📍Loci: St. Cwyfan - the salty smack of the sea.

Anglesey

St. Cwyfan

✨ Explore St. Cwyfan’s Church on Anglesey, known as the “little church in the sea.” Perched on a tidal island, it stands between land and sea, history and present. Join me as I capture its unique beauty through photography, revealing its fleeting connection to the mainland before the tide returns.

After the joy of Conwy, I turn my focus to the task at hand. I’ve been commissioned to photograph St. Cwyfan’s. In Welsh, it is known as Eglwys Bach y Môr – the little church in the sea.

This is a place of transition – between land and water, between heaven and earth, between time and tide. On a quiet, sunlit morning, it feels like a place on the edge of something, caught between the elements.

I’ve been given permission to take the van down a single-lane track to the beach so I can work close to the church. Transitional places only reveal themselves at the last moment, and the journey mirrors this. The road bends, the view is obscured, the sea remains hidden for just a little longer. I’m caught between the excitement of what lies ahead and the need to keep my eye on the potholes.

Then, suddenly, there it is – St. Cwyfan’s, standing alone on its tidal island, perched against the pull of time, with a narrow spit of land tethering it to the present like an umbilical cord, feeding it just enough connection before the tide takes hold again.

I can’t explain the joy of working through this place with my camera. As soon as the first image is taken, everything else moves quickly. The camera, like the island’s narrow spit, becomes my source of nutrients, drawing in creative energy like a lifeline, guiding me instinctively to the sweet spots of light and form.

Inside, I focus on the brief, but my senses are fixed on what’s outside – the roar of the sea, the wind howling against the walls. I can taste the salty smack of the air, carried in from the waves.

This is a place that fills the senses. The tide will rise, and the spit will be reclaimed by water, but the experience of St. Cwyfan’s will stay with me – a reminder of how places can hold their ground, even when the world around them is constantly shifting.

⚡️Discover More

St. Cwyfan's is on the south coast of Anglesey - for location see this google map. It is accessible via the coastal footpath.

There is (rather surprisingly) a racing circuit on the promontory adjacent. Best to visit when this isn't in full swing. The church wasn't open to the public during my visit because of its recent conservation. Best check prior to visiting.

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