The Anglesey Coastal Path

[ramblingpete]

Not sure if I should be posting a LDP from outside of Scotland but here is one I did earlier this year. Flat but enjoyable nonethe less.

I was lucky again as I had nine rain free days

The island itself is fairly flat, having been neatly mown down by the Irish sea ice during the last glaciation. The Menai Straits that seperate the island from the mainland were formed after the last ice age had finished. The highest point on the island (reached on day one) is Holyhead Mountain (a bit of a misnomer that one) at a majestic 230m or around 750ft in old money – hardly a mountain, but bright and shiny in it’s quartzitic glory.

Anglesey itself aside from the coast consists predominantly of farmland, some big, some small but most of it used for pasture and fattening up cows and surprisingly a large amount of chickens – obsviously they don’t eat the pasture. Which neatly brings the point of interest to the coast which is where the path runs. Nearly all of it has been designated AONB and there are very diverse habitats to be seen right along the coastline.

There’s going to be Salt Marsh, where sometimes it’s a joy to walk along the springy grasses if they’re not too wet, a bit like walking on a firm matress. But if the tides in I won’t be seeing too much.

The dunes of Aberffraw and Newborough Warren, where hopefully I can take the boots off and wander barefoot along the sand, maybe sit and saviour the moments in the spring sunshine (I’m going to look a mug if it rains for 9 days). I quite like walking between the dunes in the ‘slacks’ with the different vegetation easy to walk on and the chance of spotting some different birdlife.

There’s plenty of sea cliffs abounding around the north side of the island, hopefully rich in birdlife at the time of the walk. I always enjoy the view down to crashing waves, seeing the coastal features of sea arches.

Plenty of heathland walking through heather, grass and gorse which is always the smell of summer to me after all the years spent holidaying on Holy Island, walking around the headlands from Silver Bay to Rhoscolyn and back.

There’s also a bit of wetland, estuarine muddy parts if the tide is out always interesting where freshwater meets saltwater, and a limited amount of forest which doesn’t impinge much on the coastal path

[ramblingpete]

It's going to take me a while to paste in the pictures bear with me....Day One...

The Anglesey Coastal Path – Holyhead to Treardurr Bay
12.3 miles.
Sunny, windy and chilly.

I tucked in a merino base later this morning and boy was I thankful. A chill wind greeted me as I stepped off the train, as did two community policemen. Thankfully they weren’t looking for me.
It’s been many years since I walked through Holyhead and to be honest there isn’t a lot of it that I remember except that the main shopping street is quite narrow.
Like all the long paths I walk the beginnings and ends are usually in a town at the local station or ferry or car drop off point. This Coastal path is no different with the exception that the start and finish are the same point, the convenience of a railway station.
The way starts for me by crossing to the town via a fancy new stainless steel bridge, a great link with dome interesting bronze plaques set into the walkway. The official start is just around the corner at St Cybils Church. A reasonable start and a walk through the houses of Holyhead, passing by the harbour and the great breakwater that zigzags out into the bay – I’ve been on worse starts to a LDP. It didn’t take long to get out onto the coast, and the ferries to Ireland were whizzing in and out of the harbour. The paths were moist but mostly passable on the worse stretches. I had to buy a new pair of boots yesterday as my old Salomon Quest were worn out. Just as well they are fit for use straight out of the box, though I wouldn’t really recommend doing that without breaking them in first.
There are a fine set of rustic gates that lead through the big old quarry area at the country park before the path rises up and around some steep sided cliffs. There’s plenty of room though as it winds through the heather and stumpy gorse. I didn’t realise it was a different type to the stuff I’m used to – a lot more compact – but it still scratches pretty good.
Up on the NW side of a Holy Island the wind was blowing but not as chill as I thought and I ended up just walking in my merino vase and shorts – I like a bit of breeze round the Trossachs.
I passed by an old explosive store for the quarry, looking like a sentry post stuck all alone on the hillside, with views down to North Stack – an old signal station, but now a private house. The road down to it is a touch on the rough side and anything other than a land rover wouldn’t make it. I had the pleasure of watching the coastguard helicopter buzzing around the coast and thankfully nobody was being rescued or recovered.
There’s a plethora of paths all over Holyhead mountain – it’s a hill really but a mountain compared to the rest of Anglesey. The coast path is well signposted so it’s hard to go wrong really – a tern on a blue background. You could probably walk around here without a map just keeping the sea to the right.
Beyond North a Stack is the more popular South Stack lighthouse, which sits down a long set of steps and a suspension bridge across to its rock base. I stopped for a chat to a twitcher here looking at various birds through a big scope, and while I was at it I had a 99 from Mr Whippy and it didn’t hurt one bit.
Beyond the car parks the path got quieter ( not that it was too busy) and I didn’t meet many people all the way to Trearddur Bay.
Some great Coastal scenery with sea stacks, foaming turquoise seas and bright sun. You can’t best that fresh smell.
Where the path took to the road they have managed to create a path through the fields alongside, buy there were one or two stretches of minor road walking.
The coast scene didn’t change much all the way to Trearddur Bay and I ambled across the sands to my B&B to end my day.
Anglesey is pretty flat really, squished by past ice ages, which really gives the coast more appeal. But don’t get me started on the geology of the place. It’s very complicated and contains words such as melange and Mona complex – sounds exotic and it is. It’s designated as a Geopark and is world renowned. It is complex though and that’s for another post (pretends he knows something about it)
Day one finished and not easy to type up on the iPhone do forgive any mistakes.
Did I say it was sunny and dry?

[ramblingpete]

Day Two ....

The Anglesey Coastal Path – Trearddur Bay to Rhosneigr
15.1 miles, bright and sunny with a touch of windburn. Turned chilly in the afternoon once the tide turned.

A very brief blog as I ran out of time due to various refreshments taking over me.

A change from the high cliffs from day one, although I continued with the great coastline scenery and features. There was a fair gaggle of geologists out and about looking at all the outcrops down on the cliffs of Rhoscolyn. Anglesey is world renowned for it’s geological formations and is classified as a Geopark. Very complicated and forever being updated.
As I approached the coastguard look out tower the views suddenly open up out over Rhoscolyn Bay and it’s sandy beach. Lots of childhood memories of walking around the headlands here and one or two landmarks I recognised from 43 years ago. Lovely grassy paths down to the beach and views over to Snowdonia and the llyn Peninsula beyond Rhoscolyn Beacon. Beyond Rhoscolyn was revisiting land I’d walked often from the caravan we had at Silver Bay. The site itself is much changed but the buildings are still there, but as expected everything is much smaller than my memory recalls. A short walk along the sandy shore and it was a cut back above the dunes to walk along wooded paths, soggy pasture and quiet lanes. A permissive path open from January to October was a delight to walk down even though the paths were a little muddy, with new boardwalks over the worse sections. Not many wild flowers out yet, but many about to burst into life. Some of the trees are looking quite dead despite having plenty of water to set them going.
It’s a 2 mile walk from Silver Bay to Four Mile Bridge and I can remember long hot summer walks with my brother to fetch a loaf of bread. I’m sure my Ma just used to send us to get us out of the way for a while. Good memories though and we had many happy times there.
Once I reached Four Mile Bridge I found the local cafe and stopped for some lunch. It’s nice to know these places are here and I spent a pleasant hour resting up out of the blazing sun, grazing away on a baguette and supping quantities of strong tea. I watched the local RSPCA workers doing a bit of training on the estuary. Must be a few cattle needing rescue from the mudflats now and again.
I had my first ever (and only) fishing rod here – bought by my Uncle if I remember correctly. Didn’t catch much apart from the telephone lines, but we did catch some mackerel from time to time , which my Pa used to gut , fillet and cook up into Kedgeree and feed us. I didn’t like it at the time but now appreciate that it was probably very tasty, and very healthy – sorry Pa.
The second half of my day involved the walk to Rhosneigr around the airbase at RAF Valley. The noise of the training jets was a constant roar, but as with all noise you become accustomed to it after a while, by when the Eurofighter was taking off it was quite a leap in the decibel levels. The signage continued to be good, but the two acres of muddy shite through a farmyard beyond Rhoscolyn was a bit of a shock. But it was behind me soon enough and didn’t really impinge on my enjoyment. There’s a few flood defences around now, but the landscape of the salt marsh is a delight to see with plenty of birdlife around, but still a little early for some of the migrants. Holyhead mountain isn’t that far away from view and nor is the aluminium plant tower. But it receded a little as I got further around the coast. Once away from the fields on the north side of the airstrip the route skirted around the south side along the beach, with a stiff breeze blowing sand in snaking flows. A couple of miles striding out along the sand, with a couple of kite surfers enjoying the elements, I arrived at Rhosneigr to realise I was too far down the beach and had a river to cross to get up to the town. A careful look along the river led me to a shallow crossing where a bit of tip toe-ing led me dry shod to my B&B for the night. The new boots were fine with no problems for my feet, but my right peg is really giving me some gip. Another great day and really enjoying myself .

[ramblingpete]

Day Three...

The Anglesey Coastal Path – Rhosneigr to Malltraeth13 miles exactly today. A bit chilly but mainly bright with sun, sand and no sangria.

Refreshed by a pleasant evening and a good Thai meal at the local restaurant, even though there was only one lady serving, it was worth waiting for – I like Thai food. A good breakfast at the B&B set me up for the day and after a little faff it was out into the sunshine for a gentle stroll along the coastline. Time isn’t an issue when there’s only yourself to please and as my legs aren’t up to much nowadays it was good to take my time. Down into town to stop and shop for a sandwich and it was away onto the beach of Traeth Llydan where wind blown debris had gathered up bits of straw into little balls which were bobbing along in the wind. I think they were the Gruffalos bollix, although they looked like a mouse nest as well – I tied them up and gave them a tickle, and promptly found a 50p piece in the sand. Great fun this walking. The beach stretched out ahead or a mile or so, with the prominent burial cairn of Barclodiad y Gawres across the bay. This is a restored chambered cairn which has some impressive chevron rock art on one of the uprights. You have to get the key from a local store at Llanfaelog – some info here

Holyhead Mountain to the north was now receeding and into view to the SE came the Llyn Peninsula, a little misty in the distance but ever enticing me forward. I rambled and wobbled a bit around the clifftops, and found a nice sheltered cleft to sit in out of the wind at Ynysoedd Duon. It was so pleasant I decided to have an early lunch rather than plough on, and it’s a good job really as the path diverted away from the coast to pass around the Anglesey motor racing circuit - Trac Mons It was quiet in the morning, but due to the wind direction it was quite intrusive in the afternoon. Obviously the owners don’t want a bunch of hikers striding along the tarmac here so the coastal path diverts across a newly manured, baked hard by the sun, stinking like me on a bad day, field, a couple of quiet lanes and eventually back down to the coast at Porth China.

This was the highlight of the day, to see the tide out and easy access to the tiny church at St Cwyfan, stood proud on it’s little island in the sea. Some information here about its history – it goes back a long way. I strode over rocks, pebbles and seaweed to climb the steps up to the grassy island. Great views over to the mountains and a little bench behind the church to rest my sticky legs. They were looking a bit tasty now with all the sunshine – factor 15 just not enough to stop the frying.

Exposed on the beachcliffs were Quarternary sands and glacial till – a right old mish mash of rock and sand. Once around the long stretch of sand there was some delightful headland to walk around towards Aberffraw, gently undulating while the mountains came nearer and nearer. Twas turning out to be a beautiful day alright and the walk up the side of the estuary is superb along the Afon Ffraw. In the bright sunlight it felt far more exotic than Anglesey (that’s meant to be a compliment not an insult btw) and the path led me unerringly to the heritage centre and a very welcome break for tea and ice-cream. Many of the helpers here are ‘special needs’ so I had to be a little patient with my order, but it was a great place to be, and a very interesting conversation with a gent who kept disappearing and coming back again to enquire where I was going, did I know there was a bus, and is that your bag. Yes, no, yes was the answer several times over – bless them.

Suitably refreshed I chose to walk over the lovely arched bridge and along the quiet lane across Tywyn Aberffraw, rather than taking to the dunes as the afternoon was ticking along. The end of the day saw me walking across cow pasture to an old derelict farm building at Bont-Faen, where the bizarre sight of a huge pile of seashells greeted me, with some old hay bales that now wear a lovely green grass top. Onto ploughed fields – not the best to walk across, up to the church at Llangadwaladr, and along quiet roads and lanes for the last mile or so to Malltraeth my overnight stop – no pubs serving food yet, but a nice friendly chippy and a Rottweiler at the B&B!

Another grand day out on the Anglesey Coastal Path and not a drop of rain…except at night time…ha ha missed me.

[ramblingpete]

Posts on LDPs outside Scotland are very welcome. This is a new one to me. Very interesting.

Hope you enjoy it. I've got a few more days to post yet, but as it's peeing down in Manchester, I've got all day. I've got a few other LDP's I've done previously but haven't posted them on here.

[ramblingpete]

Day Four...

The Anglesey Coastal Path – Malltraeth to Brynsiencin
15 miles on the Satmap GPS – it doesn’t lie much honestly. Sunshine and clouds, turning chilly later and a little grey to finish the day.

Last night it rained, but only after I’d been to the chippy and got back to the B&B. The owners had nipped out for a meal elsewhere and told me to help myself to whatever I needed. So I nipped upstairs, puzzled at the stair gate as the owners were well past childcare date, and went into the kitchen for a plate for my chips. Grrr said the Rottweiler, parp said my bottom as I made a sharp exit downstairs. I sat in the conservatory munching my food as the rain pattered down on the roof – thankful it hadn’t arrived earlier..

….and in the morning all semblance of moistness had gone, leaving me with a morning that had a softness of light to it, and lurvely blue sky to enjoy once more. A good breakfast despite the presence of a large Rotty under the table – I should have kept the Gruffalos bollix to feed her with. Packed lunch collected it was ready for the off into another dry day starting with a mile steady plod across a flood defence embankment. There was a little lake behind the embankment and a horse stood posing at the far side, giving a reflection that my camera couldn’t do justice to, but I tried, oh how I tried. The estuary of the Afon Cefni is wide, sandy with some salt marsh at it’s edges, and as I turned into the old plantation of Newborough Forest it was like stepping into another place. It reminded me of the many jobs I’ve been to where the road to the rig is a gravelled track through the trees, and with the strong dappled sunlight I could have been somewhere mediterranean. There were one or two flooded areas of path which had me scrambling around looking for a diversion amonst dead branches and fallen trees, and I assumed that was a result of the heavy storms we have had during the past winter. But without the need to rush a gentle amble soon brought me back on track and as I reached the southern end of the forest one of those happy sublime moments occurred, where the trees thinned enough to glimpse the mountains of Snowdonia and the Llyn Peninsula beyond and bright light bounced off the fine sand, giving a real feel of the seaside of warmer climes.

Out through the trees the beach beckoned, as it did to many other tourists who were out enjoying the sun walking from car park to Llanddwyn Island and back again. I sought refuge in a peaceful spot in amongst the pillow lavas exposed on the beach, and settled back to enjoy my lunch with Chris Isaac’s ‘Wicked Game’ playing in my ears – he and Helen Christensen could well have made the video for that song on this very beach – must have been difficult for him though with her behind him, skin to skin while he tried to strum away and sing.

The views over to the mountains were still a little fuzzy and a strong wind was blowing, cool enough to don another layer. After admiring a few more rocks I cast a glance over towards Llanddwyn Island, thought about walking over there, then dismissed it as there were too many people around the place. I found the walk across the sands towards the main car park quite hypnotic, but woke from my minds slumber as I reached the main car park. Plenty of people out and about and a tea wagon as well as an ice cream van – a very welcome diversion and always good to take on more fluids. Off the beach the path wandered through more forest, along a sandy floor before emerging on the eastern side, with the views opening up once more with Snowdonia very prominent across the dunes. Plenty of Welsh Ponies out and about to keep the vegetation in check and promote the right habitats for the local wildlife. Soon enough it was back out onto a quiet lane that ran into Pen-Lonand the model village. There was a caravan site here and a small restaurant, and as I strongly agree in helping the local economy I stopped here for a pint of the local brew – very welcome as my right leg was giving me a lot of pain again – probably mostly due to carrying a heavier pack (lesson learnt yet again).

Another small highlight was at the end of a long lane with a set of stepping stones over the Afon Braint. I had checked that the tide was out, and thankfully it was because at high tide I don’t think iot would have been possible to cross dryshod. At low tide it was a piece of cake, but the green seaweed growing around the top showed how far up the water usually comes. A few more narrow lanes, rapeseed oil fields, derelict buildings took me down to the coast on the Menai Straits and good views of Caernarfon across the water.

A change of direction now and the route took me to the NE, initially along a pebble beach which led to the old Mermaid Inn. No longer a pub but a fine private residence with it’s own dock and pier, painted up a nice shade of mint green. The last couple of miles were on quiet lanes and I phoned the B&B to ask whereabouts in the village they were – ‘do you know the red postbox?’ (say this with a welsh accent – gives a better sense of the conversation) me – ‘no that’s why I’m phoning you’, ‘well turn left when you reach it’, ‘do you know the crossroads?’ Doh – me – ‘I’ll call again if I get lost’

As it happens the red post box was there and I did turn left, and the owner also turned up in his car asking if I was the lost hiker? Nice gent then offered me a lift to the B&B but like all Magnus Magnusson walks I said ‘No thanks, I’ve started so I’ll finish’, and as I watched his brake lights disappear beyond the next corner I thought ‘You plonker Rodney’ A truely cracking days walk yet again.

[ramblingpete]

Day Five..

The Anglesey Coastal Path – Brynsiencin to Beaumaris
14 miles in a cold wind, grey day with a little too much lane walking. Dry again.

A hard act to follow after the delights of Newborough Warren, but another day and continued changing views. The weather was overcast for most of the day, with a little late sunshine. The day started with fresh eggs from the garden and a really good breakfast, almost too good and after a little faff I was out into the lanes once more. I didn’t bother with a packed lunch as there are plenty of options while walking through Menai Bridge. The route suffers a little today for lack of access to the coast in a couple of places and takes to the lanes a little more often than I would have liked. However they are trying their best to keep away from the main road where the traffic speeds along, having a strip of land inside the field boundaries which is safer than walking along the grass verges. It will improve when access is granted across the coast at Plas Newydd – at the moment I believe that Lady Anglesey doesn’t want a bunch of dirty hikers spoiling her view across the straits.

It wasn’t too far back to the coast from the B&B and a couple of lanes passing a tumbledown church at Llanidan House led to the pebble shore. After a short stretch of shuffling along on roly poly pebbles the coastal path veered inland and took to the lanes once more. It headed inland from Moel-y-don, up a long straight lane passing some estate railings adorned in twining Ivy – it looked like it was holding tight and not letting go. Not many views in the grey light and a mile or so on road I found another quiet path across farm pasture, passing by a strange layed hedge – made up of dead wood and branches. It will be good for wildlife but I don’t think it will last too long. Plenty of lush grass to walk along and a big estate farm at Plas Llwynonn, with a great double barn – must have been part of the Anglesey estate – maybe it still is? Unfortunately the path dropped back to the main road, where there were boardwalks laid over the worst stretches of soggy ground. About a mile of roadside walking followed before turning off the main road just before Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch – try saying that after a few pints. Down a short lane and out onto the shore once more led to the first delight of the fifth day, the views over to Pont Britannia over the Menai Strait.

I was lucky with the tides mostly (except for day six) and walking along the tidal margins has been relatively easy to do. They are trying to make the going as easy as possible with some great improvements – new concrete paths above the beach in this instance to keep feet dry above high tide. Where the beach is wide enough you’re left to your own devices to negotiate any damp patches, and this was a lovely stretch looking up to the Britannia Bridge, a mighty impressive structure. The path diverts uphill away from the shore to pass under the bridge in a streets of New York moment, with graffiti clad concrete, it’s a little bit of urban jungle in a rural setting. A little noisy up close below the road, but that soon dissipated as I walked steeply down back to the shore where the bridge can really be appreciated. Under the bridge the path took to the woods close to the shore with well placed benches to rest my weary bones and great views along the straits to the suspension bridge a little further on.I briefly stopped in a superbly built wooden bird hide before returning to the shore for the short walk into Menai Bridge for a pit stop. Low cloud was obscuring the big mountains so I had to make do with local scenes, passing a cunningly named hairdressers on the way into the town – British Hairways – complete with the appropriate logo and colours. Along the high street I found a fabulous cafe that served up great food and I spent a happy time replenishing my energy with some fine fare. I nipped down town to catch a brief glimpse of the suspension bridge and then resigned myself to walking out along lanes all the way to Beaumari except for a 1/2 mile stretch at Pen y parc. There were interesting views over some of the small islands just after Menai Bridge and down to Bangor Pier a little further along. The sun made a brief appearance on my way down to Beaumaris and lit up the colourful seafront houses and the big wheel prominent down by the shore. Broody dark skies marked my approach to the B&B but the rain held off as I disappeared into my luxury retreat.

A different day on the Anglesey Coastal path, but once again always something to delight.

[ramblingpete]

Day Six...

The Anglesey Coastal Path – Beaumaris to Benllech
A whopping 19.5 miles due to two diversions. Started grey and chill but a bit of welcome sunshine in the afternoon.

I woke up in a huge comfortable bed at my expensive B&B. The best one of the trip and a great place to be and relax. A good breakfast set me out onto the streets of Beaumaris by 9 o’clock, searching for a shop for a sandwich. I strolled down the main street passing the oldest building in Wales – a small timber framed shop built in 1400- odd. Finding a Spar shop I bought some supplys for the day, even though there were tw cafe stops available, I was really glad of the extra fuel today. Out onto the streets again I got chatting with a lovely old lady outside her house. I think she thought I was up to no good faffing about with my backpack – everyone has been really friendly so far with not a note of discord. On the north side of Beaumaris is a an old courthouse housing a museum, a small castle as in walls not very tall, and a tall big wheel – the views over to Snowdonia on a clear day must make the ride quite enjoyable. The route took me up and over a little rise and I had the first objective of the day in sight, a distant Puffin island or or Ynys Seiriol as they say around here. On the other side of the coast was the cock of the coast – Great Orme, with a certain white softness in the early morning grey light. Ominously the cliffs were showing some signs of recent erosion and I soon found out that wasn’t the only place on todays hike.

A short amble along the road led me off piste onto a pebble shore, and I paused briedfly at one property to sit on some decking and damgle my sore legs for a few minutes respite – it’s not easy walking a distance on pebble beaches, and I made slow progress – not that I was in a rush anyway. I made decnt progress for a mile along a sandy pebble beach backed by cliffs of glacial till. Again I noted fresh erosion and bits of cliff collapse but nothing to concern me until I came to a dead end. Cliff collapse and erosion of path and no way around a small point unless it was low tide – it wasn’t and I didn’t fancy a waist high or worse waltz around the cliff. No way up and no way around. I reluctantly retraced my steps cursing my lack of planning. Fortunately for me the owner of one of the properties was on the beach with his dogs and after chatting about my walk he kindly allowed me through his property onto a private lane, with the words ‘if any one asks, Mike says it was ok’ – apparently the out of town owners are a little snotty when it comes to their strip of lane. A two mile diversion wasn’t welcome but it was better than a four mile one.

After a little road walking I returned to the coast at Lleiniog for 1/2 mile before taking to tarmac once more leading me up towards Penmon. This area was home to a big priory in the past and the estate walls can be seen bounding the land, where they are still standing here and there. Up to the priory remains and a toll for cars but not hikers, some priory remains, a cross, and a rather large Dovecot – details of it’s history from the 10th century on are here . The tollmaster was a Liverpool fan and he must have laughed that day because they beat City later on – doh. A small uphill stretch soon had me at the top and the views ahead opened up to Puffin Island, and the Penmon lighthouse, and a very welcome cafe at the bottom of the road. I had a very pleasant ‘pint’ of tea in the owners mug – he started by offering a cup, then a mug and then this? Meaning the pint mug – very refreshing and always good to have a sit down. This was another corner of Anglesy and another change of direction, turning to walk westward for two days, away from the mountain views and into the prevailing wind – just what I needed on a long day. More priory estate walls were passed on my way across sheep pasture and a mix of fields, lanes and tracks were quite pleasant, offering views down over Llangoed with a backdrop of Snowdonia. The route kept about 1/2 mile inland from the coast and a few frisky bullocks kept me on my toes, and took to the fields about a mile and a half from Red Wharf Bay. Around the base of an old hill fort (you can’t see much – it’s overgrown) and the path starts to drop off the higher ground all the way down to Red Wharf Bay. A ‘path closed’ sign greeted me along with a diversionary map (collapse was in 2013) - so I checked my map and immediately thought ‘feck that’, and hopped over the gate. I saw tractor marks on the path and thought I’m a little slimmer than a tractor and didn’t want another mile or two added on. I was right enough, and even though there had been a minor collapse of the hillside, it didn’t look very steep or particularly unstable – the farmer was still using it.

As I descended to Red Wharf Bay the clouds cleared and it was bright blue skies once more, with a cooling, windburn type of westerly wind. Thankfully there was another small cafe on the track behind the beach and I partook of another very welcome cup of tea. Benllech still looked a long way away, with a good three mile walk along the beach and around the far shore before I reached the massed ranks of caravans. I enjoyed the beach though watching the snake lines of dry sand wriggling away downwind. It was easy walking along the firm sand which led me to another Homer moment (Homer Simpson not Homer – I’m not that deep a thinker) and the distant gleam became a stream to deep to ford without wellies. So I had to retrace steps for 1/2 a mile or so, which led me to a flood defence wall with a concrete top and railings along. A quick climb up and the sea marsh was now below me, with a delightful stretch ahead of me with passing places for people coming in the opposite direction. Great places to stand and stare out to sea. It soon returned to the tidal flats, with a mix of salt marsh and beach sand all the way to the bridges over the Afon Nedwydd. I met a couple along here who were doing the Lakeland Haute route soon, so we had a good chinwag about the lovely Lake District. They kept me company along the coast all the way to the Ship Inn where I had a pint of bitter shandy that really didn’t touch the sides as it slid down, followed swiftly by another and a packet of crisps. The light was lovely in the evening as I walked around the last headland of the day, through caravans before walking up through the streets of Benllech to my B&B at the tea rooms. Luckily for me the landlady gave me a lift to a pub for my evening nosh, and a number of a taxi for the return – I couldn’t have walked another inch.

[ramblingpete]

Day Seven...

The Anglesey Coastal Path – Benllech to Amlwych
About 15 and a bit miles, Sunshine all the way.

Ooh what a hot day followed by an evening meal at the hotel which didn’t have any vegetables. Lovely. I woke to blue skies and white bread for breakfast – not a slice of the healthy stuff around. But it was a good breakfast, a trifle warm with the log burner glowing but it set me up for the day. I declined the offer of some sandwiches as I could get something enroute, so the landlady sent me packing with some Barra Brith – lovely Welsh fruit malt loaf type of thing – very nice.

My B&B was north of Benllech and I rejoined the coastal path after a trek down through a monster caravan site, that by the look of the fields is going to be ever expanding for a while to come. But it was peaceful once I hit the beach at Borth-Wen, with just a few dog walkers out and about. I negotiated my way around some big boulders beneath the limestone cliffs and along the first of many bays today. I passed over from the Carboniferous Limestone to the Devonian Sandstones today and the coastal scenery reflected this a little. The gorse was splendidly yellow today in the bright sun, and it was a pleasant stroll along the headland to Moelfre, passing more caravans perched on the hillside, so I just looked the other way out to sea for a better view. A couple of locals were trying their hand at fishing off the rock slabs just before I entered the village – looked like they were spending more time sun bathing though.

I did a circuit of a sleepy Moelfre looking for the small bakery (village shop) and thankfully they had some nice sandwiches to choose from and a bit of fresh fruit as beyond Moelfre there weren’t anymore fuelling stops. There’s plenty of work going on near the lifeboat station, with a crane towering above the town skyline, building a new lifeboat station to replace the old one. On my way out I passed a memorial plaque to all those who lost their lives on the Royal Clipper which sank off Moelfre, and a little further on is a modern sculpture representing the varied Geology of Anglesey. Quite interesting stuff along this part of the coast.

Once I’d passed by some more headland it was down to the beach once more at Traeth Lligwy. There is a cafe here but as I’d already filled up at Moelfre I carried on my walk around the headland and just before Dulas Bay the path turned in from the coast to walk around the estaury at Traeth Dulas. While it’s annoying to have to divert so far inland, a mile in and a mile back, it was also a delight to see the different scenery and savour the peace of the salt marsh and tidal flats. The route from Traeth Lligwy carried me uphill and long sheep pastures, with a view of Mynydd Bodafon adding some interest to the skyline, before a green lane took me down to the main road.

I avoided another pub – The Pilot Boat – by the skin of my teeth at Bodafon Isaf and carried on towards the Afon Goch estuary, which snakes across flat marsh towards the tidal flats. Over a small bridge and along the margins I soon came to the firm sands of Traeth Dulas and with the tide out it was a real pleasure to walk along the coast. I could see a couple of old wrecks ahead sitting out on the flats, one of them with its bow split open, looking for all the world that it wanted to devour me. I spent some time looking around here before another inland diversion took me away from the coast. I assume it’s another estate that doesn’t allow access to the coast as it was a mile uphill plod, passing the church at Dulas and some big gates and an estate lodge. After wandering a few lanes it was back into sheep pasture and all the way down again with the view of the offshore rocky island and tower of Ynys Dulas. The mountains of Snowdonia were a bit more distant and cloud covered, and Puffin Island, and the Great Orme were just about in view across the sea, although once again the distant views were misty. Once I’d rejoined the coast the route followed the cliffs rising and falling with them, some of them high and steep drops to the sea. The gorse was sweet smelling in the strong sunlight as I dropped down towards Point Lynas, where another lighthouse lives, and changing direction to walk west along the coast to Amlwch. The last few miles seemed to take forever and I’d forgotten that on a long walk the first ten miles feel like ten miles, while the next five miles feel like ten miles and the last mile feels like ten miles. I think that’s because as you near the end of the days journey you pay more attention to how far there is to go.

Along heathered moorlands I made my towards Amlwch passing by a holy well at Ffynnon Eilixn – it was dry as a bone

Down into Amlwch I anticipated seeing the old port and the stone work built in eighteenth century. The port has a long history associated with the copper from nearby Parys Mountain. Nowadays the port houses mostly yachts and a couple of fishing smacks, that all sit on the sand when the tide is out. There’s not much room for manouevre within the harbour walls, and I wouldn’t like to be heading out into rough seas from there.

Amlwch itself was a dissappointment and I ambled through the town to find my accomodation for the night – I almost wished I hadn’t – it was the worst of the trip, but on the plus side it was cheap. Another fantastic day along the Anglesey Coastal Path. Two more days of dry weather to come.

Not a drop of rain to be had for the past week…

[ramblingpete]

Day Eight...

The Anglesey Coastal Path – Amlwych to Church Bay
19.1 miles in mostly bright sunshine. Did I say it’s been dry again….

I woke this morning after a not very good sleep, in a not very good hotel, and to a not very good breakfast. Least said the better, but it stoked me up and I was soon out onto the roads of Amwlch – a town that doesn’t look like it’s loved very much despite it’s long history. I loaded up with a decent snack or two thinking that I’d need plenty of sustenance over this long day, and I was right. A day of surprises though.

I wandered out over old railtracks that hadn’t seen a turning wheel for many a year, quite eerie on a quiet day. To the south I could see an old windmill and some distant winding gear up on Parys Mountain with the old copper mines. I was soon back on the coast ambling along the cliff tops in a gentle up and down, a slow start to let my legs warm up. They’ve not been too bad this past week but I do need the Ibuprofen \ Paracetomol to get me through the day. It wasn’t long before Bull Bay appeared, a small hamlet and a bit posher than it’s near neighbour. Again not too many people around and I passed by in the blink of an eye. Up and along some high cliff tops and I was soon at one of the delights of the day, Porth Wen and it’s old brickworks and kilns. A great sight to see nestled down in the bay. I’d been down to mooch around the kilns before so didn’t venture down to take a look, but they all look in good nick from a distance. There are three domed brick kilns as well as the bigger buildings and chimney stack – some interesting stuff is here.

I carried on uphill below Craig Wen, passing some enthusiastic DofE students, with the not so enthusiastic coming up the other side. Some big cliffs around this part of Anglesey looking down over Porth Cynfor or Hell’s Mouth – presumably you wouldn’t want to get stuck around here in a boat on a bad day. Along the north coast between Amlwch and Carmel Head are three small islands – East Mouse, Middle Mouse and West Mouse which marked my progress as I strolled along today.

After the delights of Porth Wen it was along some very high cliffs that led me to another delight at Dinas Gynfor the site of an old hillfort, and a site of geological importance. The cliffs here show the boundary between the ancient Precambrian rcks and the later Ordovician sedimentary deposits about 470 Million years ago. The jumble of Precambrian rocks are great to see and it includes huge fragments of diverse origin welded together under intense pressures over the ages. There’s also some nice buildings down in the valley between – an old porcelain works, backed by some large reed beds glowing in the sunshine.

A steep set of steps up form the porcelain works took me back up to the top of the cliffs and the next viewpoint along the coast soon appeared in the form of Wylfa Power Station. I don’t know what I was expecting but it didn’t intrude on my senses too much, although on the path there were plenty of people out from Cemaes Bay taking in the air. I continued the wander along the cliffs towards Ceamaes, with the beaches I crossed being pebbly and not much sand around – Most of that is at Newborough. The beach at Cemaes is nice though, and the village cafes were a welcome break on this long sunny day, and I decanted to the high street, and loaded up with some refreshments, before continuing the long walk to Church Bay. My favourite bit of Anglesey geology was along the coast here – the Melange – with big mashed up pieces of limestone clear to view in the rocks – all formed when two tectonic plates collided a long long time ago.

It’s a short walk out of Cemaes to the Wylfa power station and to be honest it didn’t intrude too much on my senses as most of the main complex is hidden from view. As you can imagine there are a few large power lines running out of the power station towering above vibrant gorse bushes. The route was diverted a little around the fringes as there is a fair bit of groundwork going on, and the burghers at Wylfa Power Station don’t want visitors or walkers getting fried or squashed. The new groundwork looks like it is urgent, as I counted up at least 10 small drilling outfits, sampling the soil on a grid pattern, so I expect the coastal route will find a new way around this lot once they get building whatever they are going to build. Once I was beyond Wylfa and back to the coast I passed by a delightful derelic property at Cestyll, with the gardens looking quite tropical in the warm sunlight – it would make a fabulous holiday home if you didn’t mind the nearby reactor – maybe the sea is warmer around here!

I really enjoyed the remainder of the north coast all the way along to Carmel Head, looking at geology of the cliffs, the birdlife flitting ahead of me, and I could map my progress easily as the islands of West Mouse and The Skerries beyond came into view. As I reached Cemlyn Bay to cross the shingle beach between the headlands, and the lagoon behind it with it’s tern colony, I also noted that a policve car was taking a keen interest in my progress. Probably because I kept taking photos of Wylfa, and I saw it on three seperate occassions. I think they finally realised I was a walker after the last encounter when I waved said camera at them. Across the shingle bar at Cemlyn was slow progress and unfortunately there wasn’t a handy refreshment stop at the other end. But it was a lovely scene – bright sunlight and a very loud tern colony of seabirds on the islands in the lagoon. There’s a row of posts across the shingle bar and I think you’re meant to stay on the seaward side of them to not disturb the nesting birds.

Beyond the bay the roller coaster coastal path continues gently rising and falling. As I got closer to West Mouse I could see the beacon, a large white painted column which is matched on Carmel Head by two further columns, known locally as the “Three White Ladies”. They were constructed in the 1860s as navigation aids: lining up the three columns marks the position of a shallow reef offshore that was a grave danger to shipping – presumably it still is! They look big from a distance but close up they are flat with a supporting butress holding them up. A bit like a brick easel, a very big easel of course. The lighthouse on The Skerries is painted to match the St Helens rugby league shirt – red and white hoops and very fetching too. Carmel Head is also the site of the Carmel Head thrust fault where the oldest rocks in Wales have been pushed over the younger Ordovician strata – I didn’t actually see it, as the path is very high at this point. It is also another turning point, now heading south and onwards to Church Bay where my penultimate stop lay. Goodbye to Wylfa and hello to Holyhead Mountain once more, with Church Bay a couple of miles of high cliffs and bays away. It was a very long hot day and I was a little fatigued towards the end of it with the unrelenting sun beating down on my brow – did I say it was dry again? A small NT wood reaches the shore and a lovely small Llyn at Ynys y Fydlyn – a very appropriate name as I passed a young couple getting to grips with each other! A little further on I walked above Church Bay and it’s lovely sandy bay, with the low sun shining silver sparkles across Holyhead Bay, a lovely finish to the day – tired and thirsty but happy. Eventually I reached my B&B for the night which was splendid, as was the meal served up

[ramblingpete]

Day nine...

The Anglesey Coastal Path – Church Bay to Holyhead
A mere 14.7 miles, and bright skies. A little chill breeze but dry once more.

The final day and I woke to a bright blue sky once more, and I’m going to be dry as the previous eight. I thought I would have 16 1/2 miles today, but due to a new bridge over the Afon Alaw I had a pleasant surprise of two miles less walking. This was the only day I had to meet a deadline as my train ticket was pre-booked on the 16:50 from Holyhead, so it was up early and forego the cooked breakfast. That was a pleasant change to be honest and I was away into the early sunlight at 7:30. A different atmosphere early on, softer light and crisp sea air. The view in my face all of today was Holyhead Mountain and the Aluminium works chimney as the coastal route headed south across gently undulating cliff tops and beaches. A bit easier on the legs today after yesterdays long trek, and I appreciated it as well – 6 miles as the crow flies across Holyhead Bay, but the addition of the new bridge saved some unpleasant road walking and gained some great views around the estuary. There are plenty of small bays to walk around today interspersed with mainly sheep pasture, spiky gorse bushes and stingy nettles. Mostly pleasant views apart from the scrapyard farm at Port Defaid, with a wreck of a boat high and dry on the pasture. The route generally hugged the coast but did occasionally divert onto quiet lanes for short distances. A few miles south of Church Bay and I dropped down some steps to the lovely sandy beach at Porth Tywyn-mawr, a pleasure to walk along, but unfortunately against a backdrop of a caravan camp – huge, and it must get very busy here in the holidays. Not my cup of tea but each to their own. but it did take a good ten minutes or more to walk through the site.

Beyond the last site at Penrhyn I was out onto another quiet lane, passing by a field of churned up cow pasture – mucky stuff and mucky cows. Once more onto the beaches and it was tough to find a good line sometimes with the choice of staggering on loose cobles or shuffling along on soft sand. It was better below the high tide line where a band of firmer sand lay, but too far down and I got the sinking feeling of very wet sand/estuary mud. As the Afon Alaw estuary came into view the route turned east through a few boggy, cattle churned fields, and on into crops of long grass. But the Anglesey Coastal Path is a well trodden route so there is never a doubt as to where it runs, and there was a clear line to follow along.

It was really pleasant walking along the estuary salt marsh, lots of washed up detritus, the smell of the sea, the birdlife and the habitat – a real change of scene for a little while. I wasn’t sure where the new bridge across the river was but it’s a little before the village of Llanfwrog and it does cut out a chunk of road walking, replacing it with some delightful new boardwalk and concrete wall walking. Some of the route is also hemmed in by a fence either side to keep you from straying onto someones fields. The path hugs the coast pretty much all the way to Newlands Park near Valley. It was a little breezy but there was plenty of birdlife around to keep my attention, flying, floating and paddling. Just below the houses at Newlands Park there are some great outcrops of the microfolded Rhoscolyn formations and it’s very interesting to sit and have a closer look. The small cliffs here are glacial till and are slowly being washed away by the tidal waters – a bit close to the houses really. The path reached the A5 road across the Stanley Embankment and my path took me alongside the road to cross over to the island. I’d made good progress this morning and halfway across the embankment is another delight where the sea rushes underneath the embankment through a tunnel to an inland sea – tidal of course. The water was fair rushing through and it’s no good for ducks around here. If you look online there are a few U-tube clips of the tidal rush, much loved by canoeists apparently – mad I say, they’re all mad.

At the other end of the embankment the old tollhouse has been converted into a nice small cafe, but unfortunately for me it was full with the only seat left being a garden shed – honestly – a shed, but it had windows and was dry. I sat and had a very welcome cup of tea and a sandwich. I pondered what to do next as I had made unexpectedly good time for me and my knees, and figured that if I pushed on a bit I could catch the 14:30 train and get home two hours earlier. The last few miles through the Penrhos country park are unspectacular and being close to Holyhead are more populous, but the path still hugged the coast and I didn’t cheat with any short cuts. I passed by a pet cemetry, the Aluminium smelting works with the big chimney towering above the last beach of the trip, then into the last mile was through a housing estate, with a view of the ferries arriving at the docks. A short walk along a walled road and I was back at the ferry terminal / rail station – the end and the start of my journey around the coast of Anglesey.

An added bonus to round off a great nine days was the journey home – if Carlsberg made train journeys easy then this was it. I had pre-booked tickets for specific trains, and wasn’t allowed to use them on other trains unless I paid extra. I got on the 14:30 train instead of the 16:50 train and the ticket office told me to pay the extra on the train – ‘it’ll cost you at least £30 extra’ he gleefully informed me. Once we were underway the lovely ticket lady listened to my story and I asked how much she would like me to pay. She was knocking off shift so said the next guy would charge me at Chester where I changed trains. We pulled in with no time to spare for my connection and I jumped onto the platform to the sound of the conductor shouting ‘train for Manchester leaving right now’. Ten seconds after boarding off we went, worth paying the extra I think to myself. I thanked him for holding the train and asked how much extra I’d have to pay – ‘your honest’ he says, so nothing charged once more.

Me – I’ve got more jam than Hartleys. Even people I know have asked me when I’m doing my long walks so they can book time off work knowing the good weather is coming. My thanks to the people of Anglesey for being very welcoming, and my thanks to the people who maintain the coastal path – it’s been a real pleasure to walk along and a fine long distance path with interest everyday. Brilliant.

The final day with the mileage totting up to 139.4





































That's all folks. Hope you enjoy the walk. Plenty more pictures over on the website thing. Thanks for viewing..This was WalkFlatlands though.

[malky_c]

It's not every day that Brynsiencyn appears in a walk report, that's for sure! I grew up there, although at the time the coastal path was only just beginning to be formed. I've only done a few of the more interesting stretches around Holyhead, Newborough, Cemaes Bay and Moelfre, but my mum was working away at it for years in short day walks. Ended up joining her for her last section a couple of years ago:
http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=24788

An enjoyable read - cheers

[RiverSong]

I was very interested to read this, is this a continuation of the same path I saw on the news a while ago, I think it goes right round the Welsh coastline?

Many years ago I spent a week in Wales and I've never forgotten it. The coast was just beautiful and we went for a walk everyday, not along an official path but just followed a route of our own devising. When I saw the coastal path on the news I thought I'd like to go back and do the official walk, so it was good to see your photos.

Well done, good report