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| | | From Shetland to the Scilly Isles, Open Country travels the UK in search of the stories, the people and the wildlife that make our countryside such a vibrant place. Each week we visit a new area to hear how local people are growing the crops, protecting the environment, maintaining the traditions and cooking the food that makes their corner of rural Britain unique.
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|  | | The acid lake at Parys Mountain | | This week's presenter is Charlotte Smith
The imprint of thousands of years of history is still clearly visible on the landscape of Ynys Môn or Anglesey, the rolling, fertile island off the north west coast of Wales, separated from the mainland and Snowdonia only by the narrow Menai Straits.
Charlotte begins her visit to Anglesey in the company of Eric Maddern, a storyteller and author, who recalls the great importance of the island to the Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, and the terror their womenfolk inspired in the Roman soldiers sent to quell them. A lake close to where Eric and Charlotte are standing on Holy Island was used by the Druids for sacrificial offerings to the gods, and Eric recounts how one Irish prince of the most noble rank may have paid the highest price for the good of his people.
More than 20 stone burial chambers dating from 4000 BC still stand on Anglesey and Frances Lynch of Bangor University shows Charlotte the true significance of what at first sight seems a random jumble of stones inside Barclodiad y Gawres. This burial chamber, perched on a cliff top on the south west coast of the island, was constructed by the early farming communities of Anglesey, who, Frances believes, may have associated the bones of their ancestors with the continuity and prosperity of their agricultural lands. This chamber is unique for the "stew" of fish, newt, toad, frog, hare and snake remnants discovered on the site of a cremation - no one knows for sure what it might signify, but it does give an intriguing glimpse into the burial ceremonies carried out by some of the earliest inhabitants of the island. Charlotte discovers, too, some relatively sophisticated stone carvings in the chamber, judged by Frances to be more artistic than others she's seen in her archaeological career.
BBC History: Barclodiad y Gawres
Copper was first mined on Anglesey in the Bronze Age, and the lunar landscape which greets visitors to Parys Mountain today is a reminder of the wealth and scale of that industry on Anglesey. Brian Hope, a local historian, explains how the open cast mine was dug by hand in the 18th century and provided work for thousands of men and women - the so called "copper ladies" who worked as "cobbers", breaking ore with heavy hammers on anvils, 12 hours a day. This hard labour paid dividends, though, with the copper ladies earning more money, respect and status on Anglesey than their counterparts working on the farm.
Copper Ladies
Local artist and craftswoman Siobhan Webster, based at a studio near Beaumaris, works in copper: taking the Celtic and Viking heritage of the island as her inspiration, she is keeping alive designs first seen on Anglesey thousands of years ago. It's a surprisingly malleable medium for her particular choice of designs.
Anglesey Craftworkers Guild
David Lee Wilson and his wife were determined to live on Anglesey and, that decision made, set out to find a way of making sure they could. Moving from a business in oysters to lobsters to a public aquarium, they eventually hit upon the idea of harvesting salt from the Menai Straits, and today run Halen Môn producing sea salt from the local waters. David uses his ears and eyes to judge when the salt is ready for packing, a skill he says no machine can replace.
 | | Porpoise watching off Point Lynas | |
Finally, north to Amlwch to board the Sea Witch for a trip off Point Lynas to spot porpoises. Once out at sea, Richard Shucksmith of the North Wales branch of the Marine Conservation Society tells Charlotte that, in fact, it's easier to see them from the coast path, but there are still plenty around the boat, made easy to see by the crowds of gannets following in their wake. Richard and his colleagues have just begun a three year baseline survey of the local porpoises, trying to find out if it's a transitory population, whether or not they are breeding off Anglesey and, indeed, if the rivalry between porpoises and bottle nosed dolphins is a recent phenomenon or one that's simply gone unnoticed up till now.
Marine Conservation Society
Last week's competition winner is Penny Beale, from Hastings in East Sussex.
Submit your entry by emailing [email protected]
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