North Wales is an enchanting area, home to many exciting myths and legends mostly set within the peaks of Snowdonia. The history and culture of Wales have been shaped by these tales; drawing in visitors keen to experience the misty, magical country.
In the true tradition, most myths and legend’s tales have survived by word of mouth, from one generation to the next. Here are a collection of our favourites:
The Spirit of Anglestor – Llangernyw
The past residents of Llangernyw, a small Welsh-speaking village in rural Conwy claim that the church grounds of St. Digain’s Church is inhabited by the dreaded spirit of Angelystor.
The dark spirit is said to appear under the yew tree in the churchyard. This is said to be the oldest tree in Wales, at over 3,000 years old, dating it back to the prehistoric Bronze Age.
The tale explains that Anelystor appears under the tree twice each year, once on Halloween, and then again on July 31st. The spirit then recites names of those in the parish who will soon meet their end.
Excalibur the Magical Sword
The lakes Lydaw, Dinas and Ogwen in Snowdonia each have tales claiming they once encapsulated the magical sword ‘Excalibur’. This is the sword which later belonged to the famous King Arthur.
However, a lesser-known lake connected to the sword is Llyn Barfog – also known as the ‘Bearded Lake’. There is said to have been a lake monster named ‘The Afangc’ who lived here and would kill anyone who came close to its home and rampage the nearby towns.
King Arthur was asked to rid the lake of this demon, and arriving on his horse Llamrai he lassoed the monster. In the struggle to pull him out, a hoof print was left in a nearby stone known as Carn March Arthur.
Prince Madoc and the ‘New World’
Prince Madoc or ‘Madog’ was the son of Owain Gwynedd, the King of Gwynedd. Back in 1170, Owain Gwynedd died, and a huge battle broke out between the children apart from Prince Madoc and his brother Riryd.
They decided they wanted to escape the mayhem and sailed from Aber-Kerrik-Gwynan (now Rhos-on-Sea) westwards until they found ‘the new world’ (supposedly Alabama in America). Prince Madoc returned to Wales and took others with him, and was never heard of again.
The area in Alabama which they visited lies several stone forts said by the local tribes to have been constructed by ‘white people’, but are a similar design to Dolwyddelan Castle in Snowdonia. These structures date back several hundred years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, so argues the belief he was the first man to ‘discover’ America.
