Llaneilian - Porth Amlwch Circular Walk (7.46km)
Just me with Anwen in the rucksack again on today’s walk but I would definitely come back and do this one again with Megan. Despite being on the coastal path it was much easier walking than my previous route (Porth Wen - Llanbadrig), with big wide paths giving you the option to stay away from the cliff edges on the whole and no awkward clambering! It was muddy in parts but not unbearably so. Sensible walking boots or wellies would make easy work of this walk. This was a nice, gentle meander with some lovely industrial heritage on show once again.
Distance: 7.46km (according to the OS map app)
Time taken: 2 hrs 10
Total ascent: 305.09m (OS Map app)
Parking: Yes, a decent sized car park at Llaneilian.
Facilities:Yes. Toilets and bins at Llaneilian. Cafes, toilets, bins at Porth Amlwch.
1. To park, follow the A5025 towards Amlwch. After passing Pen Y Sarn take the next right turn signposted Llaneilian and Point Lynas Caravan Park. Follow this road until you get to a T junction and turn right. Keep following this road until you find the car park on your right (not far after the road veers to the left with a junction on the right and a “No through road” sign.)
To begin the walk, turn right out of the car park and follow the road down towards Porth Eilian. The toilets are on the right after the car park. You’ll arrive at a small roundabout and the footpath is up on the left.
The start of the path at Porth Eilian.
There are some lovely views along this section looking back at Porth Eilian and across to Point Lynas lighthouse.
Looking across Porth Eilian towards Point Lynas.
Goleudy Point Lynas (Lighthouse)
As early as 1766 the need was felt for a station on Anglesey where ships making for Liverpool could pick up pilots. The Liverpool Pilotage Service, after examining several sites, eventually chose Point Lynas. At first the early pilots used a farmhouse as their lookout post. A lighthouse was added in 1779. They used two oil lamps with Hutchinson’s small catoptric reflectors set into a tower and showing in two directions.
The present lighthouse was built in 1835 by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board at a cost of £1,165. The lighthouse is a low castellated structure painted white with the round lens room connected to the seaward side of the building. A tower is not required at Point Lynas due to its location on the headland. The light sits 39 metres above mean high water.
Trinity House assumed responsibility for Point Lynas lighthouse on 2 April 1973 and it is now monitored and controlled from their planning centre in Harwich, Essex. The station is fully automated, the power source being electric, and is backed up by standby generators which cut in should the mains power fail. There was also an automatic fog detector which used to start the fog signal should the visibility drop to less than 2 1/2 miles but this has recently been turned off.
Today you can stay in one of the keepers cottages as they are now holiday homes. You can book at https://www.pointlynaslighthouse.com/lighthouse
You soon pass through a gate into open fields where the path isn’t as obvious but if you hug the coastline as closely as you can you can’t really go wrong. Having said that I of course did go a little wrong as, having reached a little rocky section, I followed what looked like the obvious path to the left into some gorse bushes and away from the sea. I noticed my mistake very quickly and turned back. The actual path was closer to the coastline. Apart from this small mistake, this section was easy and pleasant walking.
Lovely open path and gentle slope to the sea.
We soon arrived at Porthyrychen (Bay of the Oxen) and Ogo’r Sant (The Saint’s Cave). Porth is a name that comes up often for bays on the coastal walks. It translates as “an access point or gateway for travel, trade and fishing”. We had to follow the Porth around, through a couple of gates and over a narrow but sturdy bridge. There were some boggy sections here but nothing too bad.
Approach to Porthyrychen.
There’s a steady but easy climb in this next section and then we dropped down to Ffynnon Eilian (Eilian’s Well). The path down looked a little frightening at first glance but turned out to be absolutely fine, which was lucky as I’d forgotten my stick today!
The beginning of the drop down to Ffynnon Eilian looks scarier than it is.
2. Once at the bottom of the slope you arrive at a lovely, tranquil spot where a small river meets the sea. It would be a lovely place for a picnic on a sunny day. There’s a pretty waterfall and a bridge over the river.
Up on your left you can see a plaque showing the location of Ffynnon Eilian.
Ffynnon Eilian
There are no early records of Eilian’s life. Most accounts were written in the Middle Ages. A poem by the 16th century bard Gwilym Gwyn tells us that Eilian was sent by the Pope to Ynys Môn as an emissary to Caswallon Lawhir, ruler of Ynys Môn. As well as his household, Eilian was bringing a number of oxen (I assume that’s where the name, Porthyrychen, came from). Cadwallon seized the animals, so in retaliation Eilian struck the king blind, then offered to restore his sight in return for as much land as Eilian’s pet doe could cover in a day. Caswallon did as he was asked , granting Eilian land, on which he then established a church in around 450AD. Unfortunately, whilst the doe was measuring out the land it was attacked and killed by a greyhound. Eilian was so upset that he immediately cursed the place such that no man would be able to keep a greyhound on that land again.
The Ffynnon itself is at the foot of a rocky outcrop close to the sea. Water emerges from a cleft at the base of the rock. It appears that the water flows away from the source in a stone lined channel towards the nearby stream. Further stone marks the base of a small chapel that once surrounded the well. The rock formed the back wall and three other walls enclosed it with an area of some 6 x 4 yards.
The Ffynnon was very well visited as a healing well for many years. It had the advantage of requiring that a financial donation (usually a groat) was made for a cure to work, and the parish grew wealthy on the payments from pilgrims. A chest, dating from the early 17th century, into which the groats were placed can still be seen in the local church (which we will pass later in the walk). It was opened annually and apparently yielded sums of £300 a year. Two farms were purchased with the proceeds which supported the church. Latterly proceeds were distributed to the poor.
On the eve of the saint’s day (January 13th) pilgrims seeking a cure would first drink from the well, then kneel before the altar in the well chapel. They would then progress to the church where further rituals took place. Here they would make offerings for the health of their oxen and cattle and for cures for ague, fits and scrofula.
Later the Ffynnon developed a reputation as a cursing well. A number of such wells exist in the region. There were a number of cursing rituals. Most commonly at this location the would be curser paid the well custodian to engrave the name or initials on a slate with a pin. The pin would then be bent and thrown into the well. The typical witch’s method of making a dummy of the person to be cursed and piercing or drowning the dummy were also carried out. Such a marked slate and dummy were found close to the well in 1925 and are now in the museum at Bangor. For those who preferred a more gruesome approach, it has been recorded that a live frog was pierced with a skewer, to which was attached two corks. The frog was then floated on the water of the well and so long as the frog lived the person being cursed would suffer.
Once again, cursing was a very lucrative business, charges were levied both to place a curse and again to attempt to lift a curse. However, in this case the monies were kept by the person who operated the well rather than by the church. The well still retains its reputation and is also known as the “Witching Well”.
After crossing the bridge and heading up and away from the ffynnon it’s all pretty straightforward walking. The path is obvious and easy to follow. There are some boggy sections but there are often boardwalks so we didn’t get too muddy. The path cuts inland a wee bit for a small section of the walk around Aber Cawell. There are footpaths marked on the map which take you closer to the coast but I didn’t spot them and we stuck to the very obvious coast path.
Beautiful colours.
3. I was intrigued by the name of our final headland Llam Carw, which means “Deer Stride”. Having done research on Eilian and his well I can only assume it has been named for the story about Eilian’s pet doe. On the headland there are a few derelict buildings hinting at the industrial heritage of the area. We pass a boarded up house which is in a very sad way. It’s a shame as the views from the house across Porth Amlwch and Amlwch itself are beautiful. I do enjoy a bit of Urbexing but this house is well boarded up and I never enter a property unless there is an obvious access that I can take without causing damage. I also wouldn’t be exploring a derelict property with a baby on my back!
No idea what this was. Comment if you know!
Looking back at the Isolation Hospital.
Isolation Hospital
According to my research, the derelict house was once a fever hospital, which explains its isolated setting. It was apparently opened sometime in the late 1800’s. In 1902 a number of suspected Small Pox cases were sent to the hospital. The “Anglesey Isolation Hospital Rules” were published in January 1925. These state that the hospital was only to be used for the treatment of infectious diseases such as Scarlet Fever, Typhoid Fever, Typhus Fever, Diptyeria, Puerperal Fever and Erysipelias. Patients at the hospital were under the care of a “Sister in Charge” and could not leave unless authorised by a Doctor. Other rules for the Sister included:-
a) She shall not under any circumstances allow a friend to see a patient other than through a closed window of a ward.
b) She shall see that no friend of a patient dangerously ill should enter a ward without first putting on a mackintosh.
c) Patients may only be visited between 2-4pm on Wednesday and Sunday. Maximum allowable stay was 10 mins.
d) Visitors must be disinfected as described by the sister in charge.
e) Scale of charges : income <£100pa Free, £100-£150pa 5/- per week, £250pa 15/- per week.
The path takes us down through a car park and into Porth Amlwch itself. There’s a wealth of industrial heritage to be seen here and we spent a bit of time in the sun just exploring. Under ordinary circumstances there are opportunities to grab a panad (brew/ cuppa / tea / coffee!) or a bite to eat and watch the world go by. There are also some museums to visit, such as the Sail Loft Heritage Centre https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g552017-d3570425-Reviews-Sail_Loft_Heritage_Centre-Amlwch_Anglesey_North_Wales_Wales.html , GeoMôn Geopark Centre https://www.geomon.co.uk/ or Copper Kingdom https://copperkingdom.co.uk/
Chimney with Mona Windmill in the background.
Porth Amlwch.
GeoMôn Rock Clock showing rocks of all ages.
Watchtower now used as GeoMôn Centre.
Porth Amlwch
Porth Amlwch is a natural harbour formed in a creek between high rocks and is about 500ft long and 100ft wide at its entrance.
In 1740, Lewis Morris who had been commissioned by the Lord of Admiralty to survey the coast of Wales, described the cove as ‘little more than two steep rocks where a vessel hath not room to wind even at high water. But a large vessel might be saved here, in case of necessity provided the mouth of the harbour can be discovered, which is now difficult for a stranger.’ Two white houses provided the navigation marks for mariners, one each side of the harbour’s mouth. Exports included corn, butter and cheese from local farms. Liverpool pilot boats were also known to wait here on the lookout for vessels needing their services to enter the Dee or Mersey.
The discovery of vast amounts of copper at Mynydd Parys in 1768 began to see improvements to the landward eastern side of the inlet. Miners from around the British Isles flocked to Amlwch, which became the second largest town in Wales, with Mynydd Parys becoming the biggest copper mine in the world. Wharf buildings were built backing directly onto the water’s edge for loading. A small pier was built by the Parys Mining Company in 1782, but was later removed to aid further port development. Use of the harbour continued to increase and an Act of Parliament was passed in 1793 to provide for deepening, widening and better regulation. A board of Harbour Trustees was established and set about developing the eastern side of the harbour. Some 20,000 tonnes of rock face was quarried away to form a new wide quay on which were built several storage bins. The rock was used to create a small pier, face the harbour walls and produce ore kilns and storage buildings for the copper ore.
Ore from the mine was brought to the port by horse and cart. The carts would be lined up on Upper Quay Street and the ore emptied via large shutes down into the Copper Bins below. It would take many journeys from the mountain to build up sufficient ore for a ship to carry (usually between 20 and 70 tonnes). The method of offloading the ships at the quayside was primitive using tubs or wheelbarrows. Both men and women were involved with this work. Many of them were illiterate. To keep tally of the work carried out a stone or pebble was placed in a can for each barrow loaded onto a ship. At the end of the work the tin can with its stones was presented to the agent for the payment. In 1800 Bingley was of the opinion that ‘the port is very small, but exceedingly adapt to the business of exportation... It’s width in not more than to allow two vessels to ride abreast: it is, however, sufficiently long and deep to receive 30 vessels of 200 tonnes burthen each.’
The western side of the harbour was given over to shipbuilding. The first shipyard was founded here by Nicholas Treweek and the cruel Môn coastline resulted in many damaged ships being brought to Amlwch for repairs. Robert Roberts “Y Scolor Mawr” (The Great Scholar) described the port in the mid 1850’s as ‘...a busy port, full of ships, and the smell of the sulphuric smoke from the smelting works; numerous public houses around the port, and seamen, shipwrights and gobblers drinking Amlwch Brewery beer (or Greenalls, the company from St Helens which has been there since 1786), and chewing on Amlwch shag tobacco and at least seven pugilistic encounters in the street between old Mrs Roose’s pub and Roberts’ lodging house.’ Treweek, feeling that his old yard was restricted in scope, then established a new yard outside the harbour to allow for the building and repair of large vessels. The old yard was sold to William Cox Paynter who specialised more in ship repair than ship building.
Open to the north, the harbour was subject to dangerous storm surges and ship masters were required to provide men to help haul large 13 balks of timber across the harbour mouth, in place of gates, and let down into grooves. A mast was erected at Llam Carw and a cask would be hauled to the top to notify mariners that the balks were in place so that they wouldn’t attempt to enter the harbour. This provision was not always sufficient to prevent disaster. For example, on the night of 20-21 March 1889, four vessels were severely damaged and another which had been on the dry dock was floated and smashed to pieces on the pierhead.
A turning point in the history of the port was reached in 1865 when for the first time copper ore from Mynydd Parys was exported using the new railway which had arrived at Llangefni. Over the next few years the cost of transporting goods by rail started to undercut the price of vessels from the harbour. Slowly the use of rail superseded that of ships. Control of the harbour passed to the local authority in 1913 when the Harbour Trust was wound up.
In 1914 E. Rolland Williams wrote ‘... in the harbour an ancient schooner was lying up; alongside the wharf a little coasting steamer was unloading coal. The little customs house on the pier made a brave show of “notices to mariners” for the benefit of ships that never came...’
It’s hard to imagine Porth Amlwch as the bustling harbour of its heyday on a day like today where it was so peaceful and quiet. There’s so much more to see on the other side of the port, but I needed to get back as I had Megan to pick up from nursery. I’m hoping to start at this point on my next walk. If you continue straight up from the port you will pass through another car park after which you turn left onto Machine Street. There a bit of road work to do here as you pass through Porth Amlwch itself but it’s mostly on pavement. There is a short section where there is no pavement before we turn off onto another footpath.
4. It is possible at this point to just follow the road back to the car, but as previously mentioned there is no pavement and it is a 60 mph road. Because of this I chose to take the off-road route. After the pavement ends and you pass the national speed limit signs the road will curve gently to the right. On the left side of the road look out for a footpath sign and a stone style. This will take you onto a lovely, pleasant route that just cuts off a section of that road. There are a few styles to negotiate along here and some narrow kissing gates (I’m a larger lady with a baby on my back and I managed to squeeze through- just. I do live in fear of having to call for help because I’m trapped in a kissing gate.) but I did enjoy this little cut through.
Footpath leading away from the road after crossing the first style.
At the end of the footpath turn left back onto the road you drove up earlier. Again there is no pavement but it’s a pretty quiet lane (probably less so in the summer under normal Covid free circumstances).
5. On your left you’ll see the church of Llaneilian (You’ll also notice a footpath sign which takes you back to the coast path at Porthyrychen and a more direct route to Ffynnon Eilian). I nearly didn’t go for an explore as I wasn’t sure how long Anwen’s patience would hold given she had already had her nap, but I figured we were close enough to the end that she’d cope so I went and had a meander around the graveyard (she was absolutely fine... I’m so lucky to have a baby who loves being out and about!) I’m really glad I did as it’s a beautiful church and a really atmospheric graveyard with some fascinating stones to read.
Eglwys Llaneilian
This is one of North Wales’ best preserved medieval churches. It is grade 1 listed and features an unusual ochre- coloured tower with a pyramid roof.
The original church here was built and richly endowed in honour of St Eilian c. 450AD by Caswallon Lawhir, an eminent Cambrian Prince. The earliest surviving masonry, forming the tower, dates from 1175 to the 15th century. A 14th century stone chapel, known as Capel Caswallon, is linked to the church by a passage which is accessible from the sanctuary. It measures 4.4x3.7 metres.
Inside the church is a carved wooden chest known as Cyff Eilian, dated 1667, for safekeeping of pilgrims’ offerings. The rood screen (1496) features a painting of a skeleton with hoofed feet and a banner above proclaiming “Colyn angau yw pechod” (Sin is the sting of death). Another outline on the rood screen could be an image of Christ’s face similar to that which, by tradition, was imprinted on Veronica’s Veil, a cloth used to wipe Christ’s face as he walked to his place of crucifixion. If the identification is correct, then this is the only surviving medieval treatment of this particular iconographic image in Wales. Also in the church is the remains of Eilian’s shrine. An oak construction, formerly a box though now just it’s skeleton, semicircular, some 6 ft long, 3 ft wide and 4 ft high. Parishioners would take turns crawling inside the box. Once inside they would turn around three times then crawl back out again. Those who could successfully complete the task were guaranteed a healthy life for the coming year, those who couldn’t may not expect to live until the next festival. Finally, there’s my favourite item, a pair of wooden dog tongs, from 1748, used for expelling unruly dogs during services. In those days it wasn’t unusual for parishioners to bring their dogs with them to services.
The graveyard contains the graves of many captains of Victorian ships and the first and last keepers of Point Lynas Lighthouse.
I’m hoping one day to get to see the inside of this fascinating church. Today, however, we were running out of time. We carried on our way, turned left out of the church and followed the road back to the car park.
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