passer by in much the same way that they must have ignored the bloody battles that raged beneath them all those centuries ago. Yet there is a magnetic attraction which draws the eye towards the enormous gravely profiles - they might ignore us, but we are unable to do the same.

Lleiniog is a mixed bag of old rocks - a geological marvel.

This side of Anglesey is made up of one of the finest assortments of glacial deposits in North Wales. Like an Ice Age sweet shop, the sand is strewn with boulders, cobbles and coloured sea-washed fragments brought down from the coastal cliffs. Compressed sands and gravels are sandwiched between limestone bedrock and topsoil creating a wondrous strip of multi- layered 'rock art'. The scalloped edge of the land has been worn into a series of low level caves, and close inspection reveals the remains of a prehistoric submerged forest. A casual walk on the beach can turn up Stone Age tools and weapons, and if you're lucky or sharp-eyed enough, even the odd piece of primitive jewellery has been known to emerge from the clay!
 

 Tracing the rocky fringe back towards Lleiniog Creek, freshwater meets salt where a winding stream dips beneath an ancient stone bridge and enters the Menai Strait. Something in this silver thread rivulet beckons the traveller inland, over the coast road and onto a purpose built foot path which leads into the woods. High above, on the right bank of the river valley, are the ruins of Castell Aber Lleiniog, and from here a new adventure begins.

 

Staring upwards through the trees it's difficult, at first glance, to see any trace of a medieval fortification. Here, the air hangs heavy and the silence is broken only by the wind rustling through the leaves. The rough path gives way to a sweeping wooden ramp which takes the explorer to the top of a lofty ridge; and then suddenly, from behind a curtain of ancient oaks, a four sided stone fort, with its round towers, comes into view. Looking down across a deep, dry moat the proud ruin almost dares the intruder to scramble across.

The glories of summer and the hardships of winter are never more apparent than when you peer into a crumbling castle. The walls are the true remnants of past life, which make it impossible not to test the atmosphere in every corner and wonder about the people who once lived there. Castell Aber Lleiniog has been the site of a murder mystery, a famous local love triangle and even a fatal duel, but until it was bought for the people of Anglesey by the Rural Development Agency Mentor Mon, few people were aware of its significance, because no one was allowed to enter its  grounds for almost a thousand years.

 Originally the site of a timber fortress built around 1090 by Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester, it has witnessed dreadful cruelty and bloody conflict between Anglo-Norman colonists and Welsh Princes. The stone built bailey is believed to have been constructed in the 17th century by Thomas Cheadle, a Cheshire nobleman who had an illicit relationship with Sir Richard Bulkley's wife, Lady Ann. The lovers were subsequently accused of Sir Richard's murder but were cleared and later married. The castle briefly became known as Lady Cheadle's Fort, before being destroyed during the Civil War and left to fall into a mouldering pile.

Standing in the long grass, high above the changeless waters of the Irish Sea, one marvels at the spectacular views across the Menai Strait, out towards the Great Orme and Llandudno, and from here it's clear to see why the Heritage Lottery Fund has invested more than three hundred thousand pounds in the preservation of this glorious ancient relic. Lleiniog is an historical gem which stretches from the glacial coastline all the way up to the history soaked walls of Castell Aber Lleiniog - a gift for the future, which has been restored for the pleasure of those who take the time to explore the past, and a monument to the men and women who lost their lives in the struggle to protect their homeland.