The town of Holyhead may be small, but it has a harbour
large enough to accommodate Prinsendam and then some. Being so close to Ireland, Holyhead was and is
one of the most important harbours connecting to the Emerals Isle.
The harbour is protected by a breakwater all of 2.4 km long,
the longest in Europe. When it was built between 1845 and 1873 it was the
longest in the world. 1300 men were employed for its construction, and at least
40 of them lost their lives in work related accidents. They quarried literally
mountains of rock: 6,990,862 tons were carried from the hills to the breakwater
site.
Around 500 BC the Celts established their culture here in
Anglesey (from the Norse word ‘ongull’ which means strait). By 150 BC the
Druids began to exert their influence. By AD 61 the Romans turned up in force –
Tacitus had 10,000 men lined up across the Strait to face the resisting Druids.
The Druids raised a ruckus pouring out frightful curses with their hands raised
to heaven, which did not deter the Romans who crossed over the Strait in flat
bottomed boats – and the Druids took off in flight. The Romans dominated the
area for several centuries, and built a couple of forts and a naval base here.
On nearby mountain aptly named Holyhead Mountain, one may
find Hut Circles, as well as an ancient hill fort (Caer & Twr) which date
back to the Iron Age. Thousands of tons of rock had been moved to construct
walls, which are hundreds of yards long – an ancient engineering feat. One may
still visit some of the ‘huts’, which still have stone benches and
basins…people lived here continuously for two thousand years.
When the Romans abandoned their forts, the monks moved in
and St Cybi, first cousin of Wales’ Patron Saint St. David, built a
church on the grounds of the fort in the present town site around 540 AD. The church was sacked by the Vikings in the
10th century, and later in 1405 again by Henry IV army, which
arrived from Ireland. That was not yet the end of assaults on the church. In
the 17th century Cromwell’s soldiers and their horses took up
residence in the church for several years, and for party fun they destroyed
stained glass windows, font, tombs and statues. The only artifact that was
spared were the relief carvings high above the entry portal.
A Welsh lady choir (somewhat reduced in number as it was a
‘festival Saturday’ and families were out revelling along the beaches and
fairgrounds) gave a small concert in the church and sang a selection of well
known tunes – a friendly welcome indeed.
Leaving the church just in time to witness today’s festival
parade which consisted mostly of imaginative floats loaded with ‘princesses and
their attendants’ and quite a number of majorette teams marching to the sound
of portable boom boxes, all headed for the fair. The sun was out, a perfect day
to see and be seen….
The main festival action took place around long Newry Beach
(location of a Maritime Museum, history re-enactments and Seaside Bistro) and
the adjoining grassy park. A midway was in full action, dance competitions
entertained on beach and grass, strongmen pushed half ton trucks loaded with
barrels along the beach promenade, and a huge ‘marquee’ (beer and live music
tent) was open to one and all, arts and craft tents dotted the grassy park, and
there was certainly enough food to keep the entire population energized to
enjoy the festivities.
I joined the fray with enthusiasm, indulged in a draft beer
and listened to some of the bands of today’s festival line up.
For nature lovers, Anglesea is a paradise for hiking coastal
cliffs and heather covered hills, watch birds or amble through ancient stone
circles dating from the Bronze Age. I made my way – about 6 miles of it via
taxi – to the South Stack Lighthouse, which stands on a small island below a
200 foot cliff.
Initially when the
light house was built, the distance between the small island and Anglesey
‘mainland’ was covered by means of a basket suspended from a rope – people and
goods thus ‘bridged the gap’. Since 1826 a real bridge makes access somewhat
easier, albeit one still has to negotiate around 400+ stone steps to get down
to the bridge and onto the island – and of course climb those very same steps
again to return to ‘civilization’. The island is home to puffins, razorbills,
peregrine falcons and guillemots.
Armed with binoculars, one may watch the colony for
hours….this is also the spot, where one may catch a glimpse of Ireland 65 miles
away – as it was a clear day the Irish coast rose faintly visible from the
horizon of the sea.
I wished I could have wandered the inviting paths along the
cliffs, but, as usual the ship won’t stay longer than scheduled, and
regretfully one leaves Wales behind…
