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BARDSEY ISLAND

This will be my third year of going on a retreat to Bardsey Island. I go with members of The Order of Jacob’s Well, which has a ministry of healing.

Bardsey Island is not altogether easy to get to, and in a way it is a pilgrimage as well as a retreat, where the journey is an important part of the experience. I leave from Peterborough train station, and change at Birmingham New Street for the long journey across country to Pwllheli, on the end of the Lleyn peninsular, below Anglesey in West Wales. The train starts as several carriages long, then divides up, so only two carriages go through to Pwllheli.  There you are met by a member of the group, and then life starts to get interesting, and you begin to move away from a world where time is measured by clocks and precision, and you begin the transition to Bardsey time.

Crossing the sound the five miles to Bardsey is hazardous: you have to wait for the right tides and weather conditions. This might mean that you immediately transfer to the boat; but usually you go the next day. The first time I crossed the boat came to a halt halfway across as a school of dolphins had joined us and were leaping and dancing all around us. One of the crew members put on his wet suit and got in to join them, they played all round him, making dolphin noises. There is only one place where it is safe to land on Bardsey, and when you reach the jetty the boat is winched ashore .Here you disembark and a tractor and trailer are waiting to take your luggage to which ever house you are staying in. Since 1979 the island has been owned by the Bardsey Island Trust,and houses are rented out . There used to be as many as 80 people living on Bardsey; but now there are only 8 full time residents: a family who run the island’s farm; a couple and their child who live at the bird observatory, and Emir, who is in charge of maintenance on the island. Other families and individuals live there for the summer.

Bardsey has a long history. It is formed of very old Precambrian rock, and evidence has been found of people living there since the Stone age. Bardsey, like many islands has been the home of holy men since the 5th century. St Cadfan arrived in 516 AD and built a monastery. He would have practiced a Celtic spirituality. There was a long struggle between the Celtic and Roman Church, which the Roman Church eventually won and Roman monks came to Bardsey in the 13th century, and built an abbey; some of which still stands. Many holy people made the pilgrimage to Bardsey, and one Pope proclaimed that 3 visits to Bardsey equal one to Rome. Many holy people are buried on Bardsey, and their remains are often disturbed during maintenance work. Bardsey is known as the island of 20,00 saints. Far from being spooky, there is a wonderful peace on Bardsey, which you feel embracing you as soon as you step off the boat...Part of this is for practical reasons: there are no cars, the rough tracks are only suitable for tractors or quad bikes.  There is no electricity, although the farm has it’s own generator. Radio contact doesn’t exist, and there are only 2 satellite phones on the island. There is no mobile phone signal either, except from the top of the mountain which dominates the island. Bardsey is only 2.5 miles long and 1.5 miles wide.

Once you have arrived at the house and unpacked, you can start to get into the rhythm of life on Bardsey. Water comes via two taps; one is collected rainwater for washing in; the other is water piped from a well, for drinking.  There are no bathrooms, the loo is in a little shed at the back, and is a composting loo, so you scatter some grass cuttings over each time you use it. Washing is done by jug and basin in your room, using the rainwater which has been boiled up for the purpose.

The daily rhythm of life is provided by worship and meals.  Nick, a priest based on the mainland, does all the cooking; exceptionally well. Some provisions have to be bought over; but the farm provides vegetables, milk and eggs. We also enjoy meat from the island’s Welsh Black cattle and sheep.  Nick, a man of many talents is also a keen fisherman, so fresh fish is also on the menu. Meals are leisurely, with plenty of good , easy conversation.

Worship consists of morning and evening prayer-accompanied by Nick on his guitar! At midday there is a Celtic healing service, which is open to any one on the island, including day visitors. This is a very gentle, undramatic  service, where we form a circle, and the leader with two attendants goes to each person.  One attendant covers their head with a shawl, to represent being covered by Christ’s righteousness; the other then anoints their forehead with oil in the form of a cross; whilst all speak the prayer of healing intercession together. We each take turns at the various roles during the week. Another thing we do is to take stones which have been collected from the beach, and write the name of a person we want to pray for on each one. These are then built into a cairn, or pile, and prayed over too. At the end of the week these stones are returned to the sea, symbolic of placing the person in the mercy of God. The healing service takes place in the peaceful setting of the Hermitage garden, if fine; or if it is wet, in the simple oratory, a little stone building made holy by the prayers of a nun who lived on the island for many years.  Once we had a communion  service on a grassy cliff top, with the dolphins leaping below.

Celtic spirituality is very much about finding God in the here and now, in the day to day practical realities of life, and within creation. Last year I did also go to some services held in the Island’s only church, a Methodist chapel.  Here a vicar from the mainland who had brought her youth group over was taking a more traditional service: the difference being that the left page of the book was written in Welsh and the right in English, and she switched between the two during the service!

You may wonder what we do all day, with none of the distractions of shops, the computer or television. Much hard work goes on , as there is a working farm to maintain and also the island is a site of special scientific interest as well as having the RSPB bird observatory; so there is a lot of monitoring and research work to be done. For us however, although there are a few chores to be done; the place is about “being”, not “doing”; letting the serenity of the place nourish and change us. There is plenty to see on walks around the island. All farming is eco-friendly and it is rich in plant and animal life. There are over 350 varieties of lichen, and such rarities as the Bardsey apple tree. The birdlife is very rich, with the Manx Shearwater being a particular feature of the island. The many thousand which inhabit the island overwinter in South America and navigate their way back to Bardsey each year to lay a solitary egg. This they lay in the now deserted rabbit burrows , where they shelter during the day, as otherwise they are attacked by gulls. When darkness falls they go out to fish, and one of the memorable sounds of Bardsey is their strange yelping song as they return to feed their chicks. Another distinctive sound is the moaning song of the seals, which richly populate the island. These are creatures who love to see what is going on, and will pop up to gaze at you if you walk along the shoreline, or go out in a boat.

It is also possible to walk up the mountain, from where you get the most wonderful views.

There’s also the opportunity to exercise your creative side.  Carole lives on the island in the summer months and is an artisan, painting, weaving, felting, working with clay. She does all this in a converted barn, in her large kitchen cum workshop. She runs teaching sessions where you can have a go at all these things.  Everything on Bardsey is done on an informal basis, and you just pop in and see her to arrange a time. She leaves a tub for donations. There are two shops on Bardsey, really huts; one for Carole, and one for Jo the farmer’s wife to sell their wares in.  Money is paid by way of an honesty box, and the shops are always open! No-one locks doors on Bardsey: the whole place runs on trust and pulling together.  The place is naturally friendly, and we always have a few visits from Emir the warden and the Porter family, the farmers, who like to bring their musical instruments and have a singsong with us.

I have many wonderful memories of time spent with Jacob’s well friends on Bardsey.  As for spiritual experiences, just being on Bardsey is a healing experience, but I believe the one which has sustained me most through all the ups and downs of recovering from a long-term illness was the one in the oratory.  I went there with two  others and we were praying together when I clearly felt God saying to me “My Kingdom is stronger than the damage”.  This has been a hard truth to hang on to at times, yet experience is showing it to be true.  I’m sure you will understand why I’m so looking forward to spending 2 weeks there this year!