Last year I visited Albania, came home, put this together and then promptly forgot about it! So for historic Orthodox churches, icons, spectacular scenery and a donkey take a minute to enjoy this.

Is this the only stained glass window to feature a cormorant?! 'The Arrival of St Tecwyn' (by coracle from Brittany). Window by Polly Hope, 1988 and in St Michael’s church, Llanfihangel-y-traethau, Gwynedd, on the Llwybr Cadfan pilgrimage route. pererin.com

#StandingStoneSaturday 🙄🧐😮 Stretching the legs around the backlanes & hills of Devils Bridge, mid Wales, this morning... #cycling It would have been rude not to stop at the tiny circular churchyard & Bronze Age stone circle at Ysbyty Cynfyn on the way👌

The Cadfan Stone at St Cadfan's in Towyn is a fascinating survival from 9th century Wales - with not only the earliest example of written Welsh but uniquely, commemorating two women - Tengrumui, and Cun, wife of Celyn. Poignantly it adds: 'Grief and loss remain'. broystumanner.com/st-cadfan-home

Monument at St Tegfan, Llandegfan to Thomas Davis, Gent., who served two Princes of Wales—Henry and Charles—and later King Charles I as Messenger in Ordinary of His Majesty’s Chamber. Died 1649.

A cool escape in the heatwave: ancient yews line the path to St Tygai, Llandygai offering shade and stillness. Dianc cŵl yn y don wres: ywenni hynafol yn leinio'r llwybr i Tygai Sant, Llandygái yn cynnig cysgod a llonyddwch.

St Cian’s Church, Llangian — Grade II listed and on the Llywbr Cadfan pilgrimage route - pererin.com First recorded in the 13th century, rebuilt in the 1400s and restored again in 1858. The charming timber porch? A later addition from around 1906.

Llangelynnin Old Church has watched over Cardigan Bay from the coastal cliffs of Gwynedd since the 13th century — quiet, weathered and somehow timeless.

Driving in the Forest of Dean when this striking church came into sight with a Church Open sign. Seemed rude not to stop! Date 1856 by architect George Gilbert Scott. Sadly on the Historic England Heritage at Risk register but a big shout out to those volunteers who keep this stunning church open.

Tongwynlais by Samuel Coupe Fox tongwynlais.com/2025/05/17/t...

We now offer virtual visits for anyone who would like to view our material but can't travel to Aberystwyth, or who would like to have a better idea of what we hold before they travel. There's more information on our website: zurl.co/zrpY7 #ExploreYourArchive

A beautiful flock frozen in glass at Llandaff Cathedral. These delicate panels showcase birds with vivid detail and a painter’s care—each a tiny portrait of nature caught in light. #WindowsOnWednesday #LlandaffCathedral #StainedGlass #Birds

Bold colours. Trumpet-like pipes. The 1862 organ at St Mary’s Priory, Usk is a Victorian showpiece. Built for Llandaff Cathedral, moved here in 1900. #Usk #HistoricOrgan #VictorianGothic #ChurchArt

#AdoorableThursday at St David, Llangeview

Mystery chapel alert - can you help @rcahmwales.bsky.social to identify?

The painted ceiling at #WorcesterCathedral is absolutely stunning—golden ribs, angels and intricate patterns soaring overhead. Much of the decoration dates to the Victorian restoration led by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 1860s. #GothicArchitecture

Tomb of the Venerable Bede, Durham Cathedral. Wording reads: 'Christ is the Morning Star who when the night of this world is past brings to his saints the promise of the light of life and opens everlasting day' Memorial designed by George Pace and sculpted by Frank Roper.

Leafy Lancaster...

The very different Valleys you find in Eglwysilan One of my best places

#StandingStoneSunday St Brynach's Cross is a stunning in-situ Early Medieval monument standing 3.7m tall in St Brynach's Churchyard, Nevern, #Pembrokeshire. The well-preserved designs show #Viking influence. Great to visit it again yesterday 👌🥰 Read more here: coflein.gov.uk/en/site/304393

Booked! I can highly recommend this Symposium. Always an engaging programme 😄🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🗺️

A fantastic @rcahmwales.bsky.social project - well done @jrdollery.bsky.social!

Gorgeous animal & bird designs on these organ pipes at St David’s, Merthyr 😍 Inspired by the epic hymn of praise sung by Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego when the Angel of the Lord rescued them from Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace (Book of Daniel:3) 🔥✨ #ChurchArt #OrganPipes

Our latest Archive Bulletin of newly catalogued material is now available to view on our website. Enjoy some fantastic photos: zurl.co/0qRVQ @RC_Survey @RC_Archive @RC_EnwauLleoedd

St Tegfedd, Llandegfedd — medieval foundation, rebuilt 1875–76. A small, charming church with some early 19th-century box pews — an unusual survival in South Wales ✨ #Churches #SouthWales #History #Architecture

A classic Ffridd boundary bank between the enclosed farmland below and the open mountain pasture above near Llanuwchllyn. This one was huge, looking more like a dyke. They are difficult to date but most are late medieval and post medieval.

St Beuno, Pistyll, Gwynedd. Gem o eglwys - rhuthro ar y llawr a heb drydan. O, a lleoliad gwych hefyd! St Beuno, Pistyll, Gwynedd. A gem of a church - rushes on the floor and without electricity. Oh, and a wonderful setting too!

Welcome! We’re excited to share our work in recording and understanding Wales’s rich history, heritage, and archaeology. Follow us for expert insights, research updates, and discoveries as we explore and record Wales’s historic environment. Thanks for joining us—we look forward to engaging with you!

Golygfa hyfryd heddiw o Nant Gwrtheyrn 😎 Stunning view today from Nant Gwrtheyrn, Gwynedd #Cymru

In 1783, 3000 or so Loyalist refugees from the former American colonies arrived in the small settlement of Saint John, New Brunswick. This memorial at Trinity Church both commemorates their deeply-felt loss and celebrates their resilience. #Canada 🇨🇦

A bit more about this one in our virtual study day at churchmonumentssociety.org/2020/11/21/v...

Friends in #Wales / the borders: I'm giving a talk in #Brecon on Tuesday 18 March, 7pm, at St Mary's Church: '#Medieval #Pilgrimage and Devotion: St Thomas of Hereford and the Hanged Man'. Tickets £10 on the door, no need to book. All welcome - I'd love to see you there! www.thomasway.ac.uk

Cardiff rail stations in The mix this week. Here’s a reminder of what Queen street station once was ….

Do you LOVE Scotland's religious built heritage? We're working with @socantscot.bsky.social on a new project aiming to fully identify & understand the social, cultural & heritage impacts of ongoing church closure crisis. A fixed-term research post is available 👇 www.socantscot.org/news/were-hi...

I was asked by the good folks at @nation.cymru to put down a few words about being a #writer in #Wales ahead of the publication of my new book Seascape. It was much harder than I thought it would be. But here goes.... nation.cymru/culture/on-b...

This week's #FontsOnFriday features an early medieval font from #Ireland Originally from Inchiologhan Church, it's now at St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny 🇮🇪

This model of St Joseph's, Cwmaman echoes the decay of the now-redundant church it sits in—there's a cautionary tale here against designing a church on a hillside with five roof valleys, complicated drainage, and not accounting for Welsh weather... 🤔🌧️😢

St Trillo’s Chapel, Rhos-on-Sea: A Tiny Gem Is it the smallest church in Britain? St Trillo's Chapel, located in Rhos-on-Sea, is often considered the smallest church in Britain, with seating for just six people.

I started this pack several months ago loosely for heritage and culture in Wales - I expect many more accounts have joined since then! Let me know any that should be added (please check you/they are not in there already) go.bsky.app/2iSkmMx

In light of Trump’s latest catastrophe, here’s a musical reinterpretation of the Star Spangled Banner by the brilliant Bill Bailey youtu.be/_dVFknALySA?...

Celebrating #DyddGŵylDewi #StDavidsDay with two interpretations of Dewi Sant in Welsh churches—though he almost certainly didn’t look like either! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🟢 at St David, Resolven (Hardman Studios) 🔴 at The Resurrection, Ely, Cardiff (Maile Studios, 1956) #GwnewchYPethauBychan #DoTheLittleThings

I loved this! It is also interesting to see that it was filmed at Ewenny Priory, Merthyr Mawr House, and the Covid Hospital in Bridgend!

Penblwydd Hapus Rev. Dr Richard Price - radical Welsh nonconformist, philosopher and much more, considered “the greatest Welsh thinker of all time” 🎂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🙏

A hint of a Welsh summer at Ogmore-by-Sea today😎☀️🏖️

A striking detail of the tiled reredos at the Church of the Holy Cross, Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan. #TilesOnTuesday

Paused on my way back from Coffi a Chlonc at Eglwys Dewi Sant and a catch-up with commsguymatt.bsky.social to snap City URC (Grade II*). Here’s the west window, remodelled in 1893 by E. M. Bruce-Vaughan. In Cardiff, it often pays to #LookUp to where the original architecture remains untouched!

St Madoes I A #Pictish cross-slab of the highest quality, my images from Perth Museum. Note the: - Gripping dog-like beasts - Possible pairs of lions - Interlace & spiral bosses - Hooded riders - Pictish symbols: = crescent & V-rod = double disc & Z-rod = Pictish Beast canmore.org.uk/site/28201

The Scott Memorial Lighthouse at Roath Park, Cardiff. Capt RF Scott and his team sailed from Cardiff in June 1910 on his ill-fated expedition to locate the South Pole. The lighthouse was a private gift after the Scott Memorial Appeal Fund failed to raise enough money for a public memorial.

The C12 north door of Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff featuring three recessed orders of zig-zag moulding and framing the C20 door designed by architect George Pace. #AdoorableThursday

Cuts to the arts in Wales are threatening what it is to be Welsh. Yes Conservative cuts have forced difficult decisions but the Welsh Government have to also accept responsibility. I wrote this piece for The Guardian exploring the issue: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...