Din Lligwy and Din Lligwy Chapel, Angelsey

It's been rather a long break over the winter, but today we got out again in search of interesting places to visit, and we decided to go to Din Lligwy, the remains of a wonderful iron age village on the north coast of Anglesey. I'd been there years before, a long trip in the rain with friends, on the back of my dad's motorbike, and remembered being awed by the incredible preservation of the walls.

The village dates from around 400 A.D., so not ancient in terms of some of the places we've visited, and certainly not as old as the nearby burial chamber, which we failed to get to on this visit. Even so, it shows remarkable preservation for something so old, in part, I would assume, due to the size of the stones that make up the walls. It's surprising it hasn't been quarried for house-building, though. Finds have been made at the site from the end of the Roman occupation of the area, but it's thought to have been around for much longer than that. Evidence of iron smelting has been found in one structure in the complex. There are some rectangular buildings and some round, and the lot is surrounded by a hefty stone wall. The site is now surrounded by trees, but if the land was clear the site would have commanded a good view of the surrounding countryside, including an inlet from the sea a little to the west.

 

The first thing you notice on stopping in the small layby is the ruined church a little way away across the fields. I would advise using a satnav to find the place, but it's reasonably well signed.

 

 

 

It's an easy and relatively short walk across the fields, which were quite dry for the time of year.

I did get the urge to sing 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush as we walked past the chapel.

The small woods surrounding the site have an age-old look with all of the straggling ivy, but I suspect they aren't that old. There's a lot of wild garlic, which will smell lovely in a few months. You climb up a relatively shallow set of steps to reach the site, and this approach reinforces the impression of its good location on top of a rise of land.

The village itself is not overgrown at all, and is managed by Cadw. The place is not staffed, though, and entry is free.

One of the Cadw noticeboards with an artist's reconstruction.

There's a rather lovely big house not far away. Old and new side by side.

The walls are a good four feet or so thick. This is the building thought to be where they smelted iron.

Information board about the iron workshop.

One of the round buildings with a very wide doorway.

There's something about these door sills, walking over them and thinking about the feet that have trodden over these stones in the past, slowly wearing the surface smooth.

Looking back out into the complex.

I love these upright stone walls, and they remind me a lot of the supposed Iron Age field boundary in our own fields at home.

Looking into another of the dwellings.

And another door sill. I really love this. Look at the smooth wear on the stone.

These round buildings are so perfectly crafted. It's wonderful to imagine them with roofs and a fire inside and people going to and fro.

Another of the square buildings with massively thick walls.

Another entrance to a building with a lovely post.

Beautiful curved wall.

Looking down into the metal workshop. I'm not sure what the pile of stones in the middle is.

More beautiful walls.

On the way back we visited the chapel, which was built in the first half of the 12th century and has a 16th century side chapel attached to the right.

The sheep think it's rather marvellous too, although they can't get inside. The chapel is surrounded by a low ruined wall.

At the end of the chapel is what appears to be a blocked up window. On the reconstruction this is shown as a rather lovely window. Presumably it was filled in to prevent further collapse.

Information board inside the chapel, showing the window at the end.

Another blocked up window and a rather ominous hole in the ground with stone steps leading down. I wondered if it were a well (obviously not because it's surprisingly dry down there), but apparently it's a burial vault.

Inside the burial vault to the right, with a niche in the wall.

The burial vault to the left, with a similar niche. I don't know what they were there for. Holding candles? Propping a plank to lie across and put coffins on? Who knows?

The end of the church and the doorway, which has a metal gate but it not locked.

Looking up at the end wall and the belfry. Is this original plaster?

 

Looking up at a rather ominous crack in the corner.

Apparently this is the churchyard cross base, which was brought inside to protect it. It's a shame the cross is no longer here.

There's a rather lovely view from here down over the bay, which is the inlet of water I mentioned before in relation to the siting of the iron age village.

Pretty sheep and a Wuthering Heights-esque broken tree.

Time to go home. Next time we'll manage to get to the burial chamber, too.