In the event you take a look at Clynnog Fawr on a map, chances are you will write it off as simply one other sleepy little village on the A499, stuck halfway between its better-identified neighbours Caernarfon and Pwllheli. However for such a tiny place – you can stroll from one finish of the village to the opposite in below ten minutes – Clynnog Fawr has a surprising number of fascinating issues to see and do. To start with there’s an expansive seashore, which might be reached both by walking down the lane to the facet of the church or by taking a ten-minute hike alongside a hedgerow-lined public footpath with spectacular views of Snowdonia’s mountains and coast. On most maps – the imprecise, on-line selection at the least – Clynnog Fawr is only a dot subsequent to a protracted, bare road, with no distinguishing features apart from that it is now off the principle road, since a brand new bypass was accomplished in 2009. On a drive from Caernarfon to Pwllheli, if it wasn’t for the impressive define of St Beuno’s church, you could miss Clynnog Fawr in a blink.

The seashore is generally pebbly, but when the tide goes out large areas of easy, shimmering sand are revealed which, together with the many rock pools, make Clynnog seaside an thrilling place for children to discover. Take the church route again from the beach, and after the first gate by Bachwen Farm, flip to the appropriate so you are heading in the route of the mountains (you may see Gyrn Ddu to the left on the horizon, and Yr Eifl to the correct, dipping down into the sea). If you are feeling energetic, stroll northwards along the seashore – crossing a couple of quick-flowing streams as you go – in direction of the even tinier hamlet of Aberdesach. Keep going along the footpath and before long you may find yourself face to face with Dolmen Bachwen, Clynnog Fawr’s very own Neolithic burial chamber. Along the way you will see many varieties of birds together with shy ringed plovers, stunning crimson-billed oystercatchers, and graceful herons. Keep an eye on the sea, too; seals have been identified to pop by and say hello.

It is surrounded by a low iron fence – presumably to guard it from sheep-inflicted injury, as the dolmen is on farm land – but this won’t forestall you from reaching out and touching the stones, which had been erected by our ancestors some 4,000 years in the past. Within the churchyard is a sundial which is said to date from the 10th century. Beuno was an essential Celtic saint who founded a monastery in Clynnog Fawr which later grew to become the church. Head again in direction of St Beuno’s church and pop in to see the beautiful structure and the exhibition. St Beuno’s is on the outdated pilgrim route to Bardsey, where it is said that 20,000 saints are buried; tributes left by pilgrims paid for the medieval church to be in-built such grand fashion, and these have been collected in a particular chest, carved from a single piece of ash, which remains to be within the church as we speak.

The church may be very stunning and its oldest surviving parts date again to the early 16th century, whereas among the oldest gravestones in the churchyard commemorate parishioners who died in the early 1700s. The lychgate can also be very outdated; search for into the roof and you’ll see graffiti dating again to the nineteen thirties, though of course the building is way older than that. St Beuno was stated to have possessed miraculous healing abilities. There are no less than two legends which inform of Beuno reattaching the heads of decapitated women; one of those miracles took place in Clynnog Fawr itself, and on the spot the place the maiden was resurrected a spring appeared, which was henceforth known as Ffynnon Beuno, or “Beuno’s Nicely”. If you are eager to see more of Clynnog Fawr and the surrounding areas, both institutions provide snug accommodation that makes the perfect base whilst you explore the remainder of Snowdonia’s mountains and coasts. Or, take refreshment at the nearby Bryn Eisteddfod nation house lodge. The well is contained within a small medieval stone walled enclosure, and it is a lovely place to take a seat and skim, or simply benefit from the sunshine and recent air. You may discover Ffynnon Beuno on the old street (now a cycle path) on the way in which out of Clynnog Fawr – walk south out of the village and you’ll see the effectively behind an unlocked gate to your left. Finish your go to to Clynnog Fawr with a refreshing pint of Welsh ale and a hearty home-cooked meal on the village’s 19th century coaching inn – named, appropriately enough, Y Beuno.