Caravan Park

One of the great things about the Anglesey Coast Path is that the signage is so good. You could almost pack your map away. There again, you can't really go far wrong on a coastal path. I followed the road south out of Trearrdur. Some of the houses along here look very nice indeed. I'd guess that most of the homeowners weren't originally from the local area. In fact, I bet a lot of the homeowners spend most of their time living somewhere else altogether. Highway contractors were busy laying tarmac on the road...not just plugging the potholes, but relaying the whole lot. It's odd how the nice areas seem to be the first in the queue to get their road upgraded. 

I left gentrified Trearddur behind and started following the cliffs southwards. I was surprised when I got over one ridge and found a large number of static vans tucked away in a cove. I could only see a couple of cars outside the caravans. I guess they'd all be fully occupied in summer. The footpath dropped down through the site and out the other side. 

Cliff Walking

There were some spectacular cliffs along the next stretch of the coast including a huge sea arch. The cliffs got higher and the path became squeezed between a high stone wall and the cliff edge. It wasn't dangerous, since there was sufficient space, although one section did have some railings along a short stretch. At the end of this 'wall' section I came across a mysterious stone structure sunk into the ground. It seemed to have seats in each corner and at first I though it might be a sunken stone shelter. Water was running out the seaward side of it. I looked at the OS map and saw that it was labelled as St Gwenfaen's Well. Later research revealed that it is actually a two room structure with the lower being below what you can see from the top (see above photo). The view of the cliffs near the well are stunning. St Gwenfaen chose her spot well. 

A small building could be seen at the top of the next hill and it took a bit more effort to haul myself up there. It turned out to be a Coast Watcher building, although I couldn't see any coast watchers in there. It certainly had a good view of the surrounding coastline. Just inland from the building I could see a stone structure on the highest point of the hill. I found a path through the gorse bushes that protected it and found it to be a stone shelter with a seaward and landward set of seating. Given the strong, cold wind I opted for the landward seat. Since Anglesey is so flat, you get an extensive view from any raised point on the island. I could even see my hotel over in Holyhead. The tall chimney at the old aluminium factory was a distinctive marker for Holyhead. It got demolished a couple of days ago. The vertical space it used to occupy seemed oddly vacant now. In a curious way I'll miss it.

Ty-Crainge

Ty-Crainge is a another village of quaint cottages surrounding Borthwen Bay. It is another village where a lot of money has been spent on the houses and nobody seems to be around. The Coast Path meandered through the houses on rough tracks. Sometimes it felt as though I was walking through people's gardens. It eventually brought me down to the bay and to that other candidate for the 'UK's Most Expensive Carpark' award. I drove down to this carpark last year. It isn't an experience I'd like to repeat; well not unless I buy a vehicle the size of a pedal car. On the path leading out of the village, it looked like somebody had removed the Anglesey Coast Path signs on the fingerpost at a junction. The actual route had a garden gate and looked like it might lead up to somebody's house. 'Bore da' came the cheery voice of a local approaching from along the path. 'How-do' I replied and set off along the same path. 

Traeth Llydan

The coast beyond Ty-Crainge was just as pretty, although the cliffs seemed a little lower. Further down the coast I could see the long stretch of sand near to Rhosneigr. If the weather is good, I intended walking on those sands tomorrow. RAF Valley is just north of Rhosneigr and a constant stream of jets took off and then disappeared into the blue beyond. Tomorrow's walk would go right along the side of the airbase and so I should get some good views of the jets. It's a pity that I've not brought my long lens. 

Traeth Lydan was my last bay of the day and the sands were totally deserted. I descended from the cliffs on to the sand and started walking around the bay. The Anglesey Coast Path heads off inland about halfway around the bay. I'd leave that section for another day. I was doing well for time and so I decided to walk to the end of the bay. The sand turned to small stones at its southern end and eventually terminated in rocky outcrops that stretched into the sea. A barbed fence continued from the land out on to the rock. If you wanted to continue down the coast, I guess you could swim around the rocky outcrop. Maybe the landowner had thought of this too and implemented some underwater man-traps. I'd got as far as I could go and so I decided to turn around and make my way back to Trearddur.  

Return 

The weather had been exceptional today with sun, blue skies and a cooling wind. Ty-Criange was a bit busier than when I went through earlier this morning. A few cars and even a van had made it down to the carpark and so I assume the wanderers were incoming rather than actual villagers. A little beyond St Gwenfaen's Well I slipped on some steep waterlogged grass. One second I was vertical and the next horizontal with my head just above the mud. My whole right side was coated in mud and so was one of my cameras. The neck strap had broken too. I sighed, at least I was okay. I found a grassy spot and spent 15 minutes trying to get the worst of the mud off my clothes and camera. I took a photo and the camera still worked okay. I can't think of a time when I've slipped on ice. But waterlogged, steep grass? Well, I can think of a number of occasions.

The contractors were still laying tarmac when I got back to Trearddur. I felt like asking them if they fancied doing the same for my street back in Yorkshire. The carpark was surprisingly full when I reached the bay. A man was randomly intercepting people to see if they could change his £10 note to coins for the ticket machine. I felt sorry for him, but I kept my head down; if £10 is the going carpark rate on Anglesey, then I'd be needing all my change for the rest of this week.