Chris and I left the flat at 8:00 yesterday morning and let the kids sleep in. We are savoring our time with them, but it’s sure easier to slip out the door without having to wait for them to be ready. We drove to Newborough National Nature Reserve and Forest, just across the Menai Strait that Caernarfon looks out upon, but you have to drive north, cross a bridge, and then head south again to get there, about a 30-minute drive.
We were one of the few cars in the lot when we arrived and headed off down the path through the woods that took us to where the strait empties into Caernarfon Bay, which opens into the Irish Sea.
We learned about Dwynwen, the patron saint of lovers. She established a church, later known as Llanddwyn, on the small tidal island of Ynys Llanddwyn, near Newborough, after retreating from court life (she was the daughter of King Brychan Brycheiniog). This island became a site of pilgrimage, particularly after Dwynwen’s death in the 5th century, because of her association with love and her holy well on the island.
Dwynwen was betrothed but fell in love with another, Maelon Dafodrill. When Maelon found out, he was so angry that he attacked her and was consequently frozen in a block of ice. This broke her heart, and she promptly ran away to a forest to pray. She was visited by an angel who granted her three wishes: to unfreeze the angry lover, to allow her to help those unhappy in love, and for her to never want to be married. In thanks for having her wishes granted, she became a nun. Oh, and she also had a well of enchanted eels who could tell the fortunes of lovesick travelers.
My Corner of the Village 