The village of Llanaelhaearn in the county of Gwynedd, North Wales. The Welsh village sits between the mountains of Yr Eifl, the Rivals, to the west and the hills of Moel pen-llechog, Gyrn Ddu and Moel Bronmiod to the north east.
Access to Pen Llyn the western end of the peninsula is via a road that weaves between the hills and on which road sits Llanaelhaearn. In byegone days pilgrims en-route from the west via Holywell, St Asaph and Clynnog Fawr to the Holy Island of Bardsey would have rested in Llanaelhaearn. Today the old church of Saint Aelhaearn still offers spiritual comfort to the community but a telephone call is required to gain the keys to open the church door! |
Within the church grounds can be found evidence of a Christian occupation of Llanaelhaearn dating from as early as the 5th Century AD. Several stones with Latin inscriptions have survived the years and indeed it is thought one stone, the Melitus stone still stands in its original position. |
But a short walk from the village provides evidence of even earlier settlements on the Llyn peninsula. A path from the village climbs the slopes of Tre'r Ceiri, one of the three summits to Yr Eifl where can be found the remains of a prehistoric settlement regarded as one of the best examples in Europe of an Iron Age hill fort.
