Llandanwg () is a village in the Llanfair

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

of the

Ardudwy Ardudwy () is an area of Gwynedd in north-west Wales, lying between Tremadog Bay and the Rhinogydd. Administratively, under the old Kingdom of Gwynedd, it was first a division of the sub kingdom (cantref) of Dunoding and later a commote in i ...

area of

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

, Wales. Situated on the coast, it has a railway station and a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

medieval church.

The village

Llandanwg is situated to the west of the A496 coastal road between

Llanbedr Llanbedr () is a village and Community (Wales), community south of Harlech. Administratively, it lies in the Ardudwy area, formerly Meirionnydd, of the county of Gwynedd, Wales. In 2011 the community had a population of 645. History Ancient ...

and

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, North Wales, and formerly in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it ...

, close to the village of Llanfair and about two miles south of Harlech. Originally it was a small collection of farms to the north of the river Artro, close to where it enters the sea. Later developments expanded the size of the village. The village has a railway station, Llandanwg Halt, where trains on the

Cambrian Line The Cambrian Line (), sometimes split into the Cambrian Main Line () and Cambrian Coast Line () for its branches, is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury in England, westwards to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli in Wales. Passenger train services ...

stop on request. A new evening train service was introduced in 2015, which angered local residents when it was found that it would not stop at Llandanwg and some other halts. This has since been reversed. There is an easily accessible, shelving beach at the end of the road through the village. It is part of

Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

. Nearby is Mochras or Shell Island, accessible by a causeway but only at low tide. The Llandanwg Holiday Home Park provides static holiday homes on a hillside above the village, with views over Tremadog Bay. Morlyn guesthouse which used to be the village shop offers both bed and breakfast and self-catering accommodation overlooking the estuary and the Llanbedr space centre.

Church of Saint Tanwg

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Saint Tanwg Saint Tanwg is the patron saint of Llandanwg, Gwynedd, Wales. He is presumed to be the founder of St Tanwg's Church, the small church at Llandanwg near Harlech, although the presence of an inscribed stone which has been dated to the 5th centu ...

is situated just behind the beach in the

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

just above the high tide mark. The church is mediaeval, probably dating from the 13th century, but there are three 5th to 6th century inscribed stones and two stones with inscribed crosses inside the building, indicating much earlier activity; it has probably been a place of worship since the

Age of the Saints Representing 43.6% of the Welsh population in 2021, Christianity is the largest religion in Wales. Wales has a strong tradition of nonconformism, particularly Methodism. From 1534 until 1920 the established church was the Church of England, but t ...

, possibly as early as the first part of the 5th century. Much of the churchyard – which contains the war graves of a

Royal Welsh Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers () was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689, shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and becam ...

soldier and

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

officer of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

– is buried in sand.
CWGC cemetery report, details from casualty record. The church is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Gallery

File:Llandanwg_Church_from_the_churchyard.jpg, Llandanwg church from the

churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...

File:Llandanwg_Church_from_the_Maes.jpg, Llandanwg church from Y Maes File:Llandanwg_general_view.jpg, Llandanwg viewed from above the main road with Mochras (Shell Island) in the background File:Llandanwg_Halt.jpg, Llandanwg Halt, a design typical of the Cambrian line. The Great Western opened many such halts between 1923 and 1935 along this line similar to this one. File:Llandanwg and Shell Island beach.jpg, Llandanwg and Shell Island from the north

References

External links

National Rail - Llandanwg HaltGood Beach Guide - Llandanwgwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llandanwg and surrounding area
* {{authority control Villages in Gwynedd Villages in Snowdonia Seaside resorts in Wales Llanfair, Gwynedd