Barry Island facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barry Island
Ynys y Barri
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Looking across Whitmore Bay
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 Barry Island
Location in Barry, Wales
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| Country | Wales |
| County borough | Vale of Glamorgan |
| Town | Barry |
| Historic county | Glamorgan |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| Post codes |
CF62
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| Area code(s) | 01446 |
Barry Island (Welsh: Ynys y Barri) is a fun seaside area in South Wales. It's part of the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. The name comes from a 6th-century saint named Baruc. Barry's coast is on the Bristol Channel. This area has the world's second-highest tidal range, meaning the difference between high and low tide is huge! It's about 15 meters (49 feet), only beaten by the Bay of Fundy in Canada.
Barry Island used to be a real island. But in the 1880s, it was connected to the mainland. This happened when the town of Barry grew. The Barry Docks, built by the Barry Railway Company, helped link the island to the rest of the land.
Today, Barry Island is famous for its sandy beach and the Barry Island Pleasure Park. It was also a filming location for popular BBC TV shows. These include Gavin & Stacey and Being Human.
Contents
Discovering Barry Island's Past
Ancient Times
People have lived around Barry Island for a very long time. Tools from the Middle Stone Age have been found here. These tools were made from flint. Later, New Stone Age tools were also discovered. It's thought that early people came to Wales by boat. They cleared forests to create farms.
These early farmers slowly changed from hunting and gathering. They started building large stone tombs called long barrows. These tombs are about 6,000 years old. You can find them just a few miles north of Barry Island.
New People and Ideas
Over many centuries, new groups of people arrived. They brought new ideas during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. The Silures, a Celtic tribe, settled in South Wales, including Barry Island. Five Bronze Age burial mounds have been found on Friars Point.
The Romans didn't build much on Barry Island itself. But there were Roman-British settlements nearby. These people became Christians. They built a chapel for St Baruc. Legend says St Baruc drowned in the Bristol Channel. He was buried on Barry Island. You can still see the ruins of his chapel. His special day is September 27.
Later, Viking raiders visited the area. Barry Island was even a Viking base in 1087.
Gerald of Wales and Local Legends
A famous writer named Gerallt Gymro (also known as Gerald of Wales) wrote about Barry Island. He lived a long time ago, from about 1146 to 1223. He said his family name, "de Barri," came from this island. It was named after St Baroc. Gerald described a strange sound heard in a rock near the island's entrance. It sounded like blacksmiths working, with hammers and furnaces. He thought it was the sea moving under the rocks.
However, many local people have a different idea. They believe it's the ghost of a hero named Benedict y Diffoddwr, or 'Benedict the Fighter'. The story says Benedict single-handedly fought off pirates. He saved his ship, the Tam Lyn, after his crew was killed. He was a hero! Locals believe he still protects the coast.
In 1908, a book described Barry Island. It mentioned a "fair little chapel of St Barrok." People used to go on pilgrimages there. The island was about a mile around. It had good crops, grass, and some trees. But by 1908, the chapel was gone. Barry Island was connected to the mainland. It was covered with houses and worth a lot of money.
Barry Island Today
Before 1896, you could only reach Barry Island at low tide by walking. Or you could take a paddle steamer when the tide was high. Then, a railway link was built. This made it much easier to visit. Barry Island railway station is the end of the Vale of Glamorgan Line. It connects to Cardiff, which is about 9 miles away.
More fun attractions were built on the island. By 1934, over 400,000 people visited the fairground during one August holiday week!
In 2008, BBC Radio 1 even broadcast a show from Barry Island. It was part of their "Barryoke" theme. In 2012, the Wales Coast Path opened. This path goes around Barry Island, letting people enjoy the beautiful coastline.
Local Government
Barry Island is part of the Baruc area. This area elects people to the Vale of Glamorgan Council and Barry Town Council.
Holiday Camp Fun
A holiday camp called Butlins Barry Island opened in 1966. It was a popular place for families to stay. It closed in 1996. For its last nine years, it was known as The Barry Island Resort.
Barry Island on Screen
Barry Island has been a popular place for filming TV shows and movies. The old holiday camp was used in an episode of Doctor Who called Delta and the Bannermen. Barry Island also appeared in other Doctor Who episodes. These included "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" in 2005. It was also in "Flatline" in 2014.
The 1987 horror film Bloody New Year filmed its fun fair scenes here.
The famous BBC show Gavin & Stacey is partly set and filmed on Barry Island. You can see Marco's Cafe in the show, where the character Stacey works.
The island was also used for Pleasure Park on ITV Wales. Parts of the island, including the Pleasure Park, were in The Mad Woman in the Attic. This was part of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
The BBC drama Being Human was also filmed in Barry. This supernatural show aired from 2011 to 2013.
The movie Submarine was partly filmed in Barry too.
Images for kids
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Whitmore Bay, a popular beach
