ANCIENT LLŶN
Every castle, cairn, hillfort, chapel and legend on the Llŷn Peninsula — mapped, dated, and sourced. No login, no cost, just the peninsula’s history laid out where it actually happened.
What is Ancient Llŷn?
Ancient Llŷn is a free, interactive map of the real archaeology and history scattered across the peninsula — Neolithic tombs older than Stonehenge, one of the best-preserved Iron Age hillforts in Britain, the castle a Welsh prince built and an English king later burned, the pilgrim road to “the island of 20,000 saints,” and the chapels that shaped every village along the way.
Every site has a properly sourced write-up, a handful of key facts, and a quick self-test question — written to be genuinely useful whether you’re planning a walk, doing a school project, or just curious what that pile of stones on the hillside actually is.
It stands on its own, and it’s also the natural next step for anyone who’s read The Llŷn Histories book series and wants the fuller story behind a favourite site.
Six ways to explore
Standing Stones, Tombs & Cairns
Portal dolmens, cup-marked capstones and burial cairns from the peninsula’s first farming communities.
Hillforts & Iron Age Settlements
Including Tre’r Ceiri, one of the best-preserved hillforts in Britain, still holding around 150 stone roundhouses.
Princes, Castles & Medieval Towns
Criccieth Castle’s journey from Welsh princely stronghold to English conquest, plus the towns Edward I reshaped.
Saints, Pilgrims, Sacred Sites & Chapels
The pilgrim road to Bardsey, ancient parish churches, and the Nonconformist chapels of the Methodist revival.
Legends & Folklore
Vortigern’s Valley and the llys of March ap Meirchion — where real places carry centuries of story.
Maritime & Industrial Heritage
Porth Dinllaen, the herring port that very nearly became Wales’s main crossing to Ireland.
The map
Filter by category, click any pin, and test yourself on what you find.
ANCIENT LLŶN — Heritage Explorer
Want the fuller story?
The Llŷn Histories is a five-book series that goes far deeper on a curated selection of these sites — 25,000+ words per book, fully illustrated, for anyone who wants more than a map popup can hold.
Browse the book series