Ditch the red roses, forget the padded card commercialism of St Valentine's Day and instead try a bit of romance on January 25, which is St Dwynwen's Day or Welsh Valentine's Day.
ANGLESEY is the home of the Welsh patron saint of love, St Dwynwen. She lived in the fifth century and lies buried at the site of a Celtic cross on Llanddwyn Island, a remote beach of immense proportions.
To get there, you follow paths through a pine forest. Views stretch up to Snowdonia and the purple-heathered flank of the Llw#n Peninsula. On a sunny afternoon, with the gulls crying and the salty tang of the ocean all around, the place has an ethereal atmosphere.
Today's lovers pay a visit to Llanddwyn Island to seek out this most sacred, romantic haunt (Hint: Guys, this is a good place to get down on one knee and propose).
St Dwynwen was the beautiful daughter of the fifth-century King and Saint Brychan, Brycheiniog of Brecon.
Of Brychan's 24 children, Dwynwen was the most beautiful, gentle and fair. Dwynwen fell in love with young Maelon, but her father had pledged her to another. Dwynwen prayed to God to rid herself of her feelings for Maelon. An angel appeared with a potion to destroy her love for Maelon, which she drank, but alas, Maelon drank the same potion and was turned to ice. Dwynwen, distraught, prayed to God to be granted three wishes. God granted her the three wishes: her first being to thaw poor Maelon, secondly that she should never marry and thirdly that God would answer all requests made by her on behalf of troubled lovers.
St Dwynwen founded a convent here at Llanddwyn, and in the Middle Ages her well became a site of pilgrimage for lovers seeking help. To this day, the ruins of the convent and its holy well represent the heart of Welsh romance.
Legend has it that St Dwynwen's Well is able to predict lovers' futures with bubbles appearing from the fish that swim in the water, signalling that lovers will find happiness. It is said also that for a sign of a couple's successful future, toss in a lady's handkerchief and wait for the appearance of eels in the well's waters.
Holing yourself up in a cosy Welsh cottage is just the thing to enjoy St Dwynwen's Day, complete with crackling log fires and a candlelit dinner. In the markets, you'll find Anglesey's famous seafood for sale, including a popular aphrodisiac, the Menai Straits oyster.
Just a short drive away on the mainland is the romantic village of Portmeirion, a Mediterranean dream. In the excellent restaurant, lovers can enjoy Portmeirion' s very own champagne, to toast the start of a new romance, or take in the intoxicating scents of the Y Gwyllt exotic gardens.
The A496 brings you to the Wow! Factor of the nearby Mawddach Estuary. William Wordsworth fell in love with Mawddach: "a sublime estuary" he said - simple words for such beauty. Mawddach is scenery made for lovers. Some of the best walks in Wales start here, with views over the estuary. There's the Precipice Walk, the New Precipice Walk or the Panorama Walk (all on the north side, take the A496 from Barmouth towards Dolgellau).
You'll be wooed, not just by each other, but by the scenery. Happy St Dwynwen's Day!
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