Anglesey (Ynys Mon) Druids Way – Caernarfon to Holyhead – 80 miles, 7 days. A pilgrimage to heal the massacre of the druids on Anglesey by the Romans in the 1st Century AD. This route tracks the journey from the strategically-positioned Roman stronghold of Caernarfon Fort to Caer y Tawr, the mountain top of Holyhead, the holiest place in prehistoric druidic culture. Most of the journey is spent hugging the coast of the Isle of Anglesey, an island that uncannily feels like a world unto itself. The route’s coastline is astonishing with its crashing waves and silent pools, remote ruined island chapels sometimes cut off by the tide, and holy immersion wells on the edge of cliffs. Inland there are prehistoric chambered cairns like Bryn Celli Ddu and Barcoldiad y Gawres that have the feeling of extreme ancientness, standing stones that are many times taller than you, and the Giant’s stepping stones of Rhuddgaer with views opening out onto the sort of elegiac landscape that you become almost used to on this pilgrimage. The crown of the journey, the Holy Mountain, gives perspective on where you have come from, before descending to St Cybi’s Church in Holyhead. Then the journey home… you will almost certainly feel different to how you arrived.

Highlights
Stepping into an island mentality (in a good way)
High concentration of pre-Christian holy places
Magical tidal island churches
Discover your old primal self

Holy Places along route listed in our book Britain’s Pilgrim Places: Llanddwyn Island; Holyhead/Caergybi.

Low-cost hostels along route – Caernarfon and two, Holyhead one and two and across region (more accommodation options on map).

Route devised by William Parsons and the British Pilgrimage Trust.

Click to download route/s in GPX file format for your smartphone’s map app

Instructions for using a GPX file to show you the route offline on your smartphone

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