This rugged island, 2 miles long and 2 miles off the tip of the Llŷn, is a magical place. In the 6th or 7th century the obscure St Cadfan founded a monastery here, giving shelter to Celts fleeing the Saxon invaders, and medieval pilgrims followed in their wake. A Celtic cross amidst the abbey ruins commemorates the pilgrims who came here to die and gave the island its poetic epithet: the Isle of 20,000 Saints. Their bones still periodically emerge from unmarked graves; it's said that in the 1850s they were used as fencing, there were so many of them. To add to its mythical status, it's one of many candidates for the Isle of Avalon from the Arthurian legends. It's said that the wizard Merlin is asleep in a glass castle somewhere on the island.
Its Welsh name means 'Isle of the Currents', a reference to the treacherous tidal surges in Bardsey Sound, which doubtless convinced medieval visitors that their lives were indeed in God's hands. Most modern pilgrims to Bardsey are sea-bird-watchers (the island is home to an important colony of Manx shearwaters).
The Bardsey Island Trust is Bardsey's custodian and can arrange holiday lets in cottages on the island. In the summer months both Bardsey Boat Trips and Enlli Charters take boats to Bardsey from Porth Meudwy (adult/child £30/15). Enlli Charters also departs from Pwllheli (adult/child £35/20).
