Mynydd Bodafon (Bodafon Mountain) is a small collection of peaks including the Arwydd (The Sign or signal) which is the highest point on the
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
of
Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
(although not in the
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of Anglesey — see
Holyhead Mountain
Holyhead Mountain (''Mynydd Twr'' in Welsh: from ''(pen)twr'', meaning "tower") is the highest mountain on Holy Island, Anglesey, and the highest in the county of Anglesey, north Wales. It lies about two miles west of the town of Holyhead, and s ...
). It lies about 2½ miles west of the coastal town of
Moelfre and ⅔ of a mile south-west of the hamlet of
Brynrefail
Brynrefail () is a small village in north-east Anglesey, Wales.
Location
It is located in the civil parish of Moelfre on the A5025 between Amlwch and Benllech.
Amenities
As the settlement is very small it has very few amenities. Those ...
. The meaning of ''Bodafon'' is obscure. ''Bod'' is a common placename element meaning 'dwelling' and ''afon'' here is probably a corruption of the personal name A(e)ddan (''afon'' is Welsh for 'river' but topography rules that out).
On the mountain is a lake named Gors Fawr (the big marsh), containing rudd, roach and recently pike. Originally, there were two lakes on either side of the road but one is now a covered reservoir. The lake is spring fed despite local legends that claim it is connected to lakes in Snowdonia, and is bottomless. To the east of the lake is found an Iron Age settlement called Cytiau'r Gwyddelod
(Irishmen's huts).
The wildlife is dictated by the heathland habitat, different heathers, two types of gorse, cotton grass, bog asphodel, tormentil etc. There are adders, lizards, stone chats, peregrine, chough and cuckoos (there is an old local song about the cuckoo on Bodafon) etc. Heron, coot and ducks are in the lake and water rail are occasionally seen or heard. A rare form of pillwort exists in the lake. Mynydd Bodafon holds a special place in druidic and spiritual history
Although the name Mynydd Bodafon may refer to the hill itself, it is also the name for the wider geographical area, which is part of the
Penrhoslligwy parish.
Rabbits tend to be the only grazing animals currently and parts of the heath are reverting to pioneer woodland because of that. There are occasional fires that sweep across the heathland but these are often at the wrong time of year and subsequently encourage bracken.
References
External links
www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Mynydd Bodafon and surrounding area
{{coord, 53.34244, N, 4.29812, W, type:mountain, display=title
Marilyns of Wales
Mountains and hills of Anglesey
Moelfre, Anglesey
Llanddyfnan