Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
Anglesey

Anglesey

Last updated on: April 1, 2014 at 5:00 pm by John Beckett

Anglesey 2014-03-30T14:09:59-06:00 John Beckett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Dolbadarn Castle

From the beginning, this was supposed to be “the Ireland trip.” Seven of our twelve days were spent there, and while there were a few things we wanted to see in England and Wales, we were there as much for logistical reasons as anything else – the only place in Britain or Ireland you can fly direct from DFW is London Heathrow. Cynthia’s primary reason for routing us through Wales was to take the ferry from Holyhead to Dublin, although she knew that as a Druid I’d want to spend some time on Anglesey.

Then some logistical issues in England caused us to replan before we left, and we ended up staying almost two full days in Wales. That turned out to be a very good move – Anglesey was the highlight of my trip.

I’m probably embarrassing Kristoffer Hughes with my gushing about his hospitality, but I have to say it one more time – thank you, Kris. Your physical assistance, your wealth of knowledge, and your friendship were amazing. The work you and the rest of the Anglesey Druid Order are doing to re-establish Ynys Môn as a center of Druidry is both good and needed. I will remember our visit for the rest of this life, and I will incorporate what I saw and heard and did in Wales into my own Druidry.

Kristoffer Hughes and Cynthia at the stone circle near Dolbadarn Castle

Our first night was not actually spent on Anglesey but in Llanberis, on the Welsh mainland. Our first stop was the Royal Victoria Hotel, an old resort that serves a wide clientele including backpackers climbing nearby Mount Snowdon. We didn’t get to see much of Snowdon due to low clouds. What we did get to see was Dolbadarn Castle, built around 1230 CE.

Less physically imposing but more spiritually impressive was a low stone circle overlooking the glacial lake Llyn Padarn. We climbed the short, steep hill and approached the circle. As with so many places in this area, it had a presence to it – I didn’t have to be told this was a sacred site. I poured an offering of water, gave thanks for the hospitality of the land and its representatives, and listened. It was a pattern I repeated multiple times in Wales.

Caernarfon

From there we went on to Caernarfon and the castle built in the 13th century by the English King Edward I, who after over 700 years is still not a popular figure among the Welsh people. As Kris said “it was built to keep us out.”

The next day was our visit to the island of Anglesey. We began with St. Seriol’s, an Anglican church dating from the 12th century and still in use today. It includes St. Seriol’s Well, a sacred well that was likely sacred long before the Christian era.

Lligwy

Lligwy is a collection of sites from different eras. The tomb shown here is around 4000 years old. There are also remains of a Roman-era village and the ruins of a medieval church. This is where I first felt the “soft stones” – stones that felt permeable and inviting, like I could fall into them and sink directly into the Otherworld (whether I could then get back is another question!).

The highlight of the highlight was Bryn Celli Ddu. The name means “the hill in the dark grove” – the Anglesey Druid Order uses it for some of their rituals and it’s clear why they do. Getting there required a long but pleasant walk along a hedgerow, over a bridge, and along another hedge – that would make an excellent procession. Getting inside the mound required a tight squeeze, but it was big enough to comfortably accommodate all of us. Kris brought Welsh cakes and we shared them with the ancestors – it was both a light lunch and a communion with the blessed dead.

Bryn Celli Ddu

Of all the sites we visited, Bryn Celli Ddu was the most alive. Some of that, no doubt, comes from the ritual work done by contemporary Druids. But there’s more – something was built up over the centuries it was used as a burial chamber, and I suspect (though I can’t possibly be sure) this was a place of power long before humans began to use it. There are no rules on photography and there are pictures of the interior on the internet, but something told me this was too sacred to shoot – the interior of Bryn Celli Ddu needs to be experienced, not captured.

Barclodiad Y Gawres

Our next stop was the most dramatic. Barclodiad Y Gawres – “the Apronful of the Giantess” – is a tomb set high on a cliff overlooking the sea. On the day we visited it was cold and wet with strong winds – the long walk up the cliff was very much a procession into the presence of the ancestors. Kristoffer Hughes said the Anglesey Druid Order normally goes there only at Samhain.

Barclodiad Y Gawres

There is beautiful rock art in this tomb and the gate is kept locked to protect it. But there are advantages to traveling with the local Druids (thanks again, Kris!) – we had a chance to go inside, make our offerings to the place and to the ancestors and experience the tomb. Unlike at Bryn Celli Ddu, I felt no objections to taking pictures here.

Llyn Cerrig Bach is a small lake on the edge of a British Air Force base. During World War II, the area was being dredged for fill to extend a runway for large Allied bombers. In the process, a chain was recovered that turned out to be a 2000-year-old slave chain. Further investigation turned up over 150 items that had been offered to the lake, some of which had been ritually broken. We discussed the synchronicity of items that had been offered to a lake turning up at a time when the land and its people were under attack, and then we made our own offerings. I had been pouring libations, but here something more solid seemed to be called for. I offered two American coins.

Our final stop was at the Portal Stones, two standing stones that no one knows what they were used for. Perhaps they were a physical portal, an entryway into a ritual area or a farm. Perhaps they form a spiritual portal, although we walked through them from both directions and got nothing. Perhaps they marked something on the landscape that’s no longer there. In any case, they’re a fascinating relic.

the Portal Stones

I had only planned one thing prior to arriving in Wales – I wanted to spend some time alone, communing with the spirits of Anglesey and with the spirits of my Druid predecessors. I assumed there’d be a park or some similar natural place where I could do it – finding a stone circle in my back yard made it pretty clear where I was supposed to do this. I expected to connect with the past and perhaps even have a vision of a past life (I’ve never had any indication I was present at the Roman massacre of 61 CE, but I have had visions of being a Druid at least twice before this life).

What I got was not what I expected.

Kristoffer Hughes said that when the Anglesey Druid Order was forming, there was concern that there simply aren’t enough Druids and Pagans in the area to support an active group. But he said the message they got from the land was that they didn’t need an order of full time residents – they needed to bring people to Ynys Môn to study and learn and then go back and be Druids where ever they live. Instead of running correspondence courses like OBOD, they bring 22 students to the island for a series of face to face meetings over the course of a year.

The message I got from Anglesey went something like this:

Now you’ve been here. Now you’ve seen what can be done. Will you go home and re-create it there? Will you add these experiences to the Druidry you’ve already learned? Will you carry the spirit of Ynys Môn back to America, back to Texas, back to McKinney and Denton?

It was a question, and an offer, and a challenge.

There can be only one answer: yes.

Previous Post

March 30, 2014

Newgrange

Next Post

April 3, 2014 Am I Doing It Right?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Community CUUPS Druidry Foundations and Context Gods and Goddesses Magic Myth Nature Ritual Spiritual Practice Theology Travel Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month November 2026 October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What city is considered holy by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jerusalem Rome Antioch Paris