Pagan upset at giant ferris wheel next to Eisteddfod stone circle
A PAGAN has criticised the positioning of a ferris wheel so close to a stone circle in Beaumaris.
Her group were thinking about holding a ceremony at the Eisteddfod circle, whose design was based on their pagan or druid traditions.
But they have rejected the idea. They claimed teenagers on the ferris wheel jeered and threw cans at a similar pagan group last year.
Beaumaris Town Council said siting the wheel further away from the seafront would take it nearer homes and that the wheel brings in visitors.
Wynter Jones, of Prestatyn Pagan Moot Group, said: “The stone circle is really lovely in a beautiful picturesque spot and lots of druids and pagans would happily use that circle for ceremonies at quiet times of the day.”
But she discovered the ferris wheel was right beside it.
She rang Beaumaris Town Council to ask why they have put the “massive and intimidating ferris wheel right slap-bang on top of the Eisteddfod Stone circle in Beaumaris”.
As well as rejecting her request to move the wheel, she said she was told she would need public liability insurance for any ceremony.
Now Ms Jones’s group will hold their own ceremony at an alternative, secret location.
However, Kate Johnson, Pagan Federation Regional Co-ordinator, said pagans must adapt to the modern world and she has never encountered problems with “modern” attractions like a ferris wheel.
“We have live music when we meet at Bailey Hill in Mold. We are pagans in a modern world.
“We are not living in ancient times or the Dark Ages. We are living today and we need to adapt.”
She also said there are alternative pagan sites on Anglesey other than at the Eisteddford stone circle on Beaumaris seafront, such as Bryn Celli Ddu burial ground near Llanddaniel Fab.
She called for tolerance, adding: “We need to adapt, but at the same time the world needs to accept diversity, whether it’s the LGBT+ community or the pagan community.”
Beaumaris Town Council defended its positioning of the ferris wheel near the stone circle.
A spokesperson said: “The ferris wheel is on town council land. It is a temporary structure which has been coming to the area for 10 years.
“Isle of Anglesey County Council are very supportive of it.
“If it was elsewhere here it would have been in front of a residential area.”
They also denied that teenagers on the wheel had behaved disrespectfully towards pagans using the stone circle in the past and queried why a pagan from Prestatyn is so “opinionated” about matters on Anglesey when there are potentially others sites in her area in Denbighshire for pagan activities.
A sign in Beaumaris reads: “The stone circle in Beaumaris is a symbol of the age of the Druids in Anglesey.
“It stands as a reminder that the Anglesey Eisteddfod (Eisteddfod Mon) was held in this area in the summer of 1996.”
Beaumaris Town Council will hold a Proclamation ceremony on Saturday, May 11 to formally accept an invitation to hold the Anglesey Eisteddfod Mon to Beaumaris in 2025.
North Wales Pagan Fest will be held at Halkyn Castle Wood in Flintshire on Saturday, June 8, 2024. There will be druidry, meditation, children’s activities and a fairy trail. Tickets available via the Facebook page.