Tag: Anglesey

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buildings Wales

Iron Age Homesteads – Anglesey

About 18 months ago Jude and I were in search of trees bent by the wind from the sea, shaped and pruned by mother nature herself. I wanted the photos for a new garden talk I was writing. We found ourselves in the area of Anglesey near the lighthouse at South Stack, where so many times in the past, we had noticed a sign pointing up through a field where Iron Age homestead remains were to be found.

As we had enjoyed exploring so many other pre-historic remains during our week on Anglesey we decided to follow the trail up the hill to see what was to be found. It surpassed all our expectations.

The stone circles were a mix of homes, stores and workshops. Local flora has established itself producing miniature rockeries, homes to alpines which seem happy to grow there.

Anglesey is so full of prehistoric sites we keep finding more to discover and explore. This island never fails to surprise however many times we visit.

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countryside hedgerows pathways trees Wales wildlife

A short walk along an Anglesey Hedgerow

About 18 months ago we spent a family holiday on the isle of Anglesey, spending some of our time seeking out ancient sites.

We walked along a young native hedge, planted by Cadwy in the last few years, along a gravel path that led us towards the wonderful prehistoric burial mound, Bryn Celli Ddu.

Some shrub species were flowering well but we were also fascinated by the number of wildflowers already established and growing happily in the new hedge’s shade.

The main hedging species was Hawthorn which was interspersed with Gorse and Elder punctuated by taller trees such as Damsons, Sycamores and Field Maples. even the odd Oak sapling was trying its luck beneath the hedge.

    

Flowering perennials and even a bulb species have colonised the shaded area beneath the leaf canopy of the hedge and the accompanying trees. We spotted Herb Robert, Celandine, Bluebell, Daisy, Vetch, Primrose, Lady’s Smock, Germander Speedwell and Dandelion.

     

Even in shady places plants found it to their liking. Ferns enjoyed the shade at the very centre of the hedge and ivy clambered over he stone built wall where the hedge ends.

 

Insects and invertebrates move in as the number of plant species increase and that leads to predators including other insects, birds and mammals.

 

The delights of Dandelion and its “blowing clock” were experienced by our granddaughter Arabella after Jude shared its magic.

    Success!

 

 

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architecture buildings landscapes Wales

Discovering Anglesey’s ancient places – Lligwy Part 1

We visited some prehistoric sites in early autumn when we enjoyed a short family break and I reported what we found in an earlier blog post. We returned again to the island this spring with more of the family and decided to find more of Anglesey’s ancient sites.

We visited the village of Lligwy to enjoy the beach and explore its historic ruins. We had high expectations and when we got there we discovered ruins of stone buildings and they were so fantastic they surpassed all our expectations. The ancient site is known as Din Lligwy and was home to romano-british peoples.

As we passed over fields of pasture we spotted an ancient church to our right which we decided to look at on our return journey. Our path climbed slowly uphill until we reached a wood of mixed trees with so much colour underneath provided by wildflowers especially Bluebells and Red Campions. The contrasts of light and shade spotlighted beautiful areas of colour and scent filled the shadows. A group of inquisitive young heifers tried to come with us and they took a lot of dissuasion.

On exiting the woodland we burst out into the light to see an ancient village set out before us, far better preserved than we ever expected. We set off to explore the stone walls and enclosures. The group of buildings were a fortified group of hut circles, including the more impressice chieftain’s hut, which boasted a stone pillared entranceway.

  

As a family we have always enjoyed exploring such sites together and as this was a family holiday with Jude and I, our daughter and son, son-in-law and daughter-in-law and our granddaughter, we could appreciate this amazing place together. Even our 18month old granddaughter was captivated by the place and explored along side us.

   

Mother nature added her own sense of mystery to the site by establishing plants on the stones, in cracks and fissures, adding a layer of green.

      

As we left the village we made our way back towards the lane where we had parked up and walked via the old church. From there we intended to find a cromlech nearby. We will lok at both of these in the follow up post to this.

 

 

 

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architecture Wales

Stone Ruins on Welsh Farm

When we stayed on Anglesey earlier this summer we rented a converted farm cottage which had been amazingly sympathetically modernised. The view from our bedroom balcony looked down over the ruins of pigsties. They added so much to the atmosphere of the place where we were staying. I thought I would share a few photos of this old agricultural building with you. I hope you enjoy them.

     

In the wall next to our holiday home was this old decommisioned postbox. A pair of Great Tits however had found a new use for the box, creating a nest and laying their eggs in the bed of down.

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colours light light quality trees wildlife woodland woodlands

Anglesey Woodland in mid-May

During our family holiday on Anglesey in the middle of May we spent a few days discovering ancient pre-historic sites on the island. The walk to a fortified hut group took us through this beautiful patch of woodland growing happily on a gentle slope. I hope you enjoy the photos I took.

       

The beautiful light worked as a spotlight to help intensify the colour of the flowers and the bright greens of the many ferns.

 

What a spectacular little patch of woodland, a real treat to walk through and enjoy the trees and the flowers growing beneath them.

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architecture buildings landscapes Wales

Anglesey Part 2-ancient places

One of the aspects of Anglesey we love so much is its long, long history with signs of man’s influence on the island going back to pre-historic times. As a family we have always enjoyed visiting historic sites, castles, cromlechs, burial mounds etc.

Anglesey has plenty to offer in this field and during our short early September break we took advantage of a few almost dry days to discover a few places of neolithic significance. We set off to find a cromlech and a burial mound, which are not the easiest of places to come across.

The burial mound, called Bryn Celli Ddu which means the Mound in the Dark Grove  was 5000 years old and was a passage tomb built to align with the rising sun on the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice. We wandered along a zig-zagging path between fields, with hedges hanging over us giving the impression of a dark tunnel. We seemed to have been walking a long way before a view sudden opened up before us, much lighter and open. There sat the barrow! We were amazed how good a condition it was in and the fact it was partly open to explore the passageway into the centre.

      

Once inside we waited a while until our eyes became used to the light and explored further, discovering beautiful carvings and offerings left by modern day visitors, a beautiful link to the past.

   

We could look back out towards today and daylight. We felt deeply moved by this experience and couldn’t wait to drive off to find our next magical prehistoric place.

  

The cromlech was very close to our holiday cottage so did not take long to find. On  the walk to the ancient stones we noticed this stand of wind-pruned stunted trees, a feature of this windswept island.

 

 

 

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architecture buildings the sea the seaside the shore Wales

Anglesey – Part 1 – A day out in Beaumaris

We love Anglesey and our favourite seaside place must be Beaumaris with its castle and its little pier. It is a seaside town in miniature. In the early autumn of 2017 Jude, the Undergardener and I spent a short break on Anglesey with our son Jamie, daughter-in-law Sam and granddaughter Arabella, and we just had to share our love of the place with them. We had taken Jamie there as a child but Sam, having lived her childhood in France and then moving to Leicester had never been before and baby Arabella was too young to have visited yet in her short life.

We took a wander along the sea front and to the end of the pier and back.

 

Having arrived at the little town mid-morning we needed to find a refreshment place prior to exploring the castle, and discovered this friendly cafe close to the castle alongside the bowling green. It looked very bright with its cerise and green coloured furniture.

From there we passed this old cottage with its typical cottage styled garden before arriving at the castle itself.

It must be one of the most photogenic castles in the UK, as well as being of great historic importance and significance. Jude has given me this information concerning the castle as I am no historian.

The construction of Beaumaris Castle began in 1295 and was built by Edward 1st, the last in a programme of castle building in Wales by the English to subjugate the Welsh. The castle was never finished however as money ran out! It is unusual in that it has a set of walls within walls for extra fortification. A surprising feature is its gateway to the sea, a tidal dock which allowed ships direct access to the castle to deliver supplies.

   

   

We had last visited the castle many years ago and had forgotten just how beautiful it was. Jude, being an historian looked at it from a different perspective from my aesthetic viewpoint, but we both absolutely love it.

 

 

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autumn

An early September holiday in Anglesey

We decided to spend a short break on the island of Anglesey, just off the coast of North- West Wales reached by a short bridge crossing over the treacherous waters of the Menai Straits. It has been a favourite place of ours for years as we enjoy its unique atmosphere, the friendly inhabitants and the varied countryside and even more varied coastline.

We rented a holiday bungalow in a small group of others along way from any towns or large villages, close to the coast and boasting stunning views. Jude and I went with our son, Jamie, his wife Sam and our year-old granddaughter Arabella. We were set for a most enjoyable time, hopefully weather permitting, spent outside in the fresh air.

 

The bungalow had a large garden with outcrops of rock among the grass and a beautiful ancient stone boundary wall along one side. The wall boasted so many varieties of Lichen growing on it as did the outcrops.

  

We had views from this wall over the nearest village which was on the coast.

As the day began to come to an end the light changed minute by minute and was different each day.

   

The holiday property proved to be a great place to go out from to visit the countryside, coast and the places of interest we planned to visit. We decided one day to give Arabella her first taste of a British beach and a chance to discover the sea.

The massive expanse of sand at our favourite Anglesey beach is always textured by wind and wave. On this visit we were pleased to spot an amazing sand art drawing of a unicorn, one of Arabella’s favourite animal characters.

 

 

We were lucky to spot this lizard, basking on a wooden post as we walked back from the beach.

 

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light light quality the sea the seaside the shore Wales

Seaside Textures

Every time we visit the seaside and take a walk along the sands we start collecting shells to decorate our Seaside Garden at home, and once we start looking we notice the amazing patterns and textures created on the sand as the tides retreat.

We recently drove over to Anglesey and after leaving the main road as it crossed over from the Welsh mainland we drove down lanes which got narrower and more secretive until we arrived at our favourite beach. On opening the car doors all we heard was silence occasionally broken by birdsong and the raucous calls of gulls. That is why it our favourite beach for a quiet walk. Come with us as we wander heads down seeking shells and finding the shapes and textures etched into the sand.

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Please enjoy this gallery of photos to help you share our wanderings.

The strangest shape and texture of all belonged to these beached jelly fish, their star like shape and jelly texture sitting lifeless on the sands. It looked as if the sun had fallen from the sky and was resting on the sand.

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We stopped part way home to watch the sun set over the sea. What a great day out!

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Categories
colours conservation countryside landscapes meadows nature reserves the seaside the shore Wales

A coastal meadow – Anglesey

On a wet, cold March day it seems a good idea to look back and enjoy some blue sky.

When we spend a few days on Anglesey, an island just off the north coast of Wales we always take a short walk through this colourful acidic meadow. Often it is a good place to see unusual birds such as Chats and Pipits, but on our latest wander along its narrow gravel track it was very quiet. There were no calls from birds, no buzzing from bees and no clicking of grasshoppers or crickets. But the flowers were performing their usual colourful display. As we began our walk we watched a single Chough flying along the horizon in its typically undulating flight. This is a strange bird, jet black like most of the corvids but with bright red legs and a slender curved black bill.

Come for a wander with us and the camera, enjoy the blue sky the sweet scent of gorse flowers and the gently undulating landscape.

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We reached the look out tower where we stopped to look out over the sea which was coloured in constantly changing tones and blends of deep greens and blues with silver sparkles where the sun hit each breaking wave. As we turned to retrace our footsteps we heard the first sounds of Chats and scanning the top branches of the heather or rock outcrops we spotted several Stonechat perched bolt upright constantly calling to each other. Gulls wheeled over our heads as they made for their cliff face ledges.

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This cliff top walk never fails to impress with its richly coloured meadows and views out over the Irish Sea. We have wandered this track so many times over the years and will keep returning to enjoy it over and over again.