Newborough Forest
Walked August 2021
This 9 mile (14km) walk talks in the stunning sandy beach, sand dunes and woodland of Newborough Forest on the Isle of Anglesey. It also includes LLanddwyn Island and the history it contains. Best walked at low tide as at the highest point of the tide the island is cut off.
There are many options to shorten the route to suite your needs bay taking different paths through the woods.
Park in the Malltraeth Car Park on the A4080, grid reference SH 424 664 What3Words squeaks.lawfully.singled. Take the path south along the coastline. Where it meets the main track, follow this until the Anglesey Coast Path turns right. Follow this back to the coast.
If not flooded, take the path out of the woods and along the shoreline, through the reeds/grass until you come to the sand dunes.
Veer to the right on the Herritage Walk on the shore side of the dunes until you reach the sandy beach. Here, follow the beach to the left.
An amazing place to paddle and dig in the sand.
At the rocky end of the beach, follow round onto the island, where you can follow the trail and learn about the history and geology from the information boards.
Be sure to climb up to the "light house" and enjoy the stunning views of the seabirds and mountains.
A delightful row if little pilot's cottages and the remains of the church dedicated to Saint Dwynwen can be explored.
St. Dwynwen
Nothing wins hearts like cheerfulness - St. Dwynwen
The name Llanddwyn means "The church of St. Dwynwen". She is the Welsh patron saint of lovers, making her the Welsh equivalent of St. Valentine. Her feast day, 25 January, is often celebrated by the Welsh with cards and flowers, just as is 14 February for St. Valentine.
Dwynwen lived during the 5th century AD and was one of 24 daughters of St. Brychan, a Welsh prince of Brycheiniog (Brecon). She fell in love with a young man named Maelon, but rejected his advances. This, depending on which story you read, was either because she wished to remain chaste and become a nun or because her father wished her to marry another. She prayed to be released from the unhappy love and dreamed that she was given a potion to do this. However, the potion turned Maelon to ice. She then prayed that she be granted three wishes: 1) that Maelon be revived, 2) that all true lovers find happiness, and 3) that she should never again wish to be married. She then retreated to the solitude of Llanddwyn Island to follow the life of a hermit.
Dwynwen became known as the patron saint of lovers and pilgrimages were made to her holy well on the island. It was said that the faithfulness of a lover could be divined through the movements of some eels that lived in the well. This was done by the woman first scattering breadcrumbs on the surface, then laying her handkerchief on the surface. If the eel disturbed it then her lover would be faithful.
Visitors would leave offerings at her shrine, and so popular was this place of pilgrimage that it became the richest in the area during Tudor times. This funded a substantial chapel that was built in the 16th century on the site of Dwynwen's original chapel. The ruins of this can still be seen today.
Source: https://www.anglesey-history.co.uk/places/llanddwyn/
When you return to the beach from the island, follow the path through the woods back to the car park, being sure to turn right at the marker labelled "Geo 6". There are various information points telling you about the forest and the pillow rocks.
2021-08-26 Newborough circuit.pdf