Bardsey Island (Welsh: Ynys Enlli), known as the legendary "Island of 20,000 Saints", is located 1.9 miles (3.1 km) off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd.[2] The Welsh name means "The Island in the Currents", while its English name refers to the "Island of the Bards",[3] or possibly the Viking chieftain, "Barda". At 179 hectares (440 acres; 0.69 sq mi) in area it is the fourth largest offshore island in Wales, with a population of 11.[4]
The north east rises steeply from the sea to a height of 548 feet (167 m) at Mynydd Enlli,[5] which is a Marilyn, while the western plain is low and relatively flat cultivated farmland. To the south the island narrows to an isthmus, connecting a peninsula on which the lighthouse stands.[6] Since 1974 it has been included in the community of Aberdaron.[7]
The island is claimed to be the burial site of Merlin.[8] It has been an important religious site since the 6th century, when it is said that the Welsh kings of Llŷn and Saint Cadfan founded a monastery there.[9] In medieval times it was a major centre of pilgrimage and, by 1212, belonged to the Augustinian Canons Regular.[10] The monastery was dissolved and its buildings demolished by Henry VIII in 1537,[11] but the island remains an attraction for pilgrims, marking the end point of the North Wales Pilgrims Way.[12][11]
Bardsey Island is famous for its wildlife and rugged scenery. A bird observatory was established in 1953.[13] It is a nesting place for Manx shearwaters and choughs, with rare plants, and habitats undisturbed by modern farming practices.[14] The waters around the island attract dolphins and porpoises and grey seals.[13]
In 2023, the island became the first site in Europe to be awarded International Dark Sky Sanctuary certification.[15]
^Williams, Kelly (28 May 2019). "Why family that went to live on Bardsey Island quit it after just one day". Daily Post. Colwyn Bay. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
^Encyclopædia Britannica : Bardsey Island Retrieved 16 August 2009
^Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Wales, 1849, S Lewis and Co, London, 474 pages
^"Ynys Enlli". Natural Resources Wales. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
^Lleyn Peninsula West (Map). 1:25000. Ordnance Survey. 2005. ISBN 9780319244494. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
^Gwynedd Archaeological Trust : Bardsey Archived 16 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 16 August 2009 to 2010
^Ordnance Survey : Election Maps : Gwynedd Retrieved 16 August 2009
^"The enchanted wood". www.smh.com.au. The Age. 26 March 2005. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
^BBC, Travel (13 April 2016). "The tiny island of 20,000 graves". BBC. Amanda Ruggeri. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
^Cite error: The named reference archaeology was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference history was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Taith Pererin Gogledd Cymru ~ North Wales Pilgrim's Way". www.pilgrims-way-north-wales.org. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
^ abCite error: The named reference haven was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference core was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Dark Skies: Welsh island is first sanctuary in Europe". BBC News. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
BardseyIsland (Welsh: Ynys Enlli), known as the legendary "Island of 20,000 Saints", is located 1.9 miles (3.1 km) off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh...
village was the last rest stop for pilgrims heading to BardseyIsland (Ynys Enlli), the legendary "island of 20,000 saints". In the 18th and 19th centuries...
Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory is a bird observatory on BardseyIsland, off the Welsh coast. It was founded in 1953 by a group of ornithologists from...
Thorney CP (Parish). Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved on 2012-05-22. Article on BardseyIsland residents. Guardian. Retrieved on 2012-05-22....
Mouse BardseyIsland Caldey Island Cardigan Island Denny Island Flat Holm Grassholm Island Ramsey Island Skokholm Island Skomer Island Sully Island Anguilla...
large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between BardseyIsland, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern...
includes tidal islands such as Sully Island but not locations such as Shell Island which, though they are termed islands, are peninsulas. Holy Island and Anglesey...
said to have resigned his see in favour of Saint David. He retired to BardseyIsland where he was eventually buried before his body was transferred to Llandaff...
area. In 1999 a single apple tree was identified by Ian Sturrock on BardseyIsland (located at the end of the Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales). Its uniqueness...
1953: Copeland Bird Observatory BBC News for the BardseyIsland bird ringed in 1957: BardseyIsland Bird Observatory BBC News Wildlife Britain news Song...
by him. He is also said to have served as the abbot of Ynys Enlli, BardseyIsland, succeeding his cousin St. Cadfan. He is said to have died of natural...
to have occupied a tract of fertile land lying between Ramsey Island and BardseyIsland in what is now Cardigan Bay to the west of Wales. Iram of the...
According to the Annales Cambriae Deiniol died in 584 and was buried on BardseyIsland. It is possible that this date, like the dates given for the deaths...
generations of patrons of poets, and also a way-station for pilgrims to BardseyIsland, but destroyed in 1936 in order to build a training camp and aerodrome...
Bardsey Lighthouse stands on the southerly tip of BardseyIsland, off the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, and guides vessels passing through St George's...
Cardigan Island Chapel Island Chicken Rock Church Island Cribinau Dova Haw East Mouse Foulney Island Headin Haw Hestan Island Ireland's Eye Islands of Fleet...
Irish Sea is a 46,007 km2 (17,763 sq mi) body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south...
have been an important staging post for pilgrimages to Ynys Enlli (BardseyIsland). The old church is no longer a place of worship but houses a museum...
Rhythallt Afon Seiont Afon Tryweryn IslandsBardseyIsland Ynys Gifftan Ynys Gwylan-fawr Saint Tudwal's Islands Topics Parliamentary constituencies Churches...
The south-west of the county was formed by the Llŷn peninsula, with BardseyIsland lying off its western end. The north of the county, between the mountains...
(Friends of Llyn) have called for the return of the Bardsey (Enlli) crown, discovered on BardseyIsland. The group want the crown to be moved to Oriel Plas...
between Ramsey Island and BardseyIsland. Celliwig The earliest named location for the court of King Arthur. Brasil or Hy-Brasil A mythical island to the west...
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