Dinas Dinlle

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link_to_welsh_text link_to_french_translation Link to Japanese translationToday Dinas Dinlle is best known for its beach, but c.3,000 years ago it was the site of a large hillfort. Part of the hill has been lost through sea erosion. The remnants can be seen and visited at the south end of the beach. It is in the care of the National Trust.

To hear how to pronounce Dinas Dinlle, press play:

Dinas refers to the hillfort. Dinlle (with lle meaning ‘place') refers to the area around the fort. The area is recorded in 1352 as Dinthle. Other instances, both in Shropshire, include Dinlle Vrecon (the Wrekin) and Dinlle Gwrygon (Kinnerley).

However, the -lle suffix became interpreted, many centuries ago, as the personal name Lleu. This interpretation is popularly believed to be the origin of the name.

Legend has it that Lleu Llaw Gyffes was raised in the hillfort. Tales of his heroism are found in The Mabinogi, a collection of tales written down from c.1100 to the mid-14th century. The tales relate to earlier periods in history, and were transmitted orally before being recorded in writing. In the story of Blodeuwedd, Lleu is tricked into revealing how he can be killed. On his assassination, he turns into an eagle. Later he is turned back to human form and rules Gwynedd.

In much more recent times, an unusual vessel known as “Chwadan Bill Parry” (Bill Parry’s Duck) was wrecked here in 1971. Bill Parry, an evangelist preacher in Caernarfon, intended to emigrate to Australia in a military amphibious vehicle (a large boat with road wheels), one of many built in the USA during the Second World War for the D-Day landings. This type of vehicle was classed as DUKW, popularly known as “duck”. The Rev Parry had twice got as far as France, and his third and final attempt ended with the vessel’s demise on a sandbank at Dinas Dinlle.

Postcode: LL54 5TW    View Location Map

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