Walk Summary
Explores the eastern side of Holyhead. Visits interesting historic sites including: John McGregor Skinner's Monument, a Napoleonic Battery and the Stanley Embankment. Varied views along the coast from the busy Holyhead docks to the serene surroundings of Penrhos Country Park.
Date: 12/04/2023
Length: 6.62 miles
Height Gain: 26 m
Terrain: Street walking, muddy paths, grassy paths, park trails
Navigation: The Wales/Anglesey Coast Path is well signed. Other footpaths are well signed. Requires street navigation.
Start: I started at Holyhead's Premier Inn, but an alternative start is the Penrhos Coastal Park Carpark.
Route: Holyhead Premier Inn (alternative start is the Penrhos Coastal Park Carpark), Holyhead Docks, Penrhos Beach, Penrhos Coastal Park
Map: OS262 Anglesey West
Weather: Sunny
Walkers: Nun
Captain's Log
Sleepy Start
I'd had to abandon my intended walk for the day (see Malltraeth Dripping Cob) due to the difficulties presented by Storm Noa. I'd returned to the hotel and had a cup of tea and a doughnut. The next thing I know is that I'm laid on the bed with the sun shining through my room window and making my face hot. I looked at my watch and found that I'd snoozed for an hour. Maybe the day wouldn't be wasted after all and I quickly formulated a Plan B. I was staying at the Holyhead Premier Inn and I picked out a route that went from the hotel over to Holyhead docks and then followed the coast eastwards to the Stanley Embankment, before returning through the Penrhos Coastal Park to the hotel.
The first part of the walk went through some suburban areas. Holyhead Mountain appeared to loom over the town. I came across a traffic jam and soon realised that these were cars waiting to enter the dock area for the ferries. Two large ferries soon came into view. A large obelisk on a crag caught my attention and I followed a path up to it. There was a super view over the town, docks and harbour from the crag. The obelisk was to commemorate John McGregor Skinner. I used to work with a John Skinner, but when I read the information board I realised that the monument wasn't there to commemorate my colleague. This was for another John Skinner that lived between 1760 and 1832. John was given the post of Senior Captain of the Mail Packets in Holyhead. He died when he was washed overboard along with his First Mate just off South Stack (some cliffs on the west side of Holyhead). He was a generous benefactor to the town and this probably explains the enormity of the obelisk.
Monument To John McGregor Skinner
Holyhead Docks
Holyhead Outskirts
I followed the Anglesey/Wales Coast Path signs past the docks and on to an open grass area which separated a housing estate from the coast. The area was disappointingly strewn with litter. Somebody had pitched a tent on one edge of the area and the resident had gone over to some bushes to have a pee. A large chimney dominated the eastern end of this area and the path headed towards it. The OS map showed that it was an Aluminium Works. At Penrhos Beach a dog owner was throwing a tennis ball for his dog to chase. Each time he threw it, the dog had to scamper through the effluent from what looked like a sewerage overflow outlet. Given the amount of rain we'd had this morning I hoped the owner would give his dog a good bath after the walk.
Aluminium Works
Napoleonic Battery
Coastal Relic
Napoleonic Battery
The path ascended a little to the remains of a Napoleonic Battery. Openings in the sea-facing wall were presumbably for the canons. The cannon's range must have been pretty good since it is a massive bay leading into Holyhead harbour. Looking across to the docks I could see that one of the ferries was making a move across to Ireland. I hope the passengers were well supplied with sea sick pills. Even from this distance I could see enormous waves breaking over the north breakwater.
The number of people got exponentially larger when I reached Penrhos Coastal Park. I watched a middle aged couple try to fly a small kite. The husband was on kite fetching duties while the wife dealt with the string and provided instructions. Repeatedly the husband would let go of the kite, it would fly 20 yards up into the air and then fly in downward circles until it nose dived into the grass. There is a massive stone seat on the highest point of the cliff and is know as Tunnicliffe's Seat. This is to commemorate the wildlife artist, Charles Tunnicliffe. In 1947 he bought Shorelands, a house at Malltraeth...yes, that very same Malltraeth where I was forced to abandon my walk this morning (see Malltraeth Dripping Cob). Fate's fickle wheel is obviously at play here.
Holyhead Mountain
Penrhos Country Park
I turned my back on the kite flyers at their 35th attempt to get the thing airborne and headed south alongside Beddmanarch Bay. It really was quite pleasant walking along there with great views across the bay. The path delivered me to the main carpark for the Penrhos Country Park and it looked pretty much full. No wonder there were so many people walking around here. I wandered over to the Stanley Embankment that stretches across the bay. This was built by Thomas Telford as part of the London to Holyhead road. There is a small commemorative stone placed at the start of the embankment by the Institute Of Civil Engineers. A road runs across the embankment now with a much larger dual-carriage way and railway bridge running parallel to it.
Penrhos Country Park
Stanley Embankment And Tribute To Thomas Telford
Return To Holyhead Suburbia
I followed a cycle route back through the woodland of Penrhos Coastal park and this returned me to Penrhos Beach. The man who had earlier been playing fetch with his dog near the sewerage overflow outlet wasn't there now; he was probably at the nearest vets getting antibiotics for his pooch.
I wandered back through familiar streets to the hotel feeling as though I was a local now. The walk had been a lot more enjoyable than expected having quite a lot of points of historical interest. The weather had been stunning on the walk; blustery, cold and lots of sun. There hadn't been one spot of rain either.