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Bardsey Island

Off the Llŷn Peninsula, Gwynedd

The 'island of 20,000 saints', once a pirates' hideout.

Bardsey was a holy island where pilgrims came for centuries, and legend says 20,000 saints are buried there. After its abbey was closed, the island became a haven for pirates in the 1500s, who sheltered and traded stolen goods there.

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When
1500s
Where
52.7600, -4.7900
Group
Pirates

Visiting

Boat trips run from Porth Meudwy and Pwllheli, weather permitting.

Cover of Blood and Gold by Cale Mills
Read the full story in the book

Blood and Gold

Sixteen true stories of mutiny, mercy, treasure and the gallows from the Golden Age of Piracy: Henry Every, Bartholomew “Black Bart” Roberts, Edward England, Howell Davis, Christopher Moody, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Charles Vane, Benjamin Hornigold, Blackbeard, Stede Bonnet, Israel Hands, Calico Jack, Edward Low, Captain William Kidd and Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy. Where the record is uncertain, the book says so.

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