Michael Wynne was a National Trust property manager

A local man is taking over the management of a holiday island off the coast of the Llyn Peninsula known in ancient times as an important pilgrimage site.

Bardsey island - Ynys Enlli in Welsh - is known as the island of 20,000 saints because of the legend that thousands of monks are buried there.

Today it is run as a retreat for visitors, a farm, nature reserve and bird observatory by the Bardsey Island Trust.

The new director is Michael Wynne from Pwllheli who will be taking over at the beginning of June after former director Seimon Glyn left the post in January.

Mr Glyn, a Gwynedd county councillor for the Tudweiliog ward, has been appointed project manager of GISDA, an accommodation and advice service for young homeless people in Caernarfon.

He sparked a debate on the Welsh language in 2001 after saying that Welsh-speaking heartlands were threatened by a tidal wave of English speaking people in a radio interview.

Bardsey Island is a special place with a unique atmosphere which must not be lost. New Bardsey Island Director, Michael Wynne

Michael Wynne was previously a property manager for the National Trust at Chirk Castle, the Ceiriog Valley and the whole of Denbighshire.

He has been responsible for managing a complex historic and natural environment that includes a medieval castle and park which receives 86,000 visitors a year.

As the Bardsey Island Trust's director he will oversee the running of the island including the holiday letting of its Victorian farmhouses, trips by day-visitors, conservation and staffing.

Unique atmosphere

On his appointment, Mr Wynne said the island was a special place with a unique atmosphere which must not be lost.

"It is important to different people for different reasons - nature conservation, history, religion and culture," he said.

"One of the challenges for the future must surely be to protect these aspects which make Bardsey so special and preserve its unique atmosphere whilst at the same time facilitating access for visitors."

Seals, choughs and shearwaters share the island with eight permanent residents including farmers David and Libby Barnden, whose first year there was portrayed in the recent BBC documentary called Love on a Rock.

Bardsey Island lies off the north Wales coast

Welsh Black cattle and sheep graze in the fields beside the bird observatory, lighthouse, chapel, medieval abbey ruins and the stone Victorian farmhouses that provide accommodation for summer visitors.

The island was bought by Bardsey Island Trust Ltd 1979 and is run on a not-for-profit basis.

It employs four staff divided between the mainland and the island with the overall responsibility lying with its members and council that meet regularly in Aberdaron.

Visitors to Bardsey Island travel there from Pwllheli or Porth Meudwy, near Aberdaron, over rough seas called the "swnt" throughout the summer months.