As we start this year’s Easter Triduum, we’d like to reflect back on some of the highlights from this new and off-the-beaten-track Welsh Camino, aka North Wales Pilgrim’s Way, aka Taith Pererin Gogledd Cymru. In Part 1 of our Highlights from the Welsh Camino Series, we’d bring you to the old church in Tremeirchion and its serene meditation garden which had a secret link to the Cathedral at St Asaph where the first Welsh translation of the Bible was kept. Are you curious? Keep reading.
Background
The Welsh Camino was officially launched in 2018 and spans over 130 miles (210 km) through North Wales, from Holywell in Flintshire to Bardsey Island in Gwynedd. The pilgrimage route is inspired by the famous Camino de Santiago in northern Spain and aims to provide a similar experience for those who cannot travel to Spain or who wish to explore Wales’ rich history and culture. The route is marked with green arrows, pilgrims can collect stamps and even obtain a certificate at the end of the pilgrimage!
The Welsh Camino follows the traditional pilgrimage route that has been used for centuries by pilgrims travelling to Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli), which is also known as the Island of 20,000 Saints and is considered a holy place in Welsh culture. It passes through numerous historic sites, including St Winefride’s Well in Holywell, the ruins of Basingwerk Abbey, and the pilgrim church of St Beuno in Clynnog Fawr.
The Welsh Camino is not just a spiritual journey but also an opportunity to experience the natural beauty and cultural heritage of Wales as it traverses some of the most beautiful and historic landscapes in North Wales, including mountains, valleys, rivers, and coastline.
Trelawnyd
Today’s walk took us from Trelawnyd, a sleepy village in the hills of Flintshire, to St Asaph in Denbighshire, home to Britain’s smallest Anglican cathedral. We started from the grounds of St Michael’s Church, built in 1724. The cross situated in the churchyard predated the current building and thought to be from late 14th century.
We meandered through the countryside, entering a small forest, walked beside an airfield with a large dinosaur statue, and laughed at the incongruity of a local resident’s front garden-cum-art gallery filled with 1960s pre-Apocalyptic dystopian sculptures next to Barack and Michele Obamas.
As we reached the top of the hill, we were rewarded with a very fine view of the Vale of Clwyd.
St Beuno’s Jesuit Spirituality Centre
Halfway between the Bryngwyn Bach Airfield and Tremeirchion stood St Beuno’s Jesuit Spritiuality Centre, also known as St Beuno’s College. Originally opened in 1848, today it serves as a retreat centre. It is a small diversion from the Camino and unfortunately not marked.
We did overshoot and had to walk back to find the right stile to cross the field to approach the College. The simple and understated decor provided a sense of calmness for retreat goers, and the well manicured garden overlooking the Vale made for a great spot for picnic lunch.
Afterwards, to centre her mind back to her Camino, Mommy entered the small serpentine labyrinth located in the Jesuit garden.
Tremeirchion
Leaving St Beuno’s College, we continued on our way towards Tremeirchion, jumping over a few stiles, a small stream, and a bridleway. How fun! At the heart of this historic village stood 2 important historical landmarks: the Corpus Christi Church and the Salusbury Arms pub.
Corpus Christi Church
It is believed that the site has been used by Christian followers of St Beuno since the 7th century and the oldest yew tree in the churchyard is more than 800 years old. However, the current church infrastructure was built in the late 12th century. The Cross that stands in the churchyard is thought to date from the 14th century. A Victorian archaeologist found it neglected under a yew, bought it from the church and gave it to the nearby St Beuno’s College for safekeeping. The college returned it to the churchyard in 2004.
This unassuming site holds a lot more interesting facts, however. Mommy had read before that a famous late 18th-early 19th century socialite better known as Mrs Thrale is buried in the churchyard. She was born to the powerful Salusbury family, married a wealthy brewer Henry Thrale, and moved to London. There, she established herself in prominent social circles and befriended many famous writers and thinkers, some of whom was invited to visit her hometown in Wales.
When Hester Thrale was 35, her husband gave her a set of blank diaries labeled in gold with the title “Thraliana” as a 13th wedding anniversary gift. She wrote about domestic politics, the French Revolution, anecdotes of friends and enemies as well as Latin epigrams, gossip, poetry and such fascinating details as the price of a shirt in 1801, shedding a powerful beam of light on the life and culture of Georgian England.
After her husband’s death, she married Gabriel Piozzi, an Italian musician, singer, and her daughter’s music teacher. This marriage caused quite a scandal at a time, for Mr Piozzi was a poor foreigner and a Catholic. Following the wedding, Hester was cut off by most friends and relations, including her own children.
After her death at the age 80, Mrs Thrale was burried in the Corpus Christi churchyard, the family church of the Salusbury family. She shared her gravestone with her adopted son, the nephew of Gabriel Piozzi, John Salusbury Piozzi Salusbury.
It was while looking for the gravestone of this protofeminist that Mommy came across this remarkable outdoor meditation bench. At the top of the wooden bench was inscribed a passage from the Psalm:
"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." Psalm 121:1
Near the bench was a stack of pebbles with various bible passages to reflect on, and on the bench was a laminated piece of paper to guide our meditation.
The Salusbury Arms
This pub takes its name from the Salusbury family, major land owners in this part of the Vale for centuries. It’s said that Thomas Salusbury was killed in the Wars of the Roses in 1471. His eldest son, also called Thomas, was knighted by King Henry VII in 1497 for helping to suppress a rebellion at Blackheath, London, which stemmed from tax complaints by Cornish tin miners.
More recently, the pub was purchased by Richard and Sue Green of the nearby Dovecote Brewery and the pub now proudly serves their craft beers. It claims to be the most haunted pub in North Wales after being home to seven ghosts!
St Asaph
Unfortunately we couldn’t stay in Tremeirchion for very long as we wanted to reach St Asaph before the Cathedral closed at 4PM. Leaving the Church, we walked on the road for a few hundred metres before entering a footpath. After walking past the village pub in Waen, we had to walk through a few more open fields before entering St Asaph via a former railway track and passing behind a school playground. We made it just in time with 15 minutes to spare!
St Asaph is a small city in the Vale of Clwyd and is home to the smallest Anglican cathedral in Britain, St Asaph Cathedral, both in terms of its physical size and the size of its congregation. Despite its diminutive size, the cathedral holds an important role for Welsh language and culture.
In the 16th century, the Bishop of St Asaph, William Morgan, saw the need for a complete Welsh translation of the Bible, as previous translations were incomplete and often inaccurate. He worked on the translation with a team of Welsh-speaking scholars in a special room within the cathedral known as the “Bishop’s Library”, which was equipped with a printing press. Bishop Morgan had to learn Hebrew and Greek to accurately translate the original texts.
This monumetal task took over a decade and was finally completed in 1588. The first Welsh translation of the Bible is known as the “William Morgan Bible” or “Y Beibl Cymraeg“. It consisted of the complete Old and New Testaments in Welsh. It was a milestone in Welsh literature and culture, as it helped to standardize the Welsh language and allowed Welsh-speaking people to access the Bible in their own language for the first time.
St Asaph Cathedral itself is a beautiful example of Gothic architecture with a striking central tower and a series of intricate stained glass windows. The central tower housed 8 bells, the largest bell is named St Asaph and the smallest St Winefride. In front of the cathedral, there is a monument that commemorates the18th century Welsh poet and hymnodist William Williams Pantycelyn, who wrote more than 900 hymns in Welsh.
When Mommy saw the original William Morgan Bible illuminated inside a glass cabinet, of course she had to look to see which page was opened. And guess what? It was showing the exact same passage as the bench outside Corpus Christi Church in Tremeirchion! It can’t be a coincidence…
The passage itself was from the Songs of Ascent, a collection of 15 Psalms that were traditionally sung by Hebrew pilgrims, who ascended the uphill road to Jerusalem to attend annual festivals in the Temple. These psalms are characterized by their themes of pilgrimage, journey, and the longing for the presence of God, how appropriate for the Welsh Camino!
The psalms also speak of the challenges of the journey and the need for perseverance and faith in the face of adversity. Walking/hiking this desolate quiet Camino, we had encountered various barriers, both physical/literal barriers like fallen trees completely blocking our paths, and of course mental and emotional challenge. The Welsh weather perhaps deserved a whole special category altogether, but so far we had been quite lucky.
Therefore, we think that the psalms could be used as a source of inspiration and reflection for pilgrims, helping them to connect with the deeper meaning of their pilgrimage.
