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Tours > Wales > Mostyn
Mostyn
Situated on the Dee estuary, where it meets the Irish Sea, about twenty miles northwest of Chester, and backed by the high hills of the northern limits of the Clwydian Range, Mostyn is easily bypassed on the coastal road to the resorts of North Wales. Its huge blast furnaces that used to light up the skies for miles around are now idle; its ironworks deserted; even its historic coal mine, Point of Ayr: called the Black Parlour (Parlwr Du Parloor Dee) by the miners, has now closed, the last in North Wales. The area is now a nature reserve, abounding with seabirds. History also abounds in the area, however.
The architect of Edward I's chain of mighty castles, James of St. George was granted the prosperous manor of Mostyn by the king. In later times, the future King Henry VII is reputed to have escaped the forces of Richard III by jumping through a window of the Great Hall. A place has been kept empty at the dining table ever since. The Mostyn family for centuries dominated the political life of the county of Flint; their huge estate and deer park are a pleasant diversion from the dismal remains of the ironworks below.
The little town of Mostyn, has for the most part, retained its Welsh language, and with the adjoining village of Ffynnongroew (Fun On Groyoo), is an oasis of Welshness in the desert that is the much anglicized northeast coast.
Next Stop: Winifred's Well, etc.
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