Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GLAM ROCKS
– cementing Iolo’s legacy in Welsh history.
You’d think his name would be famous beyond the borders. But then the Vale of Glamorgan itself seems to be something of a treasure trove of culturally important artefacts and people that are little known outside the county.
The following day I went in search of some of these historical riches on a hunt that felt as though it was devised by Iolo himself.
My search took me first to St Illtud’s Church in Llantwit Major where – with no sign to advertise it – there are some of the best-preserved 9th- and 10th-century Celtic crosses in Wales. Then to Ewenny Priory where artist JMW Turner visited in 1795 and painted the interior arches – you can easily recreate the image on your phone as little has changed since his visit.
Finally it was on to St Cadoc’s Church in Llancarfan with its collection of some of the best-preserved medieval wall paintings of St George and the “Seven Deadly Sins” – which were unearthed accidentally when 14 years ago roofers chipped off some of the limewash wall. I only learned about it by chance
when chatting to a local.
After these ecclesiastical offerings I stumbled upon two major Neolithic burial sites called Tinkinswood (home to the largest capstone in Europe) and St Lythans. Both were reached via a small layby and faint footpath yet were in incredible condition given they are 6,000-yearold relics that pre-date Stonehenge by more than a thousand years.
I sat by the second as the sun set and read the local legends. They said that if I were there on Midsummer’s Eve I’d see the capstone spin three times while the supporting rocks would go to the river to bathe, and that a night spent at the first site at Midwinter would see me awake the following day as either a poet or mad. I wondered if Iolo had done just that.
I ended my trip at the far southeast of the Vale, on a tidal island called Sully, following another tale that sounded worthy of Iolo’s fabrications but was actually very real.
This time, rather than a Welshman, I was following in the footsteps of a Norman knight turned notorious buccaneer – Alfredo de Marisco, aka “Night Hawk of the Bristol Channel” – who arrived in the 1200s, turned to piracy, and terrorised merchant ships arriving at the nearby ports.
Word has it he famously sailed with a flag featuring a hawk’s skull which, some believe, may have spawned the idea for the skull and crossbones synonymous with pirates.
Back in the present day and any
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sign of a Jolly Roger is long gone. In fact the only real danger is not being able to leave this place – literally – as the notorious tides cut this landmass off from the mainland twice a day.
I walked carefully over the causeway, while the water receded beneath my feet, then sat on the rocks and imagined being here completely surrounded by sea, dreaming up stories taller than the waves.
There could be few better places in the world in which to be cast away. And that is definitely the truth.
Its treasure trove of artefacts is little known outside the county