Trefor-Porth Ty Mawr Arfordir Cymru


Trefor-Porth Ty Mawr

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-We're on a journey...

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-..in search of

-the place names, stories...

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-..and people

-in this expanse of land...

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-..which appears

-to extend endlessly out to sea.

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-This is the Welsh coastline. Llyn.

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-Our journey takes us from

-the quarrying village of Trefor...

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-..past Nefyn and along

-the peninsula towards Porth Ty Mawr.

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-The name Llyn is of Irish origin...

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-..derived from

-the Laigini tribe from Ireland.

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-On high ground, it's easy

-to imagine Llyn as an island...

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-..and to understand the derivation

-of the word peninsula.

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-It comes from pen,

-which means the nearest thing...

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-..and insula, an island.

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-The nearest thing to an island.

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-Looking down on it all

-is Tre'r Ceiri...

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-..which some say

-means town of the giants.

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-The desolate home

-of mythological giants.

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-Others believe that Ceiri...

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-..comes from caerau, referring to

-the numerous stone dwellings.

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-During the Iron Age...

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-..approximately 100 people

-lived here.

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-During the Roman era,

-400 people lived here.

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-Thinking of how

-those people existed and survived...

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-..in somewhere

-as exposed and wild as this...

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-..is no more incredible to me...

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-..than stories

-about fairies and giants...

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-..looking down on their kingdoms.

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-Nant Gwrtheyrn

-is situated beneath Tre'r Ceiri.

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-It's a wonderful setting...

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-..associated with the legend

-of Gwrtheyrn, King of the Britons...

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-..in the fifth century.

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-One source claims that Gwrtheyrn

-was fed up of the Picts and Scots...

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-..so he invited the English

-to Britain to support him.

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-Looking back,

-it wasn't the wisest move...

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-..because

-they demanded more and more land.

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-Legend has it that Gwrtheyrn and

-his men were invited to a feast...

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-..at the home

-of the English leader Hengist.

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-They accepted on the condition

-that the men would attend unarmed.

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-At the feast, Britons and

-English were seated side by side.

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-At the end of the meal,

-Hengist gave the secret command...

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-..nemet oure Saxas,

-which meant take out your swords.

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-The English obeyed his command

-and slayed 300 Britons.

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-It was here in Nant Gwrtheyrn...

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-..that Gwrtheyrn threw himself

-over a cliff to avoid being killed.

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-That's why the cliff, to this day,

-is called Carreg y Llam.

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-A quarry

-was opened at the site in 1861.

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-Its ruins still stand.

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-The Victorian village

-has been restored...

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-..and serves

-as an important language centre.

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-It's the perfect setting

-to meet Elfed Gruffydd....

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-..who's walked the Llyn coastline

-and recorded its coastal names...

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-..in his book Ar Hyd Ben 'Rallt.

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-You'd have to travel far and wide

-to find a better view than this.

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-It's great, isn't it?

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-You've walked the entire coastline.

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-You've walked the entire coastline.

-

-Yes, I did that a few years ago.

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-It took four days

-to walk from Aberdesach to Pwllheli.

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-I suppose

-the journey was prompted...

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-..by your interest

-in history, your locality...

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-..the people and the place names?

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-Yes, it was the result

-of researching place names.

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-I began when my father

-was writing his autobiography.

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-He was very fond

-of crabbing on these rocks.

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-I accompanied him and I was familiar

-with all the names...

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-..but not their locations.

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-So we're talking

-about the names for crab holes?

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-Yes, and there are

-many of them in this area.

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-There are interesting names

-right across the peninsula.

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-Has the interest in place names

-come from your father?

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-Yes, I'd say so.

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-I entered a competition

-at the Llangefni Eisteddfod...

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-..to compile a collection

-of coastal names, and I won that.

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-I went on to give a lecture on it

-and then published my book.

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-Which is called Ar Hyd Ben 'Rallt.

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-I've no idea how many names have

-been recorded between the covers...

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-..but there are hundreds of them.

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-There may be 900 of them in total.

-I'm not sure of the exact figure.

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-How did you

-go about collecting these names?

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-They're names

-that are used in common parlance...

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-..apart from those listed on maps.

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-It was a case of chatting to people

-who were familiar with them.

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-I did this 30 years ago.

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-One person I met told me

-that I was 20 years too late.

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-I'm 50 years too late by now.

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-Many names have been lost...

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-..but fishermen and crabbers

-still use them.

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-One thing I notice in other areas...

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-..is that English names creep in

-and sit alongside the Welsh names.

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-They sometimes replace them.

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-That doesn't happen

-to the same degree here.

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-No, it's very good here.

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-There are three locations

-which have bilingual names.

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-Porth Neigwl, Hell's Mouth.

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-Then there's Porth Oer,

-which is Whistling Sands.

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-In Porthdinllaen, there's

-a place called Lifeboat Bay...

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-..because the lifeboat's history

-is relatively recent.

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-I was told that it was called Traeth

-Carreg yr Afr (Goat's Rock Bay).

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-There's a rock called

-Carreg yr Afr in Porthdinllaen.

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-I hope they continue to use it.

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-Is that Porthdinllaen

-that we can see from here?

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-Yes, that yellow lump

-closest to the headland.

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-Carreg yr Afr is right on the tip.

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-There are names

-for every nook and cranny...

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-..including

-this area in front of us.

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-There's the legendary Carreg y Llam.

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-On the cliff itself

-is Clwt Llwgu (Plot of Starvation).

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-It gets its name...

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-..from sheep falling over the side,

-having been tempted by the pasture.

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-If farmers went there

-to collect their sheep...

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-..they'd jump over the side...

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-..so farmers left the sheep there

-for a couple of days to starve.

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-They'd be too weak to run away, so

-the farmer'd go there and fetch it.

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-So that's why it's called

-Clwt Llwgu!

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-This area

-is synonymous with romance.

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-Having climbed the steep valley...

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-..we continue westwards

-to the village of Pistyll.

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-It gets its name from the springs...

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-..which flow through the valley

-to its estuary in Porth-y-Pistyll.

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-In the Middle Ages, Bardsey,

-which is 17 miles in front of us...

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-..was a sacred

-and important place for Christians.

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-They came in droves on a pilgrimage.

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-Pistyll Church was an obvious place

-for pilgrims to rest.

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-Lepers were also drawn here...

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-..searching for a blessing whilst

-watching the services from outside.

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-Through the lepers' window.

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-Two miles from Pistyll Church

-is the fishing town of Nefyn.

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-It was once recognized...

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-..as the herring capital of Wales.

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-What a wonderful view!

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-The best view in the world.

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-You've seen it plenty of times.

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-You've seen it plenty of times.

-

-I spent my childhood on the beach.

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-I'd come in the morning

-with a sandwich and stay all day.

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-It's a lovely place.

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-It's peaceful on a day like today.

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-When you think back to

-the beginning of the 19th century...

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-..the 300 people who lived

-in the small town of Nefyn...

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-..were employed in the fishing

-industry, especially herring.

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-John Thomas, or the king of Nefyn,

-as he was called...

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-..built 13 herring fishing boats.

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-He was a good employer.

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-He walked to Caernarfon every Friday

-to fetch the wages.

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-No-one ever stole a penny from him.

-He was well respected.

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-How's the herring quota nowadays?

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-How's the herring quota nowadays?

-

-A few are netted with other fish...

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-..but not many.

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-No shoals.

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-Most of the fishing was done

-in the bay, where we are now.

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-There was a place called

-Camlas Nefyn and the Swanings...

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-..where the herring

-would come every year.

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-Those were the fishermen's markers

-in the bay?

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-Yes, they knew

-when the herring would arrive...

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-..because the porpoises themselves

-would fish for them.

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-There was also a sheen, some sort

-of oil on the surface of the water.

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-That information...

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-..was passed from father to son

-down the generations.

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-There was a particular way

-of counting herring, wasn't there?

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-Yes, there was.

-They'd count them in threes.

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-The word for that is mwrw.

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-Two in one hand

-and one in the other.

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-That was called a mwrw of herring.

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-40 mwrw made 100.

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-Does that make sense?

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-Does that make sense?

-

-That's 120, isn't it?

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-I was never very good at maths.

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-I was never very good at maths.

-

-There were 120 in 100?

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-Yes, they must've added a few

-because there were so many of them.

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-Nefyn fishermen had a special way

-of marketing their produce too.

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-There are verses about them.

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-Nefyn herring, Nefyn herring, backs

-like farmers, bellies like boozers.

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-They said that they were

-far larger than Criccieth herring.

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-So they say.

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-But Nefyn isn't only famous

-for its herring.

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-The popular song Cychod Wil a Mer

-was written about the area...

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-..though they were

-John and Mer's boats originally.

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-John Jones and wife Mary

-kept boats here...

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-..and when the season ended,

-they had to move them all.

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-According to one of

-the town's oldest inhabitants...

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-..John was a small man.

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-He and Mary had four boats,

-and they're listed in the song.

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-A little pull on the Lilly

-and the old Felinheli.

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-A pull on the Willy

-but Rob Roy must be carried.

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-I'm not going to carry this.

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-It's rumoured

-that the Cychod Wil a Mer melody...

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-..was composed by the American

-evangelical duo Moody and Sankey.

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-It was also Moody and Sankey...

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-..who popularized the hymn

-I Am Coming, Lord...

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-..which was later translated...

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-..and became part of our identity.

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-It's difficult to believe...

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-..that Gwahoddiad

-wasn't written in Welsh originally.

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-# I hear thy welcome voice

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-# That calls me, Lord, to thee

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-# For cleansing

-in thy precious blood

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-# That flowed on Calvary #

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-.

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-Subtitles

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-We're journeying along

-the charming Llyn coastline...

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-..on the trail of the names, people

-and stories which enrich the shores.

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-As we leave Nefyn we're embraced by

-the sheltered bay of Porthdinllaen.

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-This place was also immortalized in

-J Glyn Davies' song Fflat Huw Puw...

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-..which mentions

-the sounds of Porthdinllaen.

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-It's much quieter these days.

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-The big ships have gone.

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-It's fair to say that tourism

-is the main industry nowadays.

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-It's easy to see

-why this wonderful bay...

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-..attracts people

-from all over the world.

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-The llaen in Porthdinllaen

-refers to the Irish Laigini tribe.

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-That wasn't the Emerald Isle's

-only influence on the area.

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-There's somewhat of a mystery here.

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-There's a place called Bwlch Bridyn

-and also Rhos Bridyn.

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-According to Rev John Daniel,

-who wrote many centuries ago...

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-..there's a rock somewhere

-in this bay called Maen Bridyn.

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-He thought it meant

-Astronomers' Rock.

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-He claimed it only surfaced

-at high tide in March.

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-He said

-it was a recorder of the times...

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-..and a reporter of the locality.

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-It's a lovely story

-but no-one knows where it is!

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-There's a suggestion that Bridyn

-is an Irish name similar to Bradan.

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-There are three examples of it

-in this area.

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-If I had to put money on it...

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-..I'd say it was a personal name.

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-If there's anything I've learnt

-in this field...

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-..it's not to bet on anything!

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-Further along the peninsula

-we cross the parish of Tudweiliog.

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-The name Tudweiliog

-literally means Tudwal's land.

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-There's been much speculation...

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-..over the derivation

-of the village's name.

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-Apparently, years ago you could

-ride a horse from Wales to Ireland.

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-One night, on his return

-from the Emerald Isle...

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-..on the back of his horse,

-Gweiliog...

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-..a villager heard

-the church bells ringing...

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-..calling

-the parishioners to worship.

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-He wanted to rush to the church,

-so he shouted to his horse...

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-.."Come on, Gweiliog,

-come on, Gweiliog!"

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-That, of course, is totally true.

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-It's rumoured that the same horse

-left his hoof prints on this rock.

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-But the story doesn't end there.

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-Here we are,

-this is the horse's hoof print.

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-According to superstition, if the

-sea washed the sand from the rock...

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-..it meant that

-there would be a good harvest...

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-..and corn would fetch a high price.

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-If sand remained in the grooves,

-corn prices would be low.

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-Farmers would come down here with

-brushes and sweep away the sand...

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-..to ensure they'd get good prices

-for their produce.

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-Even today, there are farmers

-who'd do anything to make money.

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-There's more Celtic influence

-three miles further along.

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-No-one knows for sure

-what attracted Saint Colmon here.

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-What attracts me is the fact that

-Porth Colmon is full of crab holes.

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-I read somewhere

-that Porth Colmon...

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-..is one of the most

-beautiful places along these shores.

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-I'd agree with that.

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-Did you spend

-all your childhood here?

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-Yes, I was born in Llangwnadl

-and I'd spend every day...

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-..fishing, crabbing and boating,

-sometimes throughout the holidays.

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-It was wonderful.

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-It's quiet here today

-but it was once a busy bay.

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-Yes, it was a busy harbour.

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-They tell me it's a real feat

-pulling crabs out of their holes.

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-Yes, you have to first locate

-the hole and then pull out the crab.

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-We'll give it a try.

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-What's this area called, Alun?

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-This is called Trwyn Cam.

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-This is called Trwyn Cam.

-

-This entire patch?

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-Yes. There are two holes here.

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-The hole is called Ruth.

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-For some reason.

-Ruth must've found the hole.

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-Another one lower down

-is called Ffynnon.

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-There's a hole called

-Twll Dan Ruth (Hole Under Ruth)...

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-..but we can't see that today

-due to the tide.

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-I must confess,

-it's a very strange thing to do...

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-..to put your arm into a hole

-inhabited by crabs!

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-It's alright. We'll give it a try.

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-Ruth is the first.

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-So these are the kinds of holes

-they go in?

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-Yes.

-They come in at this time of year.

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-They shed their shell

-during this season.

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-Because they have

-an external skeleton...

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-..they can't grow.

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-They have to shed their shell

-in order to grow.

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-They're very soft at this stage

-and that's when they grow.

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-They also mate during this time.

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-There's usually a male crab

-in the hole with them.

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-So there may be two crabs?

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-Nothing.

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-So you slide your arm

-down the back of the hole?

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-You're on top of his shell,

-as it were.

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-The other was called Ffynnon.

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-We'll try that one.

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-Here's Ffynnon.

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-Here's Ffynnon.

-

-We might have better luck.

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-It's a little crab.

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-This is a male.

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-So if you go in like this,

-you try to catch his thumb?

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-Yes, catch the thumb or you

-can also catch him on the back.

0:20:020:20:06

-It's safe enough there.

0:20:060:20:08

-We're not sure

-what this hole is called.

0:20:120:20:15

-I'm sure it has a name but I don't

-know what this hole was called.

0:20:150:20:20

-We can see there's a crab in there.

0:20:200:20:23

-This one's bigger.

0:20:250:20:28

-Yes, this is considerably bigger.

0:20:280:20:32

-This is another male.

0:20:320:20:35

-The male crab.

0:20:350:20:37

-This is bigger than the other,

-isn't it?

0:20:370:20:40

-I'll look for his mate.

0:20:400:20:42

-I can't see this one.

0:20:450:20:47

-It's worse when you can't see them.

0:20:480:20:51

-Oh, lovely!

0:20:520:20:54

-That's a nice one.

0:20:540:20:56

-She's soft.

0:20:560:20:58

-The male and female

-behave differently.

0:21:000:21:03

-Though she's soft...

0:21:030:21:05

-..she doesn't struggle,

-she's completely still...

0:21:060:21:09

-..whereas the male

-is more aggressive.

0:21:090:21:14

-He wants to go back.

0:21:150:21:17

-There we go.

-We'll come back when they've grown.

0:21:170:21:21

-One thing

-that's become obvious to me...

0:21:240:21:27

-..is that there's a tendency

-for shipwrecks to spawn new names...

0:21:270:21:32

-..or replace

-existing names along the coast.

0:21:320:21:35

-A stone's throw from Porth Colmon

-is a bay with two names.

0:21:360:21:40

-Its official name is Porth Ty Mawr,

-but since the last century...

0:21:460:21:51

-..it's known as Porth Whiskey

-to those who know the history.

0:21:510:21:55

-This is the Stuart,

-or what's left of it.

0:21:550:21:59

-When the ship ran aground

-on Good Friday 1901...

0:21:590:22:04

-..the contents of its hold brought

-joy and fear to the local area.

0:22:050:22:09

-Many things were washed up.

0:22:130:22:15

-The shipwreck has left its mark.

0:22:160:22:18

-You only have to inspect the gravel

-to find small shards of pottery.

0:22:180:22:24

-Many of the Stuart's dishes can

-be found in every home locally...

0:22:250:22:29

-..including this elegant teapot.

0:22:290:22:32

-But there were concerns

-about the whiskey.

0:22:320:22:35

-Moral standards were declining

-and the place had gone wild.

0:22:350:22:40

-People were drinking whiskey

-straight from shoes.

0:22:400:22:43

-Some people

-even smashed the necks of bottles...

0:22:440:22:47

-..and drank it

-straight from the bottle...

0:22:480:22:51

-..until the glass tore their lips

-and blood ran down their throats.

0:22:510:22:55

-The weather was favourable

-when the ship ran aground.

0:22:590:23:03

-Rumours spread quickly that the

-whiskey influenced the young crew...

0:23:040:23:08

-..and it was their drunkenness

-which led to the carnage.

0:23:090:23:12

-This is one of the bottles.

0:23:160:23:17

-If you go for a walk

-around these parts...

0:23:180:23:21

-..you might be fortunate enough to

-find one of these hidden in a hedge.

0:23:210:23:26

-The name, Porth Whiskey, remains.

0:23:260:23:30

-It's a prime example of the way

-names can be a record of the past.

0:23:300:23:35

-Sometimes

-it's the only proof we have.

0:23:350:23:38

-That's why it's so important

-that they're protected.

0:23:380:23:42

-S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.

0:23:570:23:59

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0:24:000:24:00

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