A 'fantasy island' seen by thousands travelling over the Britannia Bridge between Bangor and Anglesey features two large stone weirs that form one of the best preserved fishing traps in the region. At high tide, all that remains to the eye are a pair of white buildings - but at low tide the weirs are revealed.
Perched in the middle of the Menai Strait, Ynys Gorad Goch (“Red Weir Island”) was rebuilt in the 19th century. The two weirs face different directions, to allow for fish to be caught whichever way the tide was flowing.
There are around 20 fish traps in the Strait, eight of which were discovered through aerial photography, and some dating back 1,000 years but it's believed fish may have been trapped there as early as 2000 BC. It is believed Ynys Gorad Goch supplied fresh fish and smoked herring to monasteries in Amlwchy, Penmon and Holyhead since the 13th century, as reported by our sister site NorthWalesLive.
