Middle Mouse ( cy, Ynys Badrig - ''Patrick's island'') is an uninhabited

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

situated 1 kilometre (1000 yards) off the north

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a Local government in Wales, principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strai ...

. It is notable as the

northernmost point Northernmost may refer to: * List of northernmost items * List of northernmost settlements *List of countries by northernmost point *Northernmost point of land See also *Lists of extreme points This is a list of lists of places considered the mos ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The island measures a maximum of 207 metres (226 yards) by 110 metres (120 yards), with a maximum area of 3.7

acres The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ya ...

and has a maximum altitude of 16 metres (52') above sea level. It is one of a chain of three islands off the north of

, the others being Ynys Amlwch and Maen y Bugail. Local legend has it that

St Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron sai ...

was shipwrecked there, giving rise to its Welsh name. He then swam ashore and eventually founded the nearby church of

Llanbadrig Llanbadrig is a village and community (and former electoral ward) in Anglesey, Wales. The parish includes the township of Clygyrog, Tregynrig and the port of Cemaes (pronounced "Kem-ice"), and was formerly in the cwmwd of Talybolion. The ...

in about 440 AD, believed to be the oldest Christian site in Wales. Middle Mouse is a favoured place for

cormorants Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...

, guillemots and

razorbills The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis ...

. For visiting

scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...

the attractions are steep underwater cliffs that drop away to 40 metres (130') with abundant marine life. There is very little protection from the fierce tidal flow, so accurate timing for

slack water Slack water is a short period in a body of tidal water when the water is completely unstressed, and there is no movement either way in the tidal stream, and which occurs before the direction of the tidal stream reverses. Slack water can be esti ...

is required. During the 19th century the island was used as a navigational aid to ships sailing into

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. Any vessel that passed the island without signalling, and waiting for, a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

was liable to incur a fine. The S.S. ''Liverpool'', following a collision with a ship named ''Laplata'', was

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

ed near Middle Mouse in 1863. She had on board a shipment of tin ingots. In 2005, the island was put up for sale as part of a estate.

References

External links

* Islands of Anglesey Uninhabited islands of Wales Llanbadrig {{Anglesey-geo-stub