Located on the island of Anglesey is the most northerly town in Wales - Amlwch.
For several centuries, Amlwch was a tiny fishing village. This began to change from around 1768. This was the year in which a local miner named Roland Puw discovered a large quantity of copper ore at nearby Parys Mountain. This was referred to as 'The Great Discovery', and as a reward, Puw was gifted a bottle of whisky and a rent-free cottage for life. In 1774 the Parys Mine Company was formed.
In the space of around 30 years, Amlwch had grown to become the second largest settlement in Wales with a population of around 10,000 - second only to Merthyr Tydfil at the turn of the 19th century. Its copper industry was aided by its proximity to Amlwch Port, which is the name of the neighbouring village situated adjacent to the Irish Sea. At its peak, 31 smelting furnaces were in operation at Amlwch Port.
In 1800 the current St Eleth Church was built on the site of various earlier religious buildings going all the way back to the 6th century when the first church is said to have been established by Eleth (or Elaeth).
By the mid 19th century, the copper trade had begun to decline in Amlwch. Shipbuilding became the main industry in the area.
In 1867 a railway station opened in Amlwch. This was the northern terminus of the Anglesey Central Railway line from Gaerwen (a village a few miles west of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch... just to slip that in there). In 1964 the station closed to passengers as part of the Beeching cuts - a controversial move to promote road travel which saw over 2,000 stations in Britain close. Today, public transport to Amlwch consists of direct buses from Bangor and various local villages.
Famous people from Amlwch include actor Andy Whitfield.
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Filmed: 8th April 2023
Link to the walk on Google Maps: goo.gl/maps/iKoAq6gvex5ZhdwbA
Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Lon Goch
1:36 Salem Street
3:41 Queen Street
4:50 St Eleth Church
5:11 Queen Street
5:40 Mona Street
8:54 Queen Street
9:12 Market Street
10:35 St Eleth Church