Abraham's Bosom

10 minutes later, the Welsh Coast Path went off-road and normal service resumed. The first part of the walk followed the cliffs around the bay known as Abraham's Bosom. It did beg the question as to what was so remarkable about Abraham's protuberances. There were some fearsome drops down to the sea. Looking back north, the light of the South Stack lighthouse winked at me every few seconds. Oddly enough, the heath around the South Stacks Cliffs Nature Reserve hadn't iced over and some stretches of the path were very boggy. At Port Ruffydd I heard the clatter of a helicopter approaching from the south. It headed straight for me; it then stopped and almost hovered over me. For one moment, I wondered if one of the residents in the houses near the RSPB South Stack site had seen me struggling down the road and thought 'Now, there's an accident waiting to happen; I might as well call the emergency services now.' A man started to descend from the helicopter on a cable and disappeared below the cliff edge. Crikey, it looked like an incident was in progress. I waited around since the helicopter was hovering over the path that I needed to use and I didn't want it falling on my head. The man got winched back up to the helicopter, and a few moments later he was winched back down again. Maybe it was a training exercise rather than a live incident. I decided to make a wide bypass of the helicopter so that I could make some progress. When I finally got to the other side of it, the helicopter scooted off southwards over the sea. There was nobody on the cliffs over which the helicopter had been hovering and so it must have been a training excercise. 

Trearddur

The cliffs got lower as I headed southwards, but the views were just as spectacular. This really is a remarkable section of coast. Trearddur came into view and seemed to stretch around its bay for quite a distance. The Anglesey Coastal Path diverted back to the road before entering the town. My first impression was that the newbuild houses didn't look like starter homes. There had been some serious money invested in some of these houses. A lot of them had blinds shut and were probably holiday homes. I'm guessing that any youngsters working around here would commute from Holyhead. There was no denying that the bays were pretty, with sandy beaches, rocky outcrops and small islands. There was a long promenade around the main bay. I went to investigate the main carpark with the prospect of using it for one of my walks. £10 for an all-day ticket. I can't remember seeing a ticket more expensive than that on my travels. I continued through the town and the newbuilds continued. The builders on Anglesey must be rubbing their hands with all these expensive houses being built. I walked around the small Porth Diana bay and then followed the road up a hill to the very last house. There were just two roads to caravan sites from here. I decided that this would be my turnaround point for the day. 

Return

I returned back down the long promenade. The bar/café/restaurant next to the Lifeboat Station seemed rather posh. I wouldn't have minded a coffee but looking down at my trousers, I'd got mud splashed up to my thighs after two days of walking. Somehow I don't think my appearance would have gone down too well with the owners or the clientele. 

Back at Porth Ruffydd the helicopter had also returned, hovering over the very same cliff as this morning and dangling a man on a cable again. If this really was a live incident and I was the casualty, then I think I'd be calling somebody else for help. As soon as the pilot saw me, he winched his mate back into the helicopter and they headed off southwards over the sea again. 

Thankfully, the sun had melted the ice on the road up to RSPB South Stack and I didn't need crampons to get to the carpark. I packed my rucksack away and set off towards RSPB's Ellin Tower with the intention of photographing some birds on the cliffs. The account of this can be found in RSPB South Stack. I did cross paths with the Welsh nature TV presenter, Iolo Williams at Ellin Tower. When I returned to the carpark he was parked next to me, talking to his two mates in Welsh (so I can't relay any gossip). It probably, went along the lines 'Have you seen that fat, ugly Englishman parked next to us?' I decided to leave them to it and I wandered across the road to the site of the Iron Age settlements. There are a number of depressions in the land surrounded by stones. It is actually quite surprising how many there are and the large area that they cover. I thought the famous Welsh birder would have departed by the time I returned to the carpark, but he was still there gabbing in Welsh with his friends. He was obviously waiting around to see if he could get my autograph or a selfie with me. They just wouldn't bloody go. I wanted to change from my muddy trousers to some clean ones, but I wasn't prepared strip down in front of Iolo Williams. I was pretty sure he'd use it as an anecdote in the next edition of Springwatch '...and I was at RSPB South Stack, when this fat, ugly Englishman suddenly dropped his trousers. I can tell you Chris and Michaela, I've seen better legs on a juvenile Grey Heron.' Eventually they left and I was able to sort myself out.

What an amazing day. It was perfect weather for walking. The view from RSPB South Stack to the white Snowdonia hills was the most memorable and absolutely stunning.