Month: September 2020

Trearddur Bay to Four Mile Bridge

Monday 31st August 2020

This has to be one of the top 5 walks so far on the coastal path – we weren’t expecting something so varied and stunning, and the weather was perfect for us; just look at the blue sky in some of these pictures.

So like yesterday we parked the bikes just before four mile bridge and crossed to Holy Island – which is an island off the side of Anglesey which itself is an island off Wales.

Four mile bridge

We walked the 2 miles to Trearddur Bay to start the walk which will end back at Four mile bridge.

Sharon ready to pick up where we left off yesterday

And there was another first for our coastal path walking – Andrew wore shorts on a walk – never happened before (he’s afraid of getting stung by nettles). No pictures of this feat though sorry.

Looking across the Bay with the tide in

From the busy bay you walk left and up the road, and before you know it you arrive at an amazing much smaller bay, and much quieter as well. It is so secret it doesn’t even have a name.

Just look at his bay

The path then heads up the road and through a static van park before going through a gate into a very sand dune filled area.

And from here on the views just became magnificent. There isn’t much to describe in terms of the walk apart from following the signs and marvelling at the views.

Bwa Gwyn – one of the two stone arches

This day had it’s fair share of gates, and Sharon demonstrated how to open the gate without touching it with her hand.

It is all in the wrists

And back to some wonderful views:

The view across to Snowden

 

After a lovely lunchtime stop by the cliffs we dropped down towards Borth Wen a circular cove of sand with houses all over-looking the beach.

We then had a section of moon surface again…..

Before suddenly an amazing flat beach …..

appeared around a corner with lots of water craft being launched, a lovely little refreshment booth with a wide range of ice creams and alcoholic drinks, and the poshest toilets you will ever see on a beach.

Just look at this beach

And this toilet – on a beach!!

You exit the beach half way along – don’t be tempted to walk around thinking you can get back to the main island of Anglesey – you can’t but you can see a Victorian bathing house nestled on the far end of the beach.  Up the steps and through a forest and then along a lane. In fine weather you can turn right and cut through a wood – so we did.

Through the woods
Up a long path
And into the rather muddy woods

At this point Andrew got rather stranded by the mud and had to clamber across trees to avoid sinking into it. Regretting those shorts – maybe!!

Bonnie was still going strong and we walked along a road with no pavement and then turned right up a private drive….

past some farm houses, and down a narrow passageway beside a barn and then across some fields.

We then rejoined the estuary and things got a little wet under foot again, but luckily the tide was out.

What can we see?
Sharon is very excited – it is four mile bridge again

And earlier than expected four mile bridge came into view and the end of our walk.

The same sign as our start yesterday but from the other side

We got back to the bikes for the cycle home to the campsite and a nice cuppa.

Base camp and the end of a fabulous day

Today was 9.2 miles of coastal path, which took us to 571.6 miles completed and 303.6 miles to go.  Another day of walking tomorrow will get us under the 300 miles to go stage.

Holyhead to Trearddur Bay

Sunday 30th August 2020

So a long bank holiday weekend in Anglesey to try to complete 3 more of the walks on the big island off Wales. We arrived on the Saturday and did a few miles of the 2nd walk, but more on that later, as today we set ourselves a mammoth challenge for our first coastal path walk in 10 months:

The plan was to bike 2.5 miles from the campsite to a spot near the coastal path, and then walk a total of over 20 miles, not all of it coastal path as we needed to finish up where we started (no buses today), and then bike back to the campsite.

Our start point

The starting point for the walk today was Four mile bridge, not named because it is 4 miles long, far from it, more because it is 4 miles from Holyhead. The coastal path headed along the side of the estuary across some very marshy and muddy land to get to the only other way to cross to Holy Island, the Stanley Embankment.  It would be easy to get lost here as the signs go both ways, up towards Church Bay or left to Holy Island – left it is today.

Along the path
Great views of the estuary

Over the railway line and you are on the embankment and walking besides Holyhead Bay and into Penrhos Coastal Path.

Penhros Coastal Path

There was then a bit of a climb up to a viewpoint.

Up we climb
But the views were worth it

We then walked along the cliff tops….

and on to see the ruins of a naval battery used as a defence in the Napoleonic War.

Selfie time

and then around a football pitch before dropping into Holyhead itself and along a residential road, past the port and the railway station.

Hunger was setting in by now, and we found a nice little cafe which was serving breakfast still at 11.30am, the Beach Hut Cafe.  A nice stopping point,  and I got to count the lorries coming off the ferry (I’ll claim for the time later) and then off we went again up out of Holyhead and past the breakwater.

A strange concrete shrine

You will notice from the pictures that we were climbing all the way now and there is a good reason for that which came into view as we rounded North Stack and got sight of Holyhead Mountain, the highest point on Holyhead.

It really was this steep
And we really were this high – that is the town of Holyhead in the distance

The walk doesn’t quite hit the peak of the mountain – and if we weren’t doing 20 miles today and we weren’t socially distancing from the crowds, then we might have made the small detour to the summit, but onwards we went with the downhill part now, and the approach to South Stack lighthouse.

Just time for Bonnie to pop to the loo….

Toilet break – is this the ladies?

Unfortunately due to the pandemic South Stack lighthouse wasn’t open to the public today, but it did save us a fair few steps:

South Stack Lighthouse

We continued the descent and took a wrong turn, following a coastal path sign in the wrong direction, but a swift U-turn and we passed some amazing rock faces:

Can you see him?

Zoom in closer and you will – I am sure this is cheating though!!

Here he is

Ellin’s tower, a folly, was also not open so we walked down a step road to Abraham’s bosom – no it is just a broad bay – and a good place for a late lunch.

Ellin’s folly
Abraham’s bosom

The coastal path then continued to hug the coast line from on high, and the landscape became more and more moon like.

Bonnie on the moon
Stunning landscape

You pass a beautiful beach with a suitable toilet stop…

Porth Dafarch

The last part of the walk kept us walking along a road with no pavement, then deviating off to the right down the path to the coast, then back left to the road at least 5 times….it would have been less distance to stay on the road, but never mind as the sight of Trearddur Bay was worth the walk.

Finally our end point

Well actually Trearddur bay might have been the end point for today’s coastal path but not our walking; we still had 2 miles to walk back to the bikes and 2.5 miles to cycle!!

One last look at the beach

Thankfully we found a nice pub on the walk back and had a cider and a delicious meal, before getting back to the campsite very tired but full. Over 20 miles walked and for the record that was our longest single day ever.  16.7 miles of coastal path takes us to 562.4 miles completed and 312.8 miles to go still. And another walk tomorrow.

 

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