About Me

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Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it

Sunday September 23rd 2018 Part 2 - St. Patrick's Church, Llanbadrig

Heading towards Cemaes Bay I turned off the A5025 onto the single track lane which I followed in June when looking for Porth Wen brickworks, but this time I took a left turn off it and followed a second lane with fields on both sides. The lane ended in a gravel surfaced car park with a house and a couple of holiday cottages opposite, and St. Patrick's Church right on the headland - it was certainly in a very remote spot. Across from the headland, and looking rather like a large whale basking on the surface of the sea, was Middle Mouse Island, and legend says that St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was shipwrecked there. He made it safely to shore and took refuge in a cliff cave where there was a good source of fresh water, then to give thanks for his survival he founded a church on the headland.

The original wooden church was replaced by the current stone building in the early 14th century, making it one of the oldest churches on Anglesey; it was modified a few times over the years but then in 1884 a major restoration took place. It was entirely funded by Lord Henry Stanley, 3rd Baron of Alderley, Cheshire, who owned the Penrhos estate, and the appearance of the church today owes almost everything to that restoration.

 In the early 1870s, while abroad with the Diplomatic Service, Henry Stanley married a Spanish lady of Moorish descent and converted to the Islamic faith, resulting in the interior restoration of the church being greatly influenced by him. The stained glass windows, instead of depicting biblical scenes or characters, had the overtones of a mosque with simple red, white and blue geometric designs, and the tiles on the wall behind the altar also showed geometric or floral patterns. When Henry Stanley died at the age of 76 he was buried upright, facing Mecca in accordance with his faith, in the unconsecrated grounds of a private house in Cheshire about half a mile south of the traditional family burial place. 

 In 1984 the church was unfortunately badly damaged by fire caused by arsonists and after raising £15,000 over two years another restoration took place, with the building being reopened in May 1987.  In 2005 the church was used as one of the Anglesey locations for the murder/mystery/thriller film Half Light starring Demi Moore, and another time one well-known visitor, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, pronounced the site to be "the most peaceful spot on earth" - and with nothing but the sound of the waves down below the cliff and the calling of the sea birds it certainly was a very tranquil place.

Unfortunately my time for exploring outside the church was limited as I wanted to get to the Stermat store at Valley before it closed but I'll most certainly go back there another time. This was a small church with a big history but the building itself and the location definitely merited some further exploration.

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6 comments:

  1. Jules2 October 2018 at 05:55

    I love to see a church out on the headland. They appear quite dramatic. The stained glass is beautiful. X

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  2. Tigermouse2 October 2018 at 06:54

    The stained glass windows are certainly different to most other churches - my favourite is the deep blue one behind the altar :)

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  3. Bag End Gardener2 October 2018 at 08:06

    Afraid I have never heard of the film but the church is a super little place, well done for going all the way down a narrow lane to find it :)

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    1. Tigermouse2 October 2018 at 10:27

      I've just amended the post with a link to the film synopsis if you're interested - it's supposed to be set in Scotland but most of the locations were in North Wales, including Porth Dinllaen on the Llyn peninsula where I went last year. It's not the sort of film I would normally watch but I'm tempted to get the dvd just to see the locations. Going down the lane to the church was no problem, I just had to hope I didn't meet something coming the other way although there were passing places every so often :)

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  4. Eileen H2 October 2018 at 09:05

    The island does look like a whale :) There's something very beautiful and peaceful about a church overlooking the sea. I can't say I like the stained glass windows or tiles myself, I prefer something more traditional but understand the reasons for them. Arsonists again, just can't understand why they do what they do, it's just criminal!

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  5. Tigermouse2 October 2018 at 10:36

    To be honest it's not really my sort of church, like you I prefer traditional, but it's certainly unusual and I do like the deep blue window behind the altar. Can't say much for the tiled wall though, it reminds me of a Victorian bathroom :( I didn't realise how unusual the place was going to be until I got there - it's worth going again though as there's a lovely sandy cove close by and also St. Patrick's cave to explore. I don't understand why arsonists do what they do either, I'm sure they must have a wire loose somewhere in their brains :(

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