Deep in a remote valley in the Berwyn Mountains, visiting Pennant Melangell is one of the least-known pilgrimages in Wales. Hidden away in the upper reaches of the Tanat Valley, the church and early medieval shrine of St Melangell – the patron saint of hares – are remarkable survivals, and the story of this little-known saint still draws visitors from across the world.
In this guide I’ll show you the destination of this pilgrimage, Pennant Melangell church and shrine, and explain the legend of this Celtic saint. I’ll also explain how to get to this remote place in what we Welsh call ‘the back of beyond’, and suggest places to visit nearby and where to stay if you’re planning to stay in the area for a while.
I hope you find it helpful.
Where To Stay
Lake Vyrnwy Hotel & Spa – one of the great hotels in Wales, in one of the finest settings, overlooking the stunning Lake Vyrnwy reservoir
Plas yn Dre Inn – 5* inn with beautiful rooms and superb food, 17 miles away in Bala, close to the scenic lake
Palé Hall Hotel – 5* country house in gorgeous 19th-century country house in parkland near the River Dee
Graig Las Barn – lovely 2-bedroom holiday home very close to Pennant Melangell
Who Was St Melangell?
St Melangell – known as St Monacella in Latin – was a Welsh saint from some time in the mists of the Celtic Golden Age of Christianity. It’s possible that she lived in the 7th century – she is mentioned in (so therefore lived before) the Venerable Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica, which was completed in 731 AD, but inaccurate on many details including dates.
In Welsh, her name is pronounced ‘Mel-ang-ehl’. The ‘ang’ rhymes with ‘clang’. The final syllable is the famous Welsh double-l sound, a soft aspirate ‘ell’, as in Llanelli. To pronounce it yourself, sound the ‘e’ and make a ‘hl’ sound with your tongue touching the roof of your mouth, just behind your front teeth.
Interestingly, Melangell is one of only two Welsh female saints from the Celtic period (along with St Winefride) to be the subject of a hagiography in Latin, Historia Divae Manacle.
According to the Life of Monacella, Melangell was an Irish princess who fled to Wales to avoid an unwanted arranged marriage. She lived in the remote upper Tanat Valley in northern Powys for around fifteen years, a ‘consecrated virgin’ devoted to Christ.
One day she encountered a prince of Powys, Brochwel, who was hunting hares with his pack of dogs. A hare sought refuge under the hem of her clothing, and the dogs retreated from her. Melangell told Brochwel her story, and impressed by her, awarded her the surrounding land, a place of refuge for both animals and people in the area who sought it.
Melangell then founded a small convent of nuns, over which she presided for 37 years, and where she lived out her days. Wild animals would behave as if tame around Melangell, and hares became known as Ŵyn Melangell – Melangell’s lambs. A tradition was also maintained in the area not to kill hares, for perhaps as long as a thousand years, if an account from 1810 is to be believed.
The name of the hamlet is derived from the Welsh words ‘pen nant’, which are the North Welsh words for ‘head of the stream’ or ‘head of the valley’. In South Wales we tend to use the word ‘blaen’ instead of ‘pen’ for places near the top of the valley.
Pennant Melangell Church – What To See
The church of St Melangell – the only one dedicated to her in the world – lies on ground that is believed to have had a sacred purpose as far back as the Bronze Age, over 3,000 years ago. Four yew trees around the churchyard are believed to be around 2,000 years old.
There has been a local cult to St Melangell since the time of her death, and it’s believed that the first church built on the site – which would probably have been wooden – was completed in the 8th or 9th centuries. The present church dates from the 12th century, with a few tell-tale indicators including the simple Romanesque rounded arch at the west end of the nave.
Once you enter the church, there are several striking features. The first that you encounter is the wooden chandelier (pictured) in the nave dating from the 17th century. The baptismal font is from the 12th century, and the simple rood screen – separating the nave from the chancel and sanctuary of the church – is from the 15th century. Like the shrine (see below) it was dismantled because of the Reformation and reassembled years later. Some of the carvings depict the story of St Melangell.
The chancel is the part of the church that changed most in the 1989-90 restoration. The original semicircular apse behind the high altar has been rebuilt, and the separating wall behind the altar demolished.
The Shrine of St Melangell
The Romanesque Shrine of St Melangell is one of very few saints’ shrines to have survived the Reformation. That of St Edward the Confessor survives in Westminster Abbey in London, and some reconstructed saints’ shrines can also be seen in places like Chester Cathedral (that of its patron saint, Werburgh). Unusually, Melangell’s shrine – dating from the 12thcentury – likely contains the bones of the saint herself.
The shrine was dismantled some time after the reformation of the 1530s, and the various pieces of it were dispersed, used in either the fabric of the church itself, or the lychgate, through which you pass to enter the churchyard. The various fragments were eventually collected and the shrine reassembled.
Melangell herself was buried in the eastern apse of the church, which by the time I visited it in the 1980s was bricked off from the rest of the church, and rectangular rather than semicircular in shape. At the time I visited, there was serious concern about the future of the church and shrine, and even talk of demolition. The separate room where the shrine was located was known as cell y bedd, the Cell of the Grave. It wasn’t a dignified place of rest – it reminded me of my aunt’s coal shed in her back garden.
The church was restored and renovated in 1989, the reconstructed shrine moved within the church to its present location in the chancel. The remains of the person buried in the grave– a woman around 5 feet tall – were moved within the shrine. These are believed to be the relics of St Melangell.
Where Is Pennant Melangell
Pennant Melangell is in the far north of the county of Powys, in the Tanat Valley in the Berwyn Mountains. It’s very close to the ‘border’ between Mid Wales and North Wales.
The nearest village is Llangynog, three miles to the east.
Here are some sample distances from the nearest main villages and towns:
Bala to Pennant Melangell – 15 miles (24 km)
Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant to Pennant Melangell – 7 miles (11 km)
Llangollen to Pennant Melangell – 29 miles (46 km)
Lake Vyrnwy to Pennant Melangell – 11 miles (18 km)
Oswestry to Pennant Melangell – 20 miles (32 km)
Shrewsbury to Pennant Melangell – 34 miles (54 km)
How To Get To Pennant Melangell
If you’re visiting Pennant Melangell and the surrounding area, you really need to drive, as I have done on several visits spanning over 40 years.
Pennant Melangell is three miles from the village of Llangynog, which is on the useful B4391 road which runs cross-country, linking Bala with Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant and Llanfyllin. If you have an hour or two spare, it is one of the best scenic drives in Wales, running as far north as Llan Ffestiniog, on the edge of the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park.
If travelling from the English Midlands, I suggest travelling via Welshpool and Llanfyllin.
If travelling from South Wales, the route via Welshpool is the easiest.
If travelling from the North Wales coast, go via the A470, the A4212 to Bala and the B4391.
And if travelling from the North West of England, the most direct route is via Oswestry, taking the B4580 to Penybontfawwr, then the B4391 right turn to Llangynog.
If you’re a dogged devotee of public transport like I am, then you may be elated to learn that two buses a day run from Oswestry to Llangynog – the 79A and 79B. If you catch the first one, you have a seven-mile round walk to Pennant Melangell and back, and you may just make the second bus back to Oswestry with just under 5 hours to do so.
Pererindod Melangell – The St Melangell Pilgrimage
You can also take a longer walk to Pennant Melangell, following the Pererindod Melangell trail to the church. It begins at Pont Llogel, a bridge over the River Vyrnwy near the village of Dolanog. It then passes Lake Vyrnwy, continuing over steep hills and long stretches of moorland, eventually descending to the Tanat Valley and Pennant Melangell.
I haven’t done the Pererindod walk, but know the area well. If you want mile after mile of wilderness to yourself, this is the place to be.
Places To Visit Near Pennant Melangell
The Berwyn Mountains are one of the most remote parts of Wales. I’ve spent a few days hiking the Berwyns to the north of Pennant Melangell, closer to Llangollen, and don’t remember seeing another soul in all that time.
The Tanat Valley is a beautiful part of North Wales (or if you prefer, northern Mid Wales) and there are a few places well worth seeing within a half-hour drive of Pennant Melangell. The first of these is the highest waterfall in Wales, Pistyll Rhaeadr, a few miles’ drive from the pretty village of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant.
One of the most famous lakes in Wales, the man-made reservoir at Lake Vyrnwy, is a ten-mile drive away. The Lake Vyrnwy Hotel, at the east end of the Lake, is one of the best places to stay in the area, and the view from there of the Lake – with its Gothic-style Straining Tower and forest of fir trees around the shore of the lake – is a breathtaking sight.
As you head southeast the town of Llanfyllin is worth a brief stop for its rare 18th-century church and its 19th-century workhouse building, one of the best-preserved in Wales. It’s a few miles drive from there to Welshpool and stunning Powis Castle, the finest stately home in Wales, built onto a 12th-century Castle.
Heading in the opposite direction towards Snowdonia, it’s a 15-mile drive up the B4391 to Bala, at the end of the largest lake in Wales, Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake). The lake is great for watersports, including sailing, canoeing and kayaking, and the Bala Lake Railway is a wonderful narrow-gauge journey along the southern shore of the Lake.
From there, the A494 continues into Snowdonia to the town of Dolgellau, and then along the sublime Afon Mawddach, one of the loveliest rivers in Wales. It eventually reaches Barmouth, home to one of the best beaches in North Wales, and one of my top three best seaside towns in Wales.
Visiting Pennant Melangell – Final Thoughts
I hope that you have enjoyed this article on Pennant Melangell, and that you get to experience this special place one day. If you’re looking for somewhere that feels a very long way from the modern world, you won’t find many better places than this.
I’ve written extensively about other churches and pilgrimages in Wales, and also about the country in general. Here is a selection of articles for you to browse which will hopefully give you further inspiration:
Churches In Wales and The UK
Best Churches in Wales to visit
6 Best Pilgrimages in Wales – Bardsey, St David’s, Pennant Melangell and more
Churches In The Black Mountains Itinerary
How To Visit St Govan’s Chapel – extraordinary tiny church at the foot of a sea cliff in South Pembrokeshire
0 Fascinating Gower Churches To Visit – ancient churches of the Gower Peninsula in Wales
8 Fascinating Churches On The Llŷn Peninsula – including pilgrim churches on the medieval routes to Bardsey Island
Visiting Chester Cathedral – one of the treasures of northwest England
25 Most Beautiful Churches In London
Visiting Westminster Abbey – London’s great royal church
9 Smallest Cathedrals In The UK
32 Most Beautiful Churches in Europe
Best Places in North Wales
Best things to do in Conwy – A stunning UNESCO Heritage town on the edge of Snowdonia National Park
Betws-y-Coed – A picturesque Welsh mountain town in the spectacular Snowdonia National Park
Things To Do In Harlech – World Heritage Castle, one of the best beaches in Wales, and much more
Things To Do In Llangollen – gorgeous riverside town, one of the highlights of North East Wales
Things To Do In Barmouth – if you find a more beautiful setting for a seaside town, please let me know
15 Best Villages In North Wales To Visit – Beddgelert, Betws-y-Coed and many more
North Wales Travel Guide – everything you need to know about travelling in North Wales
Llanddwyn Island – One of the most special of all Welsh islands
Anglesey beaches & coastline – Home to some of the best beaches in the UK
Best things to do on Anglesey – the largest of Welsh Islands