In the Steps of St Winifride of Wales in the airy mountains
Mary in Monmouthshire is a historical broadcast detailing ancient, secret and Catholic places often hidden away in Monmouthshire or the ancient kingdom of Gwent, Ergyng (South Hereford) and places visited by Mary who travels around in Cornwall and France. There is also a place for ancient hagiographies of saints conected with Monmouthshire and Caerleon-for example St David's hermitage in the Black Mountains near Llanthony, and its 19th centure apparition of the Virgin Mary.
This podcast on a warm but very windy day in the valley of a
mountain, is what we found when we visited Gwytherin in North
Wales, where St Winifride is reported to have been buried. Legend
has it that the bones still remain there under the four ancient
yews. A local person tells me of the problems faced by churchgoers,
as even with large numbers of pilgrims Conway Council seem to have
denied planning permission to the two members of the congregation
who bought it from the Church in Wales to re-open it for services.
There are ancient Druid Stones- and it is almost certainly an
ancient site when St Beuno opened the 'Llan' there and installed
his niece St Winifride as Superior, a place where she worked for
thirty years more and then died. I will deal more with Winifride
(or Gwenfrewi's) story when we talk specifically about the well.