Aberdaron
If the Llyn peninsula is described as the finger of land pointing from
Wales to Ireland then Aberdaron is 
located
on the finger nail. Reached after several hours of motoring, the last
hour or so on narrow country lanes, it is needless to say quite an isolated
village. But what isolation !
The white washed houses of the village first appear as you descend the
steep hill to Aberdaron, with blue sea and rugged cliffs forming a delightful
backdrop.
The old stone cottages are clean as a whistle, indeed you would be forgiven
for believing the village was a freshly painted set for a Hollywood movie.
A stream meanders through the heart of the village and an old stone hump
backed bridge forms the medieval version of a traffic moderator.
The ubiquitous Pay and Display Car Park, a necessary evil these days,
sits on what might have been the village green. But all your holiday
needs are at hand and within a few hundred yards. Glorious sandy 
beach,
clean sea, hotel, pubs, gift shop, grocery store, cottages and cafes,
all sit tidily in God's own acre. And should you indulge yourself to extreme
there is plenty of space in St Hywyn's graveyard with views towards the
isles of Ynys Gwylan Fawr, Ynys Gwylan Bach and further afield to the
"Gate of Paradise", the holy Isle of Bardsey. (A place of pilgrimage
for a thousand years and described as being half way between this world
and the next.)
But Aberdaron is not only renowned for its beauty. It is also known for
being the home of the parson of St Hywyn's church. the often miserable
Welsh poet R.S.Thomas,
RS Thomas, who died in 2000, was vicar of Aberdaron from 1967 to 1978
and he enjoyed a reputation for being outspoken both in and out of the
pulpit. (Not to pussyfoot about the issue ....RS Thomas hated the english.
But don't go to Aberdaron to visit, or maybe to dance on, his grave
as he is buried in Porthmadog). Many visitors come to Aberdaron each
year to see for themselves the landscape and people who influenced his
writing so 
deeply.
There is an exhibition in the Church that commemorates his time as Vicar.
The church of St
Hywyn sits at the edge of the sea, sheltered by the
gravestone covered hillside. In the fifth century, when it was founded,
it would have been a simple wooden structure but the oldest portion of
the present church dates from the twelfth century.
Whether your interest is history, religion, walking the rugged coastline
of the Llyn peninsula, or simply lazing on the beach on a seaside family
holiday Aberdaron is the perfect location.
