Holiday apartment in Mynydd Bodafon: geotrail, heathland and cultural heritage

Yr Arwydd, also known as Mynydd Bodafon or Bodafon Mountain, is a rugged rocky promontory and, at 178 metres, the second-highest point on the island of Anglesey.

Nature

The Isle of Anglesey National Landscape includes Mynydd Bodafon. The mountain lies within a protected inland landscape that provides an important backdrop to the coast of Anglesey. Thin soils are associated with the heathland and moorland vegetation of Mynydd Bodafon and shape the character of the terrain. Traeth Lligwy, a beach, is located nearby. The island of Anglesey lies in the surrounding area and provides the wider geographical setting for the landscape around Mynydd Bodafon.

Walking

The Bodafon to Moelfre Geotrail begins at the summit of Mynydd Bodafon, an isolated mass of Precambrian quartzite. The route is 8 miles long, takes approximately 4 hours and is classified as moderate. Its geological features include a quartzite scree slope formed by frost shattering during the last Ice Age. Another circular walking route near Brynrefail is approximately 8.3 miles long and is classified as challenging. It connects farmland, low coastal cliffs, moorland and Bodafon Mountain. GPX and KML map files are available to download for this circular route.

Culture

Nearby is Din Lligwy, with well-preserved stone huts within an enclosure dating from the Romano-British period. The site yielded Roman coins from the 3rd and 4th centuries, pottery, glass and a small silver bar. Smelting furnaces and iron slag at Din Lligwy also indicate that the site was used for metalworking.

Also nearby is Capel Llugwy, a ruined 12th-century chapel overlooking Lligwy Bay. It is probably the only surviving evidence of a larger community that was eventually abandoned by its inhabitants. On Mynydd Bodafon, Capel Bethesda is a small chapel with an attached house arranged in a row, dating from 1897. Capel Bethesda is regarded as significant evidence of the small, informal rural settlement that developed on Mynydd Bodafon.

Nearby, Plas Bodafon is a significant late medieval manor house with notable early architectural features. On the ground floor of the oldest part is a lintel inscribed with the initials and date IW 1584 IR. At the Church of St Michael, the chancel arch and east window are among the earliest datable architectural features; they date from around 1400. The south wall of the chancel also contains an inscribed stone dating from around 550.

The Morris Brothers Memorial is a tall Celtic memorial cross erected in September 1910. It commemorates four brothers who were known in the early 18th century as respected scholars, historians and surveyors. Nearby, Bodafon Isaf is a farmhouse dating from the late 18th or early 19th century. It is designated for the Georgian character of its farmhouse and its well-preserved attached agricultural wing with vernacular character.

The surrounding area also includes Ynys Cefni, a castle, and Castell Crwn, also a castle. In the wider regional area lies Castell Aberlleiniog, a castle.

For further options on Anglesey, you can find Cemaes Bay, Llanfechell, Bull Bay, Holyhead, Llanbadrig, Llangefni, Amlwch and Rhoscolyn here.

For the main travel overview: Isle Of Anglesey.