Friday 8th April - Tywyn Mawr to Cemlyn Bay
Well no wind today - wonderful! It was a bit strange today as we were walking clockwise again - back to Cemlyn Bay as the other way didn't work with the tides! Don't misjudge the tides on these coastal walks, they become really important!
We set off from Porth Tywyn-mawr, just north of Penrhyn and it was lovely to walk - at least for a little while - on sandy coast paths with fine views across to Holyhead and its mountain.
Quite soon the paths became narrow once more and therefore VERY MUDDY, really all the way to Sŵtan (Bay of whitings - or more usually Church Bay) was quite slippery! We passed canoeists at Porth Trefadog
..........and saw the ferries coming in and out of Holyhead.
There was a helicopter doing some sort of exercise out at sea - he was a bit noisy after a while. We missed the big yellow Sea King helicopters - now out of service. Soon we came around to the bay to Porth Trwyn with its skeleton boat still out on the headland like a huge lost ark.
And as we walked along there was a flock of what I think were terns.....hope you can see them....
On the path into the village we saw some of our first bluebells....
Then we arrived at Sŵtan. There on the hill above the village is its ruined windmill..
and in Sŵtan we enjoyed a coffee at the Wavecrest cafe. ....The Lobster Pot restaurant looked very busy - well it was lunch time by now. So then suitably refreshed, off we set up to a more rugged part of the coast once more - and guess what? No more mud!
It was lovely walking over the cliffs with views across to Caergybi (Holyhead) and to the Skerries (Ynysoedd y Moelrhonaid or Seal Islands ) with their red and white lighthouse now in sight too. En route we spotted a gulls nest on the cliffs, it's on the right.. - they're getting busy...
There was a bit of scrambling on top but soon we were dropping down passing a HUGE herd of cows - a dairy herd but with so many cows! I was glad they were behind the fence!
Some of the path was eroding here so we had to go quite close to the cows to pass around, I was very brave!It was quite a walk around to Ynys y Fydlyn - one of our special spots, it is so idyllic here.
It is just so beautiful - there are the Skerries peeping on the horizon..
We had really been looking forward to getting here and sat on the rocks to eat lunch - it was a bit breezy and chilly though!
The gulls were preparing to nest in the cliffs and some objecting to others taking their space! It is a promontory hill fort in fact, complete with its own natural arch - such a pretty peaceful place.
And from every angle the views are just amazing...
Off then we went up and over Carmel Head (Trwyn y Gader) - only open in the summer so we were glad it was as it is a long divert here. Catching our last glimpse of Ynys y Fydlyn....
Through the stunted pine trees we went, quite windy on the top but the scent was lovely.
The views were even better from the height - we could see the Llŷn peninsula stretching out to sea - as you may know by now, the Llŷn is also a special place to us.
We also caught our last sight of Holyhead for a while.
This was lovely coast walking. We were always amazed at the kissing gates too, of which there are many! They all have a heavy stone attached to lever the gate closed...
We dropped down through fields and could see West Mouse Island (Maen y Bugaal)come into view. The island has the last of the 3 "white lady" beacons on top. We did get a bit lost in these fields so I was really glad the cows weren't in here today - they had been in recently. And so we found our way down to the White Ladies, the 2 "beacons" on the land here line up with the one on West Mouse Island to act as a guide for shipping around Carmel Head.
There is also an old chimney here, another indication of local mining on this now beautiful, picturesque spot. Wylfa power station ahead now and the Skerries as it were following us around the coast here as we negotiated electric fences!
And I got got by one - ouch! I didn't realise they were turned on - the sign was further along our path as we went through about 3 more dairy herd fields!
That's twice this year I've been electrocuted! First time was on the
Mortimer Trail! We came round then to Hen Borth - a really pretty little cove with sheep on the beach and terns and oyster catchers on the water.
And my those terns do move fast - I just couldn't catch a photo of them. We crossed a field passing the tiny, ancient church of Saint Rhwydrws but decided not to visit today -the sky was beginning to look a bit threatening...
And so we came down to Cemlyn - it is a very wonderful formation.
As we approached the shingle, there is a memorial stone commemoration the 150th anniversary of the first Anglesey lifeboat - 1828-1978. Rev. James Williams and his wife witnessed a wreck on West Mouse in 1823 with the death of 145 people and as a result they dedicated their lives to setting up the first rescue service. Anglesey has been a dangerous place for shipping. Over the shingle bank we went just as the rain came. The tide was really well out so we were able to walk right at the edge of the shingle in wet sand.
The noise from the birds on the inland lagoon was loud but didn't get photos today as it was too wet to catch them - they were all staying warm and dry too! Just a bit of a sag looking black-headed gull sitting forlornly on the wall...
The end of another lovely day - celandines just abounding! Violets and daisies, saxifrage and even some stitchwort now - and some more squill just peeping through. 10 more miles done - and we were excited today as our eldest daughter,Helen and co. were arriving later!
Saturday 9th April - Newborough to Llyn Rhos Ddu
We had had a lovely evening when our visitors arrived and as they had had a long journey - and the forecast was for snow! Really! ...we decided to have a slow start, fearing that we wouldn't be able to do another of our favourite walks with a lot of our favourite people! We had chosen this walk out of sequence deliberately to enjoy it with them. When walking the whole coast path, I couldn't imagine walking out of sequence but this time it seemed best to choose a favourite walk....could we do it? It appeared as we got ready that the sky was showing more and more blue so off we set, not too far from "home" today. Off we set from Newborough forest ...
down through the pine trees, enjoying pine cone throwing very much!
We had to divert from the path a little due to HUGE puddles so continued on a bridleway. Why are they called that we wondered....much laughter!
We were soon walking parallel to the dunes so decided to just go over onto the beach! How lovely it was! Helen and I struggled a bit but the boys loved it.
And the views were as I had hoped - although that sky did look quite worrying!
And to our right was the headland of the Bodorgan estate - no coastal path allowed there.
We wandered down the beach towards Ynys Llanddwyn with its ruins and beacons and with the Llŷn peninsula behind!
As we walked along, the wind got up and the clouds came down - we did get really quite wet! We were heading for the rocks next to the island to find some cover but as we reached the rocks, the rain stopped so we walked along the causeway - the tide was on its way out - onto the island.
We wandered round what was in fact quite a busy island - many more people here than on our last visit but we found a bench to sit upon, though the boys preferred the rocks, for lunch....idyllic!
We feared that more rain was going to follow.....
...but it didn't happen! The sky just cleared and cleared!
Thank you Anglesey, you made a wish come true!
We wandered round then looking at the ruined church, talking about its history with Saint Dwynen, the Welsh St Valentine.
Wandered past the old pilot cottages which were used by the men looking after the newer lighthouse built in 1845, the older beacon was built in 1819.
There were quite a few of the Anglesey ponies were on the island as we passed.
Yr Eifl was silhouetted beautifully behind the old beacon...
And so up to the newer lighthouse. The Llŷn looking just wonderful stretching out to sea.The rocks near the lighthouse were full of gulls and cormorants and the views went right up passing Rhoscolyn to Holyhead mountain beyond.
The boys enjoyed hiding and wandering.
We still only found one of the 5 old springs/wells...
...and Alex had style crossing the stile!
We left the island talking about the pillow lave rocks ...
..and with the tide well out just meandered across the sands, the boys took some photos too.
Even Snowdon almost made an appearance - with lots more snow that she had earlier in the week!
And at the end of the Llŷn, there was Bardsey Island peeping over the horizon...and the shimmering sea...
We all met up again at the dunes...
Then up and over the dunes again, enjoying ice cream - or coffee in my case - as we passed through the very busy car park. As we left the beach behind, Yr Eifl was peeping through the dunes - more favourite hills!
Then we wandered through the forest and along the path parallel to the Menai Straits beyond, Snowdonia watching over us...and some ponies!
And so arrived back at the Llyn Rhos Ddu car park......
...the sculpture below by the way is supposed to be marram grass which was popular hereabouts as a small weaving industry....I was very proud of our two boys!
7 and a half miles down! Well done everybody!
And finally Snowdon was there....
Sunday 10th and Monday 11th April - Rest Days!
Well - it was our holiday too so we thought we deserved some rest! We spent a lovely Sunday 10th with our family, first of all having a very good lunch at the Ship Inn on Red Wharf Bay - remember we booked the table as we passed through last week now! Alex remembered being here almost 2 years ago, September, 2014..
And here he was again this year...
Next we visited Llaneinian to show the boys the church where their great great great grandparents were married in 1868!
And I am still amazed by the sight of so many celandines this spring - they just must love the cold and wet!
And as our family left, Snowdon was looking down on us. What a lovely weekend!
Monday 11th April
It was indeed very fortuitous that we had planned the family history search for today - it was indeed a horrid day. Rain and cold so we were quite pleased, although the records office in Llangefni was not very warm! I tried my best to find out more about my Owen and Hughes ancestors around Llaneilian and Amlwch but not easy when you reach the end of records beginning - could they write, were the names spelt as in the modern way, did they speak English or only Welsh? The only headway I found was that my great grandmother's maiden name was Prichard - and of course that has different spellings! Well at least I feel like I tried a little more. In the afternoon after a lunch in a cold pub - bbbrrr...we went back to Beaumaris and then up to Aberlleiniog. We knew there was a castle hiding in the woods and determined to find it! We left the car in the car park we have now used quite a lot since we first did with our family 2 years ago...The tide was well in so a good job we weren't walking here today - the dry, inland divert would have been necessary!
And look how wet it was! We trekked through the nearby woods and up to the castle....
The version today is really just a folly. It was though the first Norman castle to be built in Wales, the original being a motte and bailey built in 1088 and a very good motte it is too. Those Normans must have been very brave to try to keep the Welsh princes at bay. And of course they didn't...Grufudd ap Cynan sent them packing in 1094! There were also Civil War skirmishes here and a poisoning of a husband by a wife and her lover!
So now we were looking forward to a better day tomorrow....
