Ynys Gored Goch ("Red Weir Island"), sometimes Ynys Gorad Goch, is a small island in the Menai Strait between

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...

and

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a Local government in Wales, principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strai ...

north Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

. It is situated in the stretch of the strait called the

Swellies The Swellies (or Swillies - Welsh: ''Pwll Ceris'') is a stretch of the Menai Strait in North Wales. The most popular use of the name is for the stretch between the Britannia Bridge and the Menai Bridge. It is notable for its difficulty in s ...

between Thomas Telford's

Menai Suspension Bridge The Menai Suspension Bridge ( cy, Pont y Borth, Pont Grog y Borth) is a suspension bridge spanning the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the world's f ...

and Robert Stephenson's Britannia Bridge. The island is occupied by the main house and the converted smoke house where locally caught fish were processed. The island is private property and access is only by boat.

History

The earliest known document relating to the island dates from 1590 when it is listed as belonging to the

Diocese of Bangor The Diocese of Bangor is a diocese of the Church in Wales in North West Wales. The diocese covers the counties of Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and the western part of Montgomeryshire. History The diocese in the Welsh kingd ...

which leased it for £3 and a barrel of

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocea ...

s a year Hughes, Margaret: ''Anglesey from the Sea'', page 14. Carreg Gwalch, 2001 as the island was used as a fishing trap and presently has the remains of two fishing weirs. The weirs are thought to have been constructed at the same time as the smoking chamber was built, around 1842, in the path of eddy currents that would take the fish into the weirs and leave them trapped as the tide retreated. After 1888 when the house was sold into private hands the whitebait (

), business was developed, and growing tourism in the 20th century meant people would often travel to the island to taste the fish.Hughes, Margaret: ''Anglesey from the Sea'', page 15. Carreg Gwalch, 2001 A bell by the Anglesey shore summoned a boat to carry visitors across to enjoy a 'Gored Whitebait Tea' which comprised a pot of tea, brown bread and butter and whitebait ‘fried in a basket’, priced one shilling.Anglesey Today: The secrets of Ynys Gorad Goch
from the book "Anglesey Sketches" by Margaret Hughes. Accessed 11 June 2016

Location

The strong tidal flow in the Menai Strait creates small whirlpools, hence the name the "Swellies". In olden times, access by rowing boat was restricted by the tides but nowadays modern boats can access anytime. Mains water and electricity were installed in 1997. Pumping systems mean the two houses no longer flood. Due to the large tidal range of the Menai Strait the size of the island varies between and . The tidal range of the Menai Strait is known to exceed during high with spring tides which makes it appear that the buildings are on two separate islands. Occasional

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

s have even increased water levels up to . Ynys Gored Goch once had a large

common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migrat ...

colony. This has now reduced to approximately 10 pairs which in 2011 produced 13 chicks. The island's location makes it a popular theme in

photographs A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now creat ...

of the Menai Strait and its bridges. It has also featured in television programmes such as ''A Great Welsh Adventure'' with Griff Rhys Jones (2014), ''

Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker ...

'' (2016) and ''Robson Green's Coastal Lives'' (2017).

References

* Senogles,David (1969), ''The story of Ynys Gorad Goch in the Menai Straits'', published by the author, 97 pages. *Senogles, David "''A History of the parish of Llandysilio''" (2001), The Vicar and Wardens of the parish of Llantysilio

External links

Site containing an aerial view
* {{Islands of Anglesey Islands of Anglesey Menai Strait Llanfairpwllgwyngyll