An Anglesey Trip (August)
Back in August, I went on holiday to Anglesey in Wales. Well, more specifically, a small island called Holy Island just off the coast of Anglesey. This was a family holiday, but I was able to do some exploring and walking. Most notably, I was finally able to tick off Yr Wydffa (Snowdon) and complete the national three peaks. Wales is an area I have barely explored. Until this holiday I had not walked a single hill in Wales, most regrettably, as it hosts some of Britain's most dramatic mountains and knife like ridges.
The journey to Wales seemed to take ages. With my bike on top of the car, I moved at a steady, at times snail's, pace down the M6. Seeking to avoid the toll road, I came off the M6 near Warrington then travelled west over the border into Wales. In parts, the route was beautiful, particularly driving through the tunnels near Conwy cutting through the hills that overlook the coast of northern Wales. Crossing the Menai straits I entered Anglesey for the first time. My wife used to holiday here as a child. I had assumed, until recently, that we would be staying on the isle of Anglesey, whereas strictly speaking, we were headed for a much smaller island just off the coast of Anglesey called Holy Island, connected to Anglesey by road. There is a town in Holy Island called Holyhead, which I didn't get chance to visit. We were staying in a charming little village called Treaddur Bay.
Driving into Treaddur a number of things caught my interest. The beach there is an attractive one and there are several cafes and restaurants along the main street. As the road bends you pass by the RNLI shop, opposite which there is a large hotel. Following along the road after the main part of the village attention is turned to what looks like an archetypal haunted house. The "Scooby Doo" house as the in-laws call it. Our apartment was on the right after passing the house.
My itinerary for the week consisted mainly of family days out, but I had planned a few solo expeditions. Getting some hill walking in was an absolute must. It had been over four years since I completed the other two national peaks, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis, so I made it a priority to spare a day for Yr Wydffa. I looked into whether there were any hills nearby that could be done in a couple of hours. Quite surprisingly, there happened to be one on the small island we were staying in. It is a marilyn, which means it has over 150 metres drop on all sides (I suppose this is somewhat easier to achieve on a small island, where prominence is the same as elevation above sea level). Its name is Holyhead mountain and it dominates the views to the north east of the island. It is not, in fact, a mountain, being only 220 metres. But the fact that it is significantly taller than anything else on this island gives it a grandeur denied to many bona fida mountains.
On the first full day of the holiday, I went for a steady little bike ride along the west coast of the island. Having studied the OS map of the area, there were a couple of places of interest I wanted to visit. I stopped at the Penrhos Feilw Standing stones. They were easy to find, with prominent signage in Welsh and English at the entrance to a field. After a very short walk, there they were. Two upstanding stones with an impressive view of Holyhead mountain in the background. It is believed the stones were erected during the bronze age.
After visiting the stones I continued up the coast, taking the steep road up toward the car park for south slack lighthouse. This was also the car park I used later in the week when I walked up Holyhead mountain. From the car park, it is quite a descent down toward the lighthouse, which is perched atop a small island just off the coast. I didn't realise at the time that there was a charge to get over to the lighthouse and as I didn't really have the time to explore, I decided against it, and just admired the view from above. I did, however, pay a brief visit to Ellin's Tower. A small whitewashed building now owned by the RSPB and used for bird watching.
On the Tuesday I walked up Yr Wydffa via the tourist route. This starts from the village of Llanberris and follows the Llanberris path, largely following the course of the railway like. To be honest, it was easier than I thought it would be. Aside from a fairly steep section up a narrow road at the beginning, then another steep section towards the end, it is for the most part quite a gradual ascent. The weather was good and the views were outstanding. There are impressive views of the mountains surrounding Yr Wydffa as you ascend the mountain. About half way up there is a little cafe marked aptly as "halfway house" on the map. Near Clogwyn station, after passing underneath the railway bridge, you are greeted by an enchanting view down to the lower mountains and the valley beneath.
The steepest section then follows. It was around this time that the first train of the morning passed me. Shortly before reaching the summit, I came across another fine view down toward Glasyn Tarn. To my left, a separate ridge crept up to another summit. It didn't look like much of a detour to reach the summit. And as it looked to have above 15 metres prominence it would thereby be classed as a Nuttall. But I thought I'd wait til I'd summited Snowdon before confirming this. The summit of Snowdon sits atop a ridge. This ridge was about the only part of the mountain covered in mist and even there it was intermittent. After waiting for a family to take some photos, they agreed to take one of me on top of the summit.
There is a cafe near the top. The last train platform is just outside the entrance. After visiting the trig point, I made my way down to the cafe. It looked fairly empty aside from some staff members setting out chairs. At the entrance, I asked a staff member whether they were open. "No, we are not open till 10am" he replied, "and can you please make your way off the platform as this is for ticket holders only due to safety reasons." Safety reasons? I've summited the largest mountain in Wales and I'm been told I am endangered by a 5mph train coming to a holt at the platform. There was no train in sight I might add. Also, why does not having a ticket put me at risk? Do these tickets provide special protection against ultra slow trains? I decided the coffee was not worth the wait.
I looked at the OS Map and found out that the ridge I looked at earlier led to Garnedd Ugain and it is a Nuttall. So I made the little detour to visit it. There were good views down to the tarn from here and over to Snowdon. I then made my way back. I stopped at the half way cafe to grab a coffee and then, at the end, at the Penceunant Isaf tea rooms which sits at the bottom. This was a peculiar but fascinating place. The furniture outside is made of slate. At the entrance, there was an instruction to ring the bell for service. The Welshman who served me was old school and seemed as though he didn't suffer fools gladly. But despite my almost certainly being a fool, he was amicable all the same. I ordered a Snowdon craft lager. A decent lager, perfect for accompanying my reflections as I basked in the sun having now completed the three national peaks.
From Wales's largest peak, to a rather short one. At the end of the week I walked up Holyhead mountain, which is is a Marilyn on Holy Island, where I was staying. I parked near the lighthouse where I cycled early in the week. Much of the route is on a well constructed path and is quite easy going. The weather was miserable, but the surroundings felt quite gothic. The hill is covered in heather, the very colourful type that is typical of coastal heath. It gets a little rocky toward the top where there is a trig point. Unfortunately, the views were spoilt by the poor visibility, which was a shame, as I'm sure the panoramic views of the island and the sea beyond would have been very impressive.
I really enjoyed this holiday and I am eager to return to Wales again soon. Although it was nice to finally do some hill walking in Wales, I have not even scratched the surface and I hope to be back amongst the Welsh mountains again soon.
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