The pretty little UK island where 'Merlin is buried in a glass coffin'

Bardsey Island successful the mist (Image: Getty)

For an land of conscionable 1.5 by 0.6 miles agelong determination definite is simply a batch packed into Bardsey conscionable 2 miles disconnected the Welsh coast.

It has a affluent wildlife, melodramatic seashore and absorbing past and legends.

Topping the measure is the longstanding assertion that Merlin, the mythological wizard from the Legend of King Arthur, was buried connected the island.

The legends alteration from him "sleeping successful a solid tomb oregon castle" to being successful a cave, but successful each cases, helium is surrounded by the 13 treasures of Britain.

It is worthy noting that determination are respective different alleged resting places of the wizard, including

Marlborough Mound, a 62-foot mound successful Wiltshire and Merlin's Grave, a tract connected the eastbound slope of the Tweed successful the Scottish Borders, northbound of Drumelzier Church.

There are besides 2 alleged sites successful France, astatine Broceliande Forest successful Brittany and the Tombeau de Merlin, a ruined megalithic grave.

But, the Arthurian legends don't halt determination with immoderate claiming that the land is, successful fact, the mythical land of Avalon, and truthful besides the last resting spot of King Arthur.

It has been a destination for Christian pilgrims since the 6th period and features the ruins of an abbey.

The land is conscionable 2 miles disconnected the confederate extremity of the Llŷn Peninsula.

The Tombeau de Merlin is simply a megalithic monument dating from the Neolithic play located successful the Fores (Image: Getty)

In the 6th Century, St Cadfan founded a monastery connected the land and his successor St Leuddad invented a story that anyone who died connected the land would not spell to hell.

It led to it becoming 1 of the holiest places successful Britain attracting thousands of pilgrims each year.

From the aboriginal Middle Ages it was besides claimed that 20,000 saints had been buried connected the islands, contempt its tiny frame.

In much caller history, the land had its ain king.

Now with conscionable 11 homes, astir 100 years agone it was location to a assemblage of fishermen and crofters totalling astir 200.

They elected their ain "king", the past of which was crowned successful 1918, called Love Pritchard. He died successful 1927 and is buried successful Aberdaron churchyard adjacent the beach.

The tiny land besides has a vertebrate observatory and wide assortment of flora and fauna, which has fixed it SSSI protected status, arsenic a nationalist quality reserve and tract of peculiar technological involvement (SSSI).

In 1979 the land was purchased by the Bardsey Island Trust and is present managed by the Trust with proposal from Natural Resources Wales.

Rising to a tallness of 167 meters, the full land has a aboveground country of 180 hectares, astir of which is farmland.

There are conscionable 12 Grade II listed properties connected the land - 1 is simply a backstage letting to the Evans household (who person lived connected Bardsey for 3 generations).

Nine properties are fto retired by the Bardsey Island Trust arsenic vacation lettings.

In February 2023 it became the archetypal spot successful Europe to beryllium made an International Dark Skies Sanctuary (IDSS) pursuing a 13-year run to beryllium named an authoritative tract for stargazing.

This was owed to its "exceptional" astronomical displays owed to its lone airy disposable astatine nighttime coming from the stars and a precise distant glow from Dublin.