Dingle Nature Reserve and Moelfre

Having spotted one or two Nature Reserves on the map, we headed to a reserve, spent a little time there, and decided to move on. We then headed onto the Dingle Nature Reserve which was beside a stream and had the added attraction of resident Red squirrels. Sadly, when we arrived we found that the reserve was still shut. Not sure why, but signs indicated unsafe. Luckily there was a cycleway through part of it so we headed along it, cameras at the ready.

An early Marsh Orchid

This I thought was beautiful - Bogbean

Marsh Marigold

Robin posing for us - this taken at Dingle Nature Reserve

Jay - spotted along the cycleway

My shot of the day - a Red Squirrel on  a branch overhead. Magic!

The stunning red squirrel is native to England and it's always a special sight to spot one of these cheeky critters scampering through our woodlands. Unfortunately this is becoming an increasingly rare occurrence as the last century has seen a dramatic decrease in their numbers. The reason for the widespread decline across Britain can be attributed to two main factors: the destruction of habitat, and the introduction of the grey squirrel from America. It is estimated by the Forestry Commission that there are now as few as 140,000 red squirrels left in Britain compared to the 2.5 million grey squirrels. Anglesey is a hotspot as all grey squirrels have been eradicated, and the Menai and Britannia bridges act as a barrier.

Then the sight of a Nuthatch.

Having walked the cycleway at Dingle, we decided that a trip to the nearby coast was in order so headed to Moelfre.

A walk along the front brought us to the Lifeboat station and this figure on the wall. Richard Matthew Evans (BEM), was a Welsh lifeboatman. He was born in the village of Moelfre on the north-east of the island of Anglesey. During his 50 years service as a lifeboatman, Richard Evans was involved in 179 launches and the saving of 281 lives and is one of only five men to be awarded the RNLI gold medal twice, the highest accolade awarded by the institution and the equivalent of the Victoria Cross for bravery at sea.

A view from the harbour before we bought the biggest ice-cream I have ever eaten (well almost eaten!), and then making our way back to base. Another very enjoyable day.

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Parys Mountain Copper Mines and onto Plas Cemlyn nature reserve

The location of our holiday cottage is on the edge of the town of Amlwch. Amlwch is the most northerly town in Wales, and is situated on the north coast of the Anglesey, on the A5025 which connects it to Holyhead and to Menai Bridge

Amlwch grew rapidly in the 18th century near what was then the world's biggest copper mine at the nearby Parys Mountain. By the late 18th century, Amlwch had a population of around 10,000 and was the second largest town in Wales after Merthyr Tydfil. It was at this time that its harbour was also extended to accommodate the ships needed to transport the ore.

When the copper production declined, a wide variety of industrial activities were developed to take its place. Ship-building in the narrow harbour area and other sites around the coast of Amlwch Port was a significant enterprise from the 1820s and grew in significance after the railway opened in 1864, reducing the use of the harbour for copper and other goods by ship. By 1912 the main shipbuilding activities were in decline, and neither the harbour nor shipyards offered much commercial activity.

In the 1970s, Amlwch had an offshore single point mooring - Amlwch Oil Terminal - which was used to receive large oil tankers which were unsuitable for the Mersey. Reception tanks were located ashore and the oil was pumped from there to the refineries on the Manchester Ship Canal. The terminal closed in 1990.

Today we are going to the old copper mines which look really appealing, (as far as a photographer is concerned), because of the range of colours on the vast areas of waste and other debris. All we needed was some sun - and thats what we had!

One of the many paths showing the multi-coloured debris heaped at the sides.

Looking across one of the huge Open Cast pit areas.

A less sunny view, but still the colours 

Work began on Parys Mountain copper mine about 1765, though there are traces of prehistoric and Roman mining. Opencast mining ceased about 1800, though underground work continued until about 1880. The precipitation pits, engine house and windmill (which assisted a nearby steam engine in pumping a mine work) are probably nineteenth century in date. One of the next  images show the Precipitation pits where iron objects were immersed in copper-rich water and left to dissolve, giving copper precipitate. This on its own turned into a large industry as iron ore was shipped in large quantities.

The remains of the Windmill

The Precipitation pits. The remains include twelve pits or tanks, within an area 220m by 60m, separated by low stone walls.

We were fortunate to meet an off-duty guide when we visited, and he obigingly pointed out areas of interest to walk through. Not your usual tourist attraction one would think, but a must if you are ever in the area.

Having spent a few hours here, we moved onward to Plas Cemlyn nature reserve. This is on the edge of Cemlyn Bay and its large shingle beaches and causeway. A great walk I believe if you are feeling fit! We went to the area which is a haven to nesting Terns at this time of year, and it was a magical experiece to watch these beautiful birds swirling around us in huge numbers.

Tern taking his catch back to the nest

Of course there always other birds about and Egrets were no exception.

Wylfa nuclear power station is a decommissioned Magnox nuclear power station situated west of Cemaes Bay. Construction of the two 490 MW nuclear reactors, known as "Reactor 1" and "Reactor 2", began in 1963. They became operational in 1971. Wylfa was located on the coast because seawater was used as a coolant.

In 2012, Reactor 2 was shut down. Reactor 1 was switched off on 30 December 2015, ending 44 years of operation at the site.

Cemaes harbour

Then to Cemaes beach, which you can see has very few people on it! Lovely!

Of interest on the beach was the St Patricks`s Bell. The Cemaes Time and Tide Bell is a public artwork, part of a project to celebrate the importance of the sea to the history and present of the United Kingdom. Below is copied from the local website:

Rung by the high tide, Time and Tide Bells are positioned around the coast of Britain, sounded by the waves. Each bell has been installed by the local community, celebrate connections between the land and the sea, between ourselves and our environment.

The Cemaes Time and Tide Bell was installed in April 2014, and has become a prominent feature on Traeth Mawr. It is one of only five bells installed so far as part of the ambitious project by sculptor Marcus Vergette. The others can be found in Appledore Devon, Trinity Buoy Wharf London, Aberdyfi Gwynedd and Bosta on the Isle of Lewis. Four more bells are currently under development.

Each bell has its own inscription, chosen by the community. The Cemaes inscription is a poem by Glyndwr Thomas:

Above the waves, melodiously, sounds

The name of a saint, so fair,

A bell whose knell is here to tell

Patrick’s eternal prayer.

A busy day but well worth it as we have visited some really interesting places. And so back to base!

  Index of posts

Beaumaris Castle and Penmon Point

Before we had travelled to Anglesey, we had plotted a few places to visit - weather permitting! We were lucky with the weather, so today we are heading to Beaumaris to look at "The Greatest Castle Never Built" - as it is described. It was the last of the royal strongholds created by Edward I in Wales – and perhaps his masterpiece. The following it taken from the Welsh Touret site:

Here, Edward and his architect James of St George took full advantage of a blank canvas: the ‘beau mareys’ or ‘beautiful marsh’ beside the Menai Strait. By now they’d already constructed the great castles of Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech. This was to be their crowning glory, the castle to end all castles.

The result was a fortress of immense size and near-perfect symmetry. No fewer than four concentric rings of formidable defences included a water-filled moat with its very own dock. The outer walls alone bristled with 300 arrow loops.

But lack of money and trouble brewing in Scotland meant building work had petered out by the 1320s. The south gatehouse and the six great towers in the inner ward never reached their intended height. The Llanfaes gate was barely started before being abandoned.

So the distinctive squat shape of Beaumaris tells of a dream that never quite came true. Still it takes its rightful place on the global stage as part of the Castles and Town Walls of Edward I World Heritage Site.

Because this castle is special – both for the scale of its ambition and beauty of its proportions. Gloriously incomplete Beaumaris is perhaps the supreme achievement of the greatest military architect of the age.

The moat around Beaumaris

South Gatehouse

The North Gatehouse

Some of its 300 arrow loops

A modern rendering (2016) of the master builder - James of St. George

The Chapel - taken with difficulty though a window, as it was shut off!

Well worth a visit to savour the history of 800 years ago. Having left the castle, we headed toward the river side passing through some of the town of Beaumaris in the process.

The 14th-century Tudor Rose (one of the oldest original timber-framed buildings in Britain) this was in the main street.

Symmetry on Beaumaris Pier

And so onto Penmon Point where the remains of a Priory are sited and just a little further, Penmon Point itself. I only took a couple of images here.

Part of the ruins of the Priory

Penmon Priory is believed to have been established by St. Seiriol, as early as the 6th century. The existing 12th century stone St. Seiriol church and tower date from around 1140 and is a fine example of Romanesque architecture. Within the church interior are two medieval crosses carved in the Celtic style. Close by the church is a stone built dovecot (c.1600s) built by the Bulkeley family of Beaumaris. (below)

St. Seiriol's Well also lies close to the church and is believed to have healing powers and visited by pilgrims.

Penmon Priory stone built dovecot with domed roof c.1600s

Trwyn Du Lighthouse

A short drive away, and classed as the same carpark, we came to Penmon Point with its lighthouse. The first lighthouse was erected in 1838, at a price of £11,589. There had been a call for a light at this location for some years by master shipmen in the nearby city of Liverpool, especially after the steamer the Rothsay Castle ran aground and broke up on nearby Lavan Sands in 1831 with 130 people losing their lives.

The present Lighthouse, built 1835–1838, is 29 metres (95') tall and was designed by James Walker. It was his first sea-washed tower, and a prototype for his more ambitious tower on the Smalls.

The Lighthouse has a stepped-base designed to discourage the huge upsurge of waves that had afflicted earlier lighthouses on the site and reduce the force of the water at the bottom of the tower. Austere vertical walls, instead of the usual graceful lines of other rock towers, are probably an economy measure. The tower has a crenelated stone parapet, in preference to iron railings on the gallery, and narrows in diameter above the half-way point. These are features used by Walker in his other lighthouse designs. The tower is distinguished by its original three black bands painted on a white background. Its also bears the words "NO PASSAGE LANDWARD" on its north and south sides.

Walker also pioneered, unsuccessfully, the use of a primitive water closet, comprising a specially designed drain exiting at the base of the tower. The stepped design of the lighthouse may have helped water exit the closet, but surges of seawater made its use difficult during heavy weather.

The light-source initially was a 4-wick Argand lamp, set within a first-order fixed catadioptric optic manufactured by Isaac Cookson & co. It displayed a fixed red light.

In 1922 Trwyn Du became the first Trinity House lighthouse to be automated, when it was converted to unwatched acetylene operation and the lamp was converted to solar power in 1996 with the lighthouse being modernised extensively at that time.

At present the Lighthouse has a 15,000 candela light that flashes once every 5 seconds and can be seen 12 mi (22 km) away. Additionally, a 178-kilogram (3½ cwt) fog bell sounds once every thirty seconds. There was also a lifeboat station built in 1832, nearby, but this closed in 1915.

The tower has been unmanned since 1922 and is checked from Holyhead Control Centre. In August 2019 Trinity House started trials of a new fog horn, stating, "The bell is activated by an ageing electronic striker mechanism which no longer provides the assurance of reliability which is needed."

All in all, a great day out without to much driving from base.

  Index of posts

Our stay on Anglesey - South Stack on day one.

We had booked a week on the island of Anglesey having first visited with Gra and Jane in 2012 and planning to return one day and explore further. This was our time! The journey was longer than anticipated but we arrived safely to begin our weeks holiday. 

Historically, Anglesey has long been associated with the druids. The Roman conquest of Anglesey began in AD 60 when the Roman general Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, determined to break the power of the druids, attacked the island using his amphibious Batavian contingent as a surprise vanguard assault and then destroying the shrine and the nemeta (sacred groves). News of Boudica's revolt reached him just after his victory, causing him to withdraw his army before consolidating his conquest. The island was finally brought into the Roman Empire by Gnaeus Julius Agricola, the Roman governor of Britain, in AD 78. During the Roman occupation, the area was notable for the mining of copper, something which continued for hundreds of years after the Romans left.

This was our cottage for the week with the owner`s in the lefthand background. Turning around, the view was stunning, and we had only to sit on our couch to see this beautifull view. The standards of fitting and cleanliness were outstanding, and the owners really great people.

Anglesey is known for its wind and rain, but we were fortunate in that the last day was our only really wet one.

We decided to travel across the island on our first day to visit South Stack.

South Stack lighthouse

Although the lighthouse’s construction was completed in 1809, it was first envisaged in 1665, when a petition for a patent to build a lighthouse on the spot was presented to Charles II. The patent wasn’t immediately granted though, and not until the 9th of February, 1809, did the first light appears to mark this rocky little island out as the lighthouse’s setting. Not until 1828, eight years after the lighthouse was finished, was a bridge added!

Trinity House employee, Daniel Alexander, was the main surveyor and architect. Originally he had it fitted with Argand oil lamps and reflectors. Yet, in about 1840, a small railtrack was installed in order that a lantern, with an additional light, could be lowered down the cliff, to sea level, when fog had concealed the main beam above.

In the mid 1870s the lighthouse’s lantern and lighting apparatus were replaced by newer machinery. Then, in 1909 (100 years after its construction) an early form of incandescent light was installed. This was replaced in 1927 by a more modern form of incandescent ‘mantle burner’.

The lighthouse was properly electrified in 1938. It wasn’t until 1983 that the lighthouse was automated, meaning that the last lighthouse keepers were withdrawn from the site. A necessary, yet sombre day. From then on the lighthouse was, and still is, monitored and controlled automatically, from Trinity House’s Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex.

Nowadays the islet, separated from Holy Island by 30 metres of often, turbulent seas and treacherous rocks, is reachable via a footbridge…oh and the 400 steps you need to climb down to get to there! However, this was not always the case. The coastline in this area, from the breakwater in Holyhead, around to the south-western shore, is made up of large granite cliffs, with sheer drops of up to 60 metres, and fierce tide races below.

In 1983 the existing footbridge, sadly, had to be closed to the public, due to safety reasons. However, in 1998 a new aluminium bridge was built, and once again the island was opened to the public. This is the bridge we can all still cross today.

Until 1828, before the footbridge was added, the only means of crossing the deep-water channel to the island was via a wicker basket, suspended on a hempen cable! Yes, they had to brave the swirling seas below them in nothing more than a hamper-like container on a rope.

In 1859, during the horrendous storm that wrecked the ‘Royal Charter’ off Moelfre (some say it should be classed as a hurricane), one of the keepers was fatally hit on the head by a falling rock as he came on duty. Many of the keepers lived here with their families.

Irish ferry crosses the top of South Stack

Elin's Tower is a Victorian stone tower on Holy Island, located around 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Holyhead. The castellated folly, which was originally used as a summer house, was built between 1820 and 1850 for the notable Stanley family from Penrhos. It is named after Elin (anglicised as "Ellen"), the Welsh wife of the 19th-century politician William Owen Stanley.

The building near South Stack was used during both the First and Second World Wars as a coastal observation tower. However, it was abandoned and fell derelict. The restored tower is used as an RSPB information centre, shop and café for the nature reserve in which it is situated, and affords a good view of South Stack and its lighthouse. In 2007, the tower was damaged by vandals who used it for a drunken party.

With the magnificent granite cliffs in the area, this is a haven for seabirds by the hundred.

As the only crow with a red bill and red legs, the all-black chough is easy to identify. But it's harder to spot: there are only small, coastal populations in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and the Isle of Man. This one we spotted on South Stack.

There appear to be many birds on South Stack, this being a Wheatear.

Also in abundance, many wild plants. This a clump of Thrift.

After a great day wandering about to see what we could see, a shower hurried us back to the car and the journey home. We have been here, before but it was well worth a revisit.

  Index of posts

Manor Houses of Hadleigh

In general, a Manor was the dwelling of a feudal lord, and if the lord was the owner of several manors, he only inhabited it occasionally. Sometimes an administrator or seneschal was appointed to control and manage the stately property. The ordinary administration was delegated to a bailiff or a reeve. Below is the building on the site of the Medieval Hadleigh Manor, the Manor itself long gone; however I read that the medieval core is still evident in the current interior. There were four other lesser Manors in Hadleigh and I attach images of three of the current buildings on their sites. The fourth one is now demolished and the site is empty.

Hadleigh Hall School - On the site of Hadleigh Manor House

The medieval Manor House was built around 1297. There would certainly have been a Manor house on the site in the C10 and definitely before the Norman Conquest. It`s possible before that even, in the time of Guthrum (c880-890). 

Aethelstan or Guthrum as we know him, was the Danish King of Danelaw, the area under Danish law, had Hadleigh as one his royal towns and it is reputed that he was buried within the vicinity of the current St Mary`s Church. Who knows, perhaps he even lived in a hall on the site?

The first documented lord had been ealdorman Byrhtnoth – killed at the Battle of Maldon in 991 as he and Anglo-Saxon forces tried to repel Viking invaders. Ealdorman was the highest rank of noble and just before his death he was the most senior ealdorman in the country to King Aelthelred.

Byrhtnoth and his wife had no children, “so he bequeathed his many lands to churches or religious institutions around the country”.

The manor of Hadleigh, along with those of Lawling in Essex and Monks Eleigh in 

Suffolk, were among those given to the Priory Church of Canterbury Cathedral. It made Hadleigh an “archiepiscopal peculiar” – under the direct control of the Archbishop of Canterbury, which is how it remained until 1838. The rectory was in the archbishop's personal gift and several incumbents became bishops.

The present building was built in the C17, much of the original and perhaps earlier work remains obscured by later renovations and additions. The present front is C19 red brick with stone dressings. It is a two storeys building with a tall one storey wing to left, and modern wing to right

The Hall, and the adjoining Brett Works factory site, had been bought as bankrupt stock by George Price in 1929. George Price was a natural entrepreneur: the elder son of an Enfield carpet and textile trader, he developed the Hadleigh branch of E H Price into a successful small business making rugs and carpets at what we all know as Brett Works. The Brett Works became an important source of employment and George Price a pillar of the Hadleigh community.

However, in 1949, his wife Ruth Price, put the Sunday roast in the oven at Hadleigh Hall, went off to Chapel, where she died of a stroke.

Hadleigh Hall was now too big for George Price to live in alone. He spent the rest of his life with his widowed daughter, Ione, first at Bradfield House Hotel, near Manningtree, then at Hillmorton House in Lavenham. So what was to be done with Hadleigh Hall?

The idea of a school was an obvious solution. So George Price and Leslie Widdicombe began Hadleigh Hall School to serve the evident needs of local professional people, and starting with just 18 pupils, in September 1949. The school’s first years were intimately associated with his family.

Leslie Widdicombe, brother to his son-in-law and one of his salesman at Brett Works, was well placed to run a school. Before selling carpets, he had been a teacher himself; and his father had been the distinguished Senior Tutor and Bursar at Downing College, Cambridge.

So George Price and Leslie Widdicombe began Hadleigh Hall School to serve the evident needs of local professional people. The old stables were converted into classrooms; suitable toilets were built, desks and chairs arrived. Each child had to bring a shoe-bag, to hang in the corridor beside the telephone. The uniform for girls was grey flannel pinafore dress in winter, blue and white striped or checked cotton frocks in summer.

The School flourished in the 1960s, many families sending all their children there in succession, in 1967, Leslie Widdicombe ended his relationship with the school, which was sold to the incumbent headmaster and closed, insolvent, in 1973.

Toppesfield Manor House  - now Toppesfield Hall, one of the lesser Manors

Just a limited view of the rear of Toppesfield Hall from across the river.

This 18th century building, built on the site of its predecessor, was re-fronted and re furbished in the 19th century and is now divided into two house.

In the 1360s, another famous name Sir William Clopton who was Lord of Toppesfield Manor, is recorded in Hadleigh Manor records to be in default of rent and failure to attend the obligatory Hadleigh Manor court. I assume the rent arrears were for land leased from the Manor of Hadleigh. Hadleigh Manor being the primary Manor.

Peyton Hall Farm, believed to be on the site of the original Manor House

The current building is probably of Cl6/17 origin. It`s a 2 storey timber framed and plastered building, with a tiled roof,and looks as if at the moment it is a farm house. It has a cross wing at the west end and a small additional wing on the south-west corner. It has a large central chimney stack. Obviously much restore from the C16/17.

Pond Hall Manor

The official listing goes something like this: Probably C16/17, 2 storey timber framed and plastered with roofs tiled. L-shaped with modern brick extending on the east. Upper storey projects on whole of west front and windows are mainly 3-light casement. Said to be seat of D'Oyly family circa C16.

However, it has a lot of other history including one infamous owner called John Harvey, leader of the East Anglian smugglers called the Hadleigh Gang.

The Hadleigh Gang, so we are told, was part of a highly organised body of smugglers operating the Suffolk coastline,. They specialised in the running of tea and other dry goods in the 18th century.

In 1735 it came to light that a "little house at Seymor near Hadleigh", was being used and a force of Customs Officers supported by Dragoons raided the place. They found a large quantity of contraband tea which they took away to the George Inn at Hadleigh for the night. In the morning the smugglers numbering about 20 cut-throats overpowered the small party of Customs Officers accompanied by four Dragoons just outside Hadleigh and recovered the tea. We are told that two smugglers named as John Wilson and John Biggs were later hanged for this incident in which a Dragoon was killed and others of the party were wounded.

One of the leaders of the gang was apparently a John Harvey of Pond Hall who was finally brought to trial and sentenced to be transported for seven years.

Lastly, there was Cosford Hall. This one we only have an approximate location, which is to the side of Stone Street, Hadleigh. It was an early C17 building but no longer exists.

  Index of posts

Captain Tom Moore

The Captain Tom image that appeared on the wall in Angel Street to honour the memory this great man

Captain Sir Thomas Moore (30 April 1920 – 2 February 2021), more popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army officer who raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic. He served in India and the Burma campaign during the Second World War, and later became an instructor in armoured warfare. After the war, he worked as managing director of a concrete company and was an avid motorcycle racer.

On 6 April 2020, at the age of 99, Moore began to walk one hundred lengths of his garden in aid of NHS Charities Together, with the goal of raising £1,000 by his 100th birthday. In the 24-day course of his fundraising, he made many media appearances and became a popular household name in the UK, earning a number of accolades and attracting over 1.5 million individual donations. In recognition of his efforts, he received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award at the 2020 ceremony. He performed in a cover version of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" sung by Michael Ball, with proceeds going to the same charity. The single topped the UK music charts, making him the oldest person to achieve a UK number one.

On the morning of Moore's hundredth birthday, the total raised by his walk passed £30 million, and by the time the campaign closed at the end of that day had increased to over £32.79 million (worth almost £39 million with expected tax rebates). His birthday was marked in a number of ways, including flypasts by the Royal Air Force and the British Army. He received over 150,000 cards, and was appointed as honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College. On 17 July 2020, he was personally knighted by the Queen at Windsor Castle. He died on 2 February 2021 at Bedford Hospital where he was taken after being treated for pneumonia and then testing positive for COVID-19.

A true inspiration.

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