North Wales Pilgrims Way (Stage 9 - Clynnog Fawr to Nefyn)

Big church!

 The population of  Clynnog Fawr is round    about 1000. So what's  a big church like this  doing here? We've  seen cathedrals not  much bigger than this.  Well it was a rather    important staging post  for the medieval Welsh  pilgrims on their way to  Bardsey  Island. The  church is dedicated to  St Beuno   who lived here and there's a holy well just outside town where the pilgrims could bathe their sore feet.

Well, well, well!

And here's the well itself which I found on my way out of the village. This is one of a number of Welsh holy wells ascribed or dedicated to Beuno, maybe he had connections at Dwr Cymru. The signboard explains that the waters of this well are a cure for epileptic children and in medieval times folk would bring their affected offspring from miles around and fling them into the icy water. I can see how this might work perhaps! (My trusty rucksac has also found it's way into the picture to prove I was there!) From here it's a fairly direct route parallel to the main road before dropping down into Trefor where Skip and then I faced the big climb up towards the three summits of Yr Eifl. Our path upwards was clearly centuries old and has been used by pilgrims, quarry workers and shepherds over the years. It was a clear calm day and, away from the traffic noise, we began to relax and enjoy the far reaching views down the length of the Lleyn peninsula. Our route widened out into a track along which granite was transported from the high quarries down to the sea at Nant Gwrtheryn which is the modern name for Porth Nant.

Not my photo but I think this is a stunning snap of a quite extraordinary location, the former isolated village of Porth Nant which was the export outlet for vast quantities of granite setts quarried further up the hill in the 19th and 20th centuries. These cobbles for the roads of Manchester, Liverpool and further afield were chiselled to size in the quarries and then transported down a zig-zag winding track (known as the Screw!) to the coast;  they were then loaded into steamers which carried their cargos up the Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal to the newly built Coronation Streets and Penny Lanes of the late 19th century. Though very isolated Porth Nant was a thriving community, however after the second world war, tarmac became the road surface of choice and the cobble industry declined. The village was gradually abandoned and the dwellings fell into disrepair. However a forward thinking GP from Manchester, whose mother was Welsh speaking, had practised in North Wales and developed a strong Welsh affiliation to the extent that he set about reviving the village - it's now a busy residential Welsh Language centre, a new tarmacked (!) road enables vehicles to descent the steep tour down and the ruined buildings have been restored for accommodation for the students. It's a lovely spot and Skip and I were delighted to see the wonderful views as we wound our way down the 'Screw'.  

Little church!

We had a good look at the harbour and imagined the tramp steamers loading up their cargos of cobblestones and then proceeded on and upwards on the coastal path, the only other route out of Nant Gwtheryn which follows a cliff top route for a few miles. Having started the day by St Beuno's Church in Clynnog Fawr, we finished several hours later in Nefyn and, on the way down at Pistyll we were pleased to see yet another St Beuno's Church. This one is a much smaller building, apparently this is where Beuno went when he wanted a bit of peace and quiet. It's in a lovely spot overlooking the sea and, I learnt that it had a thatched roof until the 20th century, although all the photos I found depicted its current slate roof. A more recent claim to fame is that the churchyard contains the grave of Rupert Davies who played Inspector Maigret in the 1960's TV series. 

We're getting closer to the end of the pilgrimage, the historical links are more frequent and we seem to be moving further away from civilisation and the 21st century. Running away from the present perhaps? Well why not!