Tag: St Dwynwen

How to celebrate St Dwynwen’s Day in Anglesey, North Wales

Today marks St Dwynwen’s Day, the Welsh equivalent of Valentine’s Day.

The love action is focused on Llanddwyn Island [pictured above], a remote headland off the tip of Anglesey, where Dwynwen founded her spiritual Shangri-La in the 5th century.

It’s a place to celebrate new-found love and soothe the soul after heartbreak.

I’ve done the walk to Llanddwyn Island several times, braving the elements and soaking up the ancient spirituality of the location.

I’ve trudged its Blue Flag beach for both contexts.

Llanddwyn is off limits to most this year under ongoing lockdown restrictions.

But my feature in the travel section of The Independent today celebrates its unique sense of spiritual calm at a time when, loved up or alone, we all need some saintly solace.

Here’s a flavour of my story:

Today that church may be ruined but it still swirls with the spirituality of the Wales’ age of the saints and has a presence that compels visitors to run their fingers along the ancient stone altar.

As the weather closes in, I find wave-smoothed pebbles [pictured below] tucked amongst the stones, messages of love lost and won scrawled upon them.

Read the full feature, A walk with ancient Celtic lovers for the Welsh Valentine’s Day via Independent Travel.

Story of the day: St Dwynwen’s Day in Wales

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Today was St Dwynen’s Day in Wales and I’ve been appropriately otherwise engaged until now.

I’ve covered this story several times for different publications. Today’s link is to a piece for the Daily Telegraph.

Here’s an extract:

Wales celebrates St Dwynwen’s Day, the Welsh equivalent of St Valentine’s Day.

Lovers may exchange gifts of love spoons or love poetry-engraved jewellery; some may get down on one knee on Llanddwyn Beach in Anglesey; others may cast their unrequited wishes into her ancient well as lovelorn disciples of Dwynwen have done for centuries.

“In Wales, for love see tragedy,” says Angharad Wynne, a heritage consultant, as we meet in the island’s hub, Beaumaris, to explore a triumvirate of love-inspired Welsh folk legends.

“I think the poignancy of Dwynwen’s story rather appeals to the Celtic soul,” she adds.

Read the full story, On the island of true love.

How have you been spending St Dwynwen’s Day? Do you have other Welsh folk legends to share?

Post your comments below.

* Update: A second story appeared after this post for the Daily Mail.

Read the story, Valentine’s Day the Welsh Way.