Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Country and County: Wales

Ancient Sites / Early Christianity / Wells

St Aelhaearn’s Well

This well can be found on the outskirts of the village of Llanaelhaearn, on the left hand side of the road as you ascend the (B4417) out of the village. It is enclosed in a locked stone structure which was constructed in 1900, and it is in front of a house called Bryn Iddon.

Ancient Sites / Wells

Ffynnon Fair (St. Mary’s Well), Aberdaron

Ffynnon Fair can be found on the shore to the east of the precipitous rocks rising out of the sea known locally as ‘the wall’. This well always gives fresh water even though it is often covered over by the sea. It is said that a wish can be fulfilled by running with a mouthful of the water, three times around the quadrangle of the nearby St. Mary’s church.

Ancient Sites / Early Christianity / Legends / Wells

Ffynnon Fair (St. Mary’s Well), Llwyn-y-pia

Ffynnon Fair is a holy well situated outside the village of Llwyn-y-pia. The well is the oldest recorded Christian site in the Rhondda. Some historians date the site back further, and it could be pagan in origin. The water from the well is reputed to cure ailments, especially rheumatism and poor eyesight. Rhisiart ap Rhys wrote:

Haunted Hotels / Haunted Pubs / Hauntings / Poltergiests

The Anglesey Arms

This traditional Welsh inn is a stone’s throw from the magnificent Caernarfon Castle, at the end of Castle Hill road. It overlooks the Menai Straits, and it is allegedly haunted. The building was formerly the Customs House in the 18th Century, and it situated on the site of Caernarfon’s ‘Hanging Tower’ which was the place of execution in the town.

Apparitions / Haunted Hotels / Haunted Wedding Venue / Hauntings

Gwydir Castle

Gwydir Castle is nestled in the Vale of Conwy in North Wales, and it has a long and fantastic history. The first recorded owner was Howell ap Coetmor, whose family members are recorded as having fought at the battles of Poitiers (1356), Shrewsbury (1402) and Agincourt (1415).

Apparitions / Haunted Pubs / Hauntings

The Black Boy (Buoy) Inn

On Northgate Street, in the Royal Borough of Caernarfon, you will find an excellent free house called the Black Boy Inn which is reputedly haunted. When it was built, circa 1522 it consisted of two inns, one the ‘Kings Arms’ and the other the ‘Fleur de Lys’. At some stage, one landlord acquired both buildings and the ‘Black Boy’ as we know it today was created.

Legends

Sarn-y-Bwlch

Sarn-y-Bwlch (Causeway of the Pass) is the middle of the three Cardigan Bay sarnau. It is the smallest of the three sarns, and it extends for about 6 kilometres offshore out from Pen Bwlch point at Tywyn, in a south westerly direction. Its charted depth is as shallow as 0.3 metres (Admiralty chart 1972).

Legends

Sarn Gynfelyn

Sarn Cynfelin (Saint Cynfelyn’s Causeway) is the southern most of the three Cardigan Bay sarnau, and begins just below the farmhouse at Wallog, situated on the cliffs between Borth and Clarach, and it extends for fourteen kilometres offshore into Cardigan Bay. Approximately half way along its length, it is bisected by a channel which is about five metres deep.

Legends

Sarn Badrig

Sarn Badrig, also known as St. Patrick’s Causeway, starts from Mochras point on Shell Island (or Mochras) and extends out in to Cardigan Bay for about twenty-four kilometres (fourteen miles, some nine of which are exposed at neap tides). It is one of three such ridges of rock and shingle that can be found on this west Welsh coast.