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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2894 |
20th June 2018 Hiking - Walking: South to North Stack Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: cloudy start then sunny. Max Speed: Distance Covered: 4.28 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Tuesday 19th June – sightsee travel and small walks – cloudy and very breezy again:( Really quiet night at our small carpark by the sea at Aber Ogwen which we shared with a man in a tent although he was packed up and gone by 7.30! Woke to another cloudy day but in no hurry so we both did our exercises. Then after breakfast did the short Spinney walk as listed in one of our books. It started with a small section on the beach with the tide well out past some interesting wooden groynes leading to the private bridge. Back tracking into the Spinney we sat in a couple of bird hides but there was very little of interest and certainly not the promised Bull Finch or Kingfisher! Back to the van we drove to Bangor stopping at the nice Victorian pier under serious renovation and getting our first views of Telfords bridge over the Menai Straights. We realised it was windy again, very blustery down the narrow straights:( We by passed the town along a narrow coastal road past a stone circle, not sure if it was real or fake? To the fantastic suspension bridge and it was a bit of a tight fit getting through the arches. We turned left and found a layby with great views of the two bridges and the famous fish trap cottage on a tiny island in the middle of the fast-flowing river where we stopped for lunch. We were going to walk down to the water when I realised I couldn’t find my 10-stop filter, the one I use for blurry water pics which was quite expensive, so quickly drove back to Aber Ogwen in search of it but had no luck, it is a complete mystery where that disappeared to???? An hour later we were back at the layby to do a quick walk down to the water then continued around Anglesey to the left. I don’t know if it was the grey day but it all looked underwhelming:( It is fairly flat countryside even if you do pass ‘Red squirrel woods’ but everywhere had pay carparks and we were just driving through really. Things looked up when the coast came into view and we stopped at Rhosneigr to check out the windsurfing. A couple were out in the side shore wind and it actually looked a lot easier to sail than Llanfairfechan and I will have to give a try another time. I had spotted a carpark on our OS map near South Stack on Holy Island, being part of the Holyhead Mountain Heritage Coast, and the road next to the sea was very dramatic but as we approached the Stack the low cloud came down really reducing the visibility:( After a quick visit to the RSBP centre for information we parked up at Ynys Lawd carpark near South Stack and tried as best we could get out of the very strong wind which is supposed to be bad, we could be in for a rough night. We have been joined by a couple of German campers so will have company. Mag made yummy pasta meatballs and as I write this the cloud has lifted and the sun has come out but the wind is still shaking the van!!! Fingers crossed the wind drops as forecast as it is a fantastic place to walk! PS – have to add a paragraph, as it turned into a lovely evening I put my coat on, left Mag doing her diary and headed down to the cliff path and the views were breath-taking even if it was difficult to stand in the gale force winds, luckily, they are onshore so you felt fairly safe! The path winds its way to Ellins tower a RSBP observatory with the amazing South Stack lighthouse on an island accessed by a metal bridge which you can cross during the day for £5.80 we don’t know if that includes a trip up the lighthouse? The sun was behind the lighthouse and was pretty as a picture and several people were now out enjoying a blustery evening stroll. It was too nice an experience for Mag to miss so I returned to the van to get her. The cliff walk was still hairy with the wind blowing you sideways many times! We sat with a group of youngsters by Ellins Tower with the golden sun setting. Unfortunately, the sun disappeared into cloud so didn’t get the full sunset but still very good. We returned to the van for a warming cuppa and yogurt. Wednesday 20th June – walk ***** South to North Stack including Holyhead Mountain – cloudy start then sunny. A bit of a wild night in our carpark near South Stack on Holy Island, Anglesey with winds blowing in excess of 50 mph and to make matters worse we had the fog horn going off every 20 seconds but still managed to get some sleep. We woke to a cloudy rainy start and wanted to walk the Holyhead Mountain Heritage Coast Path and with the weather set to improve during the day we were in no hurry. Before breakfast I walked to the cliff top with my wind gauge and it had eased a little and swung more northerly only gusting to 44 mph but mainly around 30! With the carpark filling up and blue sky appearing we packed only a snack as we are getting short of provisions and set off down to the stunning cliffs at 12.30, my observations from last night when I thought I saw some Choughs were confirmed when we saw them really close up, I didn’t even think we had them in the UK. We had put on our coats and quickly discovered we didn’t need them and had them around our waists for most of the walk! This is a popular spot with easy access and free parking close to the cliffs so there were several taking advantage of the stunning views. The birds were either sitting precariously on rock ledges, bobbing in the sea, flying back from fishing trips or circling overhead looking for a chick for lunch. They included fulmars, razorbills, guillemots, choughs, jackdaws, herring and black back gulls and there were supposed to be puffins but sadly we didn’t spot any:( The main nesting area is just a short walk from our van by the RSPB centre and Ellin’s tower has been built as a bird observatory overlooking the South Stack lighthouse. We had a visit and the very friendly RSPB staff told us details of bird numbers, let us look through a scope and we saw the live webcam. It is £5.80 to walk across the small bridge to the island the lighthouse is on but we just enjoyed the views form the top searching the sea for dolphins, apparently two Orcas were seen here recently! We climbed up above the lighthouse and found the entrance down 450 steep winding steps which we walked down trying to spot puffins on the way, I think most people just walk down the steps and turn back at the bridge so they don’t have to pay! The climb back up was knackering! We then carried on the coastal path towards North Stack having our snack high above the sea and I got a quick glimpse of a seal. There are several paths to follow as you head along the coast, out on North Stack is a white walled enclosure with what looks like a small chapel but we were drawn to Holyhead Mountain as we had seen someone on the top and we were up for the challenge. We even followed a sign to the summit past several noisy rock climbers before we reached a set of step stone steps leading all the way to the top for the most stunning views of the whole of Holy Island, Anglesey and the impressive Snowdonia :) There is a concrete trig point making a perfect place for some pics, what we later learned was the remains of a Roman Watch Tower and the port of Holyhead. Having already seen a couple of ferries leave for Ireland we knew it was close. There is a long breakwater protecting the harbour and several yachts in a marina. We took another rocky scramble route down after surveying below for the Mountain hut remains as signed from our carpark as we hoped to walk back that way. We didn’t see any sign though. At the bottom I headed for an interesting group of stones while Mag stayed on the better path. The stones didn’t look placed by man so I continued down a wide path cut into the heather which very quickly turned into a very narrow overgrown path through chest high bracken and ferns and over several stone walls. I was scratching my legs to pieces and I was pleased Mag was not stupid enough to come this was but at least I was heading in the direction of the carpark. A mother and daughter approached from the other way looking equally as lost as me, I told them that they could reach the mountain the way I had come but the path was very overgrown and they tod me the stone huts were up ahead but again the path was poor. I made it to the first-round house and was talking to three ladies who had come from the carpark when Mag appeared after following me along the dodgy path as equally scratched as me! She assumed I was going to go back to the good path and thought as I didn’t return she had better see where I had gone :) Our poor legs are taking a real hammering in Wales but we did laugh. The first round house lead onto loads more, 25 in total from the original 50 and are 2500 years old which is just amazing and well worth a visit:) Arriving back at the van after 4 miles in 4 hours (lots of birdwatching and scrambling is our excuse for that time!) my plan was to drive back closer to the mainland but as it was 4.30 and a lovely afternoon and we were hungry we decided to stay here. I backed into the corner for a better sea view and Mag soon knocked up left over delight and delicious it was too - we ate outside. I even did my exercises as Mag read then with the sun going behind hazy cloud we sat in the van watching the stonechats close by. Then after porridge (I told you we are short of food!) we walked over to the lighthouse to watch the sunset. No campervans in the carpark tonight but we are sharing it with two people sleeping in their cars, the man from last night in an old banger and a young lady they must be nuts! Not windy like last night but chilly and fingers crossed no fog horn tonight! Photo Gallery Here |
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