St Gwenfaen's Church, Rhoscolyn

Rhoscolyn is a village and community located on Holy Island, Anglesey, Wales. It is just over five miles south of Holyhead and is the most southerly settlement on the island. The name Rhoscolyn is said to mean "The Moor" (Rhos) of The Column (colyn), referring to a pillar which the Romans put up to mark the edge of their territories. The community population taken from the 2011 census was 542.The community includes the larger part of the village of Four Mile Bridge, which extends into the community of Valley on the other side of the Cymyran Strait. A little to the west of the village is a mediaeval well dedicated to St Gwenfaen beside which are the remains of a drystone well house measuring 4.5 m east–west by 5.5 m. The local church in the village itself is dedicated to the same saint and was first built in the 6th century.The present church was built in 1875 and enlarged by the addition of a chancel in 1879. See also Wikipedia entry St Gwenfaen's Church, Rhoscolyn Among the interior fittings is a fine copper memorial in Art Nouveau style to the Revd. John Hopkins, who was Rector from 1876 until his death in 1901. Hopkins was obviously an effective and well-loved priest. There exists a 10,000 word appreciation of Hopkins written by "His Honour Judge Parry", a summer visitor who got to know him well. This includes many fascinating anecdotes illustrating the nature of rural life in late nineteenth century Anglesey. Rhoscolyn is bordered to the south by a small enclosed bay called Borthwen which is bordered by a public beach. There was once a lifeboat station on Borthwen which was open between 1830 and 1929 which has been replaced by a navigational beacon on Ynysoedd Gwylanod ('Gulls' Islands'). Around these waters at the end of the 18th century was a thriving oyster catching industry, but this declined once the beds had been depleted. Existing buildings include the local pub, The White Eagle and the Ysgol Gynradd Santes Gwenfaen primary school which is found just over a mile north of the village. Probably the most significant lifeboat incident here was the launch to the Timbo. On 1 December 1920 the small coaster, was en route to Ireland from Holyhead when she was overcome by a storm off South Stack and began to drift down the coast. The lifeboat was launched, with great difficulty in the heavy seas, and made a number of attempts to get a line aboard her, without success, until the cox decided no more could be done and the lifeboat started its return journey, from a point close to Ynys Llanddwyn. The lifeboat capsized and 5 of the 13 man crew were lost, and, a little later, 4 men from the Timbo as well. The ship eventually became stranded at Dinas Dinlle, was eventually refloated with the use of tugs until she struck Carreg y Trai reef off Abersoch and was lost.

St Gwenfaen's Well (also known as Welsh: Ffynnon Gwenfaen, Welsh: Ffynnon Wenfaen and Welsh: Ffynnon Gwenfai) is an early medieval holy well in the south west of Holy Island, Anglesey, named after St Gwenfaen, whose cloister was nearby. The site includes substantial remains of a building and is both a scheduled monument and a Grade II listed building. Traditionally, a gift of two white quartz pebbles thrown into the pool can cure mental health problems.

Glannau Rhoscolyn is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (or SSSI) in Anglesey, North Wales, and extends along the west coast of Holy Island, Anglesey for approximately 6.5 km (4.0 mi) (from Porthygaran to Silver Bay). It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since January 1961 in an attempt to protect its fragile biological and geological elements. The site has an area of 145.49 hectares (359.5 acres) and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.

Four Mile Bridge (Welsh: Pontrhydybont / Pont-rhydbont / Pontrhypont) is a village spanning both sides of the Cymyran Strait in Wales, connecting Holy Island with Anglesey, and is approximately three miles (5 km) southeast of Holyhead. The village is quite small and is split between two communities on the two islands. The larger portion of the village is the principal settlement in the community of Rhoscolyn which recorded a population of 542 in the 2011 census. A small part of the village is in the community of Valley, Anglesey. The village is about one mile (1.5 km) from Valley railway station, and is on the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path. The village has a hairdressers and a pub named "The Anchorage".

Beddmanarch–Cymyran is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) on the Welsh island of Anglesey extending to just over 900 hectares (2,200 acres), and centred on the Cymyran Strait. It was first notified in 1961 for its coastal botanical and ornithological interest. The site is also a marine protected area as it includes intertidal areas and contains marine components.

Cymyran Strait (Welsh: Culfor Cymyran) is a strait that runs from Beddmanarch Bay in the north to Cymyran Bay in the south between the islands of Anglesey (Ynys Môn) and Holy Island (Ynys Cybi). At either end it opens up into the Irish Sea. The strait was first crossed with a permanent land-link by the Four Mile Bridge by the latest date of 1530. It was later crossed by the A5 London to Holyhead Road at Stanley Embankment in 1823, the North Wales Coast Line using the same embankment in 1848, and finally the separate A55 expressway in 2001. The area specifically between the Stanley Embankment and the Four Mile Bridge is often referred to as the Inland Sea (Y Lasinwen) and is almost a lagoon. The only settlement on the shores of the strait is Four Mile Bridge itself, although the town of Holyhead and the villages of Valley and Trearddur are close by.

Ynys Benlas is a small islet situated in the Inland Sea (Welsh: Y Lasinwen), part of the Cymyran Strait between Anglesey and Holy Island. It measures approximately 65 metres (east-west) by 35 metres (north-south) at low tide and covers about 0.2 hectares. Its name translates from the Welsh for "blue top island", which is thought to derive from the fact that bluebells apparently flourished on it. Late nineteenth century Ordnance survey maps refer to the islet as Ynys Henlas, which translates as "old blue island" According to the Archaeological Journal (1844), the islet (referred to as Ben Las in the Journal) may have been an ancient signal hill.

Trearddur Bay Lifeboat Station is located in Trearddur, Anglesey, Wales and opened in 1967 as an inshore lifeboat station.The station currently operates both an Atlantic 85-class lifeboat and a D-class (IB1) lifeboat.

Trearddur or Trearddur Bay (Welsh: Bae Trearddur) is a village, seaside resort and community south of Holyhead on the west coast of Holy Island off the north-west coast of Anglesey in Wales. The community includes the small settlement of Penrhosfeilw and the Refail Farm estate.

Holy Island (Welsh: Ynys Gybi, 'the island of (Saint) Cybi') is an island (15.22 sq mi (39.4 km2)) on the western side of the larger Isle of Anglesey, Wales, from which it is separated by the Cymyran Strait. It is called "Holy" because of the high concentration of standing stones, burial chambers, and other religious sites on the small island. The alternative English name of the island is Holyhead Island. According to the 2011 UK Census, the population was 13,659, of which 11,431 (84%) lived in the largest town, Holyhead.

The Stanley Embankment (known locally as the Cob) is a railway, road and cycleway embankment that crosses the Cymyran Strait in Wales, connecting the Island of Anglesey and Holy Island. It carries both the North Wales Coast Line for trains, which runs from Crewe to Holyhead and the A5 road between London and Holyhead. The embankment was designed by, and its construction overseen by, Thomas Telford and was named after the Stanley family who were significant benefactors to the area.Prior to its construction the fastest route to Holyhead from the island's mainland was via the old stone bridge at Four Mile Bridge (Welsh: Pontrhydybont/Pont-rhydbont/Pontrhypont). When the A5 road was being constructed between London and the Port of Holyhead a more direct route was needed. Construction started in 1822 and completed a year later and is a total of 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) long. It is significantly wider at the base (35 metres) than at the top (10 metres). The embankment to Holy Island was constructed using rock and materials excavated from a site on the Anglesey side. A workers’ hamlet grew up around the artificially-created depression, which was nicknamed “the valley”. After work ended, the settlement remained developing into a medium-sized village known as Valley. A year after opening, the embankment was partly damaged in a storm in 1824.In the 1840s, the embankment was chosen to carry the North Wales Coast Line to the Port of Holyhead (rather than build an entirely new crossing). Work to significantly widen the structure was completed in 1848. To allay concerns that passing trains might startle horse drawn traffic using the embankment, a tall stone dividing wall was built between the road and the railway.The embankment remained the only major crossing between Holy Island and Anglesey for more than 175 years. In 2001 it was superseded by a new wider embankment, which was built as part of the final section of the A55 North Wales Expressway. The section completely bypassed Valley and the old A5 at this point. The new crossing, which carries the modern A55 dual carriageway, was built parallel to the Stanley Embankment, following its north–south alignment.

Isallt Bach is a hamlet in the community of Trearddur, Ynys Môn, Wales, which is 138.7 miles (223.3 km) from Cardiff and 225.8 miles (363.4 km) from London.