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Aber Alaw

Anglesey geography stubsBodies of water of AngleseyEstuaries of WalesLlanfachraethValley, Anglesey
View north across the estuary of Afon Alaw geograph.org.uk 762361
View north across the estuary of Afon Alaw geograph.org.uk 762361

Aber Alaw (Welsh: "Mouth of the Alaw" ) is at the mouth of the Afon Alaw on Anglesey, in North Wales. It is located just north of Valley and south west of Llanfachraeth. According to the Mabinogion, it is here that Queen Branwen died of grief after escaping the destruction of Ireland. She and the seven survivors of Prydein (Britain) landed at Talebolyon, and upon seeing the coasts of both Ireland and Prydein, she died of a broken heart, blaming herself for the havoc. At Llanddeusant, Anglesey on the banks of the Alaw can be found the cairn called Bedd Branwen, her supposed grave. Now in ruins, it still has one standing stone. It was dug up in 1800, and again in the 1960s by Frances Lynch, who found several urns with human ashes.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Aber Alaw (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 53.302222222222 ° E -4.55 °
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Address

Llanfachraeth


, Llanfachraeth
Wales, United Kingdom
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View north across the estuary of Afon Alaw geograph.org.uk 762361
View north across the estuary of Afon Alaw geograph.org.uk 762361
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Nearby Places

Llanfachraeth
Llanfachraeth

Llanfachraeth is a village and community in Anglesey, Wales. It is located near the west coast of the island, at the head of the Alaw estuary, 6.2 miles (10.0 km) east of Holyhead, 11.7 miles (18.8 km) south west of Amlwch and 11.3 miles (18.2 km) north west of Llangefni. The A5025 road runs through the village. A bus service operates along this road daily, except for Sundays, running between Cemaes, Llanfaethlu, Llanfachraeth and Holyhead. The Wales Coast Path is forced inland here to cross the Afon Alaw. The village has a pub and accommodation is provided by the Holland Hotel.At the 2001 census the community had a population of 566, increasing slightly at the 2011 census to 589.In the extreme north of the community, on the border with Llanfaethlu, stands Gronant, a Grade II* listed sub-medieval house dating from around 1540. A second house was built around 1618. In the 19th century the two houses were joined and a bell turret, used to call servants for meals, was added. The former servants' loft contains fragments of an original wallpainting. Other notable buildings in or near the village includes the Church of St Figael one mile to the east, Capel Abarim, Capel Pont yr Arw, and Bethesda Congregational Chapel, all Grade II listed buildings, but the Church of St Machraeth itself is not listed.The Alaw estuary forms part of the Beddmanarch–Cymyran site of special scientific interest, which also extends across the mudflats between Holy Island and mainland Anglesey. The area contains large areas of seagrass and salt marsh, and is an important wintering area for ringed plovers, greenshanks, red-breasted mergansers and goldeneyes.The community includes the hamlet of Llanfugail or Llanfigail. See St Figael's Church, Llanfigael.