Anglesey/ Holy Island, North Wales.

[lugg]

Anglesey and Holy Island, North Wales
I am lucky enough to visit here every so often to meet up with friends who I have known for 40 years plus. So whenever I go it’s a real treat for many reasons… lots of laughs and a common history; memories of some lovely childhood holidays; beautiful scenery, lots of fresh air / Vitamin Sea and walking balances some good hearty food such as great fish and chips and cake. On occasion the sun shines too. Here are a few highlights from my most recent earlier this month.
The place we stay at is so lovely set back from a quiet little cove on Holy Island – it almost seems that the cove belongs to the house. Shame about the ugly wires – if only I could photo shop! I understand that it was once owned as a holiday home by the Tate and Lyle family now divided into 3 apartments – ours is the top floor.






I could look out of these windows forever






One person was brave enough to swim – I think the sea temp was 14 at most


Heron in the cove



and horses next to the cove





We usually base our walking around the coastal path but this visit we ventured inland – all because we wanted cake. Not just any old cake but made by a person who has a very good reputation as a pastry chef, born on Anglesey he’s recently set up a business at Melin Llynnon, the last working windmill on Anglesey. We already knew that the choice of cake would be limited as his business has taken off so well he was having new kitchens put in to cope with the demand but we did not want to miss the opportunity to check it out for future visits.
So we parked at the windmill and set off for a circular walk to build up an appetite. A few photos from along the way


The windmill in the distance








A friendly bull



This watermill had been renovated and won a conservation award in the 70s but was now rather forlorn.











Anyway heading back quickly to the windmill for cake and a pot of tea, particularly well deserved as on the way a spectacular miss-step by yours truly










We stopped off for another short walk on the way back home at a place just outside Holyhead on Holy Island – mostly known for its ferry link to Ireland. (mostly to stop us feeling guilty about the cake and to work up an appetite for a fish and chips supper


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It’s a haven for dog walking and so an apt place for a pet cemetery although I could not see any recent burials , it seems the last was in the 80s






Anyway much as we enjoyed the inland walk, next day we headed to the coast .
First stop …
Giants Steps (Rhuddgaer Stepping Stones) They are kind of a well- hidden secret. However once you know where they are they are easy to get to … about a 15 min walk from the road. Fortunately we met a resident close by who helped us on the right track. They cross the Afon Braint which is affected by tides from the Menai Strait and the Irish Sea We timed the tides just right, more by luck than judgement.












From here it’s a short hop to what I think is one of the most beautiful beaches in Wales. Newborough is vast and connects at low tide to another less visited beach, Malltraeth. Behind the beaches are forest and marsh areas and dunes – home to a thriving population of red squirrels; many birds and some beautiful wildflowers. The tidal island of Ynys Llanddwyn sits between the two.
Malltraeth is on the left , Newbororough on the right








Ynys Landdwyn from the beach




The causeway which separates Llanddwyn from Angelsey at high tide.




The mountains in the distance are the Snowdonia range






Llanddwyn was home to Welsh Patron Saint of Love – St Dwynwen and in medieval times was a place of pilgrimage.


More about her can be found here.
www.anglesey-history.co.uk/places/llanddwyn/



The well is the first thing you find of Dwynwens’s heritage as you walk onto the island. The stones are you can glimpse towards the top right are the well itself.



Then moving further onto the island you see more links to the islands history.

















This lighthouse may remind you of a windmill without sails – it was based on the Anglesey windmill.
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These Pilots houses may look familiar if you have seen 1900 Island a BBC programme. The houses are a row of four cottages, single storeyed, with two rooms to each house and were home to lighthouse keepers, pilots and lifeboat men. . They are absolutely tiny. There is more info about the houses and lighthouses in the Anglesey history link I gave above.
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2019/1900-island
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Although we kept hoping and searching we did not get to see any seals as we walked around the islands coast but saw many birds and wildflowers on the island. The sea water was incredibly clear
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Northern Marsh Orchid
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Thrift
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Wild iris
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Good to see some bumblebees out and about
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Oystercatcher guarding a nest
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I was so envious of these horse riders
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Maybe one day .. .

[mossie]

Looks like you had it all, a wonderful seaside holiday home, country walking, decadent cake, history.............and you even found time for a little paddle, one foot only?

[mich64]

What a splendid place and a lovely place to relax and spend time with close friends. Tranquil surroundings. The cakes looked yummy!

[bixaorellana]

Oh gracious, Lugg!!! Is this so spectacular because of the place or because of your astounding, fabulous, gorgeous 3D pictures of the place?!

I get all these mailings from a tour company promoting visits to the islands of Scotland and the like, but nothing they've ever sent could hold the tiniest taper to your photographs. Just wow!

Obviously anyone who would walk a mile or more for really good cake is an exceptional human being. (I tried to get some of the icing off the monitor with my finger.) I love how you captured near, far, and in-between of all the clear, crisp nature. That bull!

Thanks for turning me on to the The 1900 Island -- having watched it added even more to my pleasure in your pictures of it.

And very big thanks for showing us your wonderful special place. I hope you get to go back there soon.

[bjd]

Not only beautiful pictures but I learn a lot from AnyPort posters. I just looked on a map to see exactly where Anglesey is. It looks like a lovely place to spend a few days. You were lucky with the weather. I always find the colours and light more interesting when the sky has some sun and some clouds.

Nice for you to retain a group of friends for so many years and enjoy getting together with.

[lagatta]

What a beautiful report. Damn that Henry, pillaging their pilgramage church!

[kerouac2]

One of the best reports ever and a place about which I know nothing, which makes it even better. It is even more appreciated as a visual refreshment while I sit in stifling heat and not a breath of fresh air.

I need a seaside trip very soon, and this reports makes it all the more urgent.

[fumobici]

Never heard of this place but, oh my, what a visual feast you've laid out here.

[htmb]

What a beautiful part of the world, Lugg. Gorgeous pictures that I want to look at again and again. It appears to be a wonderful place to meet up and share long walks with friends. Bliss!

[lugg]

Thank you all so much , so glad you enjoyed this postcard. Yes I am very lucky to have such great friends; mostly we met during our nurse training days, although two had also known each other at school . I think living together in cockroach infected accommodation , laughing with that black sense of humour we had to develop and knowing it was ok to cry as we went through our training cemented our bond. Anyway these are the same friends I meet up with in Aude ,France as one has a house in Quillan. Our next jaunt though is to Scotland - we all turn 60 next year and are staying on the Isle of Skye.

[lugg]

Our holiday to Skye did not happen due to Covid - 19 but we did get a few nights together in my friend's sisters flat on Holy Island just prior to lockdown, which meant we all had to return to our respective homes.

We went out for a local walk on our first evening from the flat to the lovely Trearddur Bay and back.


Looking back at the house - the flat is on the top floor , I think I've posted some of its history previously. The house next door to the left is new and now is pretty much completed.





Views as we walked along the coastal path..











This house is known locally as "Spooky House" used in some TV series over the years such as this one

www.allstephenmoyer.com/learn-more-about-where-safe-house-filmed

At first glance not so spooky maybe ?



Damn that car !


But no cars mar the view of the other side,


Passed by a lonely heron before reaching the beach







At low tide the remnants of a prehistoric forest are revealed,





We stopped for an ice cream ,probably the last time this was allowed before lockdown, and then walked back as the sun was going down

[lugg]

Just a little more to come before we were sent packing.

[bixaorellana]

What a way to fill your senses before being stuck in one place. Although you of course live in an exceptionally beautiful area, surrounded by nature. So glad you got to take this trip and that you're sharing it with us.

Lovely long serene views everywhere. And I'm knocked out by the idea of the prehistoric forest coming to light when the tide goes out.

More! More!

[bjd]

You are lucky to have had an outing before being confined for the next few weeks. Looking through last year's photos, I see once again how lovely the area is.

[kerouac2]

Really beautiful coastline and I can't see a single virus on the horizon.

[lugg]

Thank you , yes so lucky - we all said this trip would keep us going in the weeks ./ months to come

And thank you so much Bixa - No more damned car

[lugg]

We did manage another couple of walks - the first along the coastal path from Bull Bay to Cemaes in Anglesey, which is just about as far north as Wales gets; about a 15 min drive from our flat. The coastal path is a well trodden route and no wonder the coastal views are fabulous. Just a few pics taken on our walk on an absolutely glorious Spring day.













I thought these were wild ponies from a distance but up close saw they were not - the third pic down is the give away. He did look in poor condition but he may just be old.








Next day we just went for a short local walk on Holy Island as we knew then we would have to leave - it made us even more determined to laugh as we walked and that we did. social distancing was setting in though and people gave each other a wide berth as they passed by. We passed a number of small coves until we reached the best beach Porth Dafarch .



I am not sure if you can see it but right in the middle of the pic is the tip of the 3 gables of our holiday home, with Porth Y Post cove directly in front. .



I really wish I knew more about geology ;the rock formations along the coast were spectacular . I think the one below must maybe vocanic ??.









Some of the rocks had a coppery / golden sheen



My 3 amigos posing for a pic









We stopped at Porth Dafarch for a picnic, the seagulls maintained a respectful distance fortunately as did other people on the beach. We took in the views and then retraced our steps , buzzed by an aircraft from RAF Valley that performed some loop de loops - fitting end to our cut short get together . Until the next time ...

[htmb]

Fascinating rock formations!
How fortunate you were able to fit in this visit to such a gorgeous place.

[mossie]

Agree about the rock formations, wonderful to see how the rock layers have been pushed up by movement

Re the aircraft, he is performing loops. Great fun if you know what you are doing. My pilot always fancied himself a dab hand at that sort of thing and would chance his arm at night! Got us into some funny situations, but it always turned out fine.

[fumobici]

Love these new photos, so beautiful there. Do people actually speak Welsh on the streets in Holyhead?

[bixaorellana]

You really pulled out the stops with this group of pictures, Lugg -- absolutely beautiful. Of course the landscape pictures are lovely and give a sense of how much you all enjoyed the place. But the wonderfully observed and brilliant photos of the rock formations are pure art and fascinating to boot.

It will be interesting in years to come to look at this thread again. as it is not only a travelogue, but captures facts and feelings about this very peculiar world event as it touched upon your visit.

If you're interested, I've read two books recently about rock formations. The scientific one, which addresses the exact kinds of formations you saw on the island is The Seashell on the Mountaintop. I doubt you'd want to read it in pdf form, but this link will give a good synopsis without having to download anything: pdfs.semanticscholar.org/05fc/b4f0da87d78db92eaa86cafc5c401acbd33f.pdf
The other book was a novel, Remarkable Creatures, a fictionalized version of Mary Anning, the great fossil hunter: www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/29/remarkable-creatures-tracy-chevalier

[kerouac2]

We confined urbanites absolutely ache at the thought of being able to frolic in the wilds. What is awful is that when we are finally allowed to do so, every open space is going to be totally invaded. So it is better to appreciate these photos and stay at home, I guess.

[lugg]

Apr 9, 2020 10:15:07 GMT kerouac2 said:

We confined urbanites absolutely ache at the thought of being able to frolic in the wilds. What is awful is that when we are finally allowed to do so, every open space is going to be totally invaded. So it is better to appreciate these photos and stay at home, I guess.

I guess things will even out again but yes probably very busy initially

Apr 7, 2020 23:14:37 GMT bixaorellana said:

If you're interested, I've read two books recently about rock formations. The scientific one, which addresses the exact kinds of formations you saw on the island is The Seashell on the Mountaintop. I doubt you'd want to read it in pdf form, but this link will give a good synopsis without having to download anything: pdfs.semanticscholar.org/05fc/b4f0da87d78db92eaa86cafc5c401acbd33f.pdf
The other book was a novel, Remarkable Creatures, a fictionalized version of Mary Anning, the great fossil hunter: www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/29/remarkable-creatures-tracy-chevalier

Ooh thanks Bixa will have a look.

Apr 7, 2020 21:06:05 GMT fumobici said:

Do people actually speak Welsh on the streets in Holyhead?

Some do - in fact NW Wales and parts of the West have more Welsh speakers generally. I live on the border of Wales to the South and its much less commonly heard here. But some words have infiltrated English in this part of the world , one example is cwtch

[bjd]

Apr 9, 2020 10:39:29 GMT lugg said:

one example is cwtc

I guess the Welsh don't make fun of Serbs for not using many vowels.

[lugg]

Guess not bjd

[lugg]

As I have a little time on my hands ::)I thought I would add in some pics / info from previous visits, which I don't think I have posted before , although maybe a few pics might be found in the Image Bank. Looking back on the photos we have always been incredibly lucky with the weather when we have visited. This next series were all taken in April a few years ago.

The sunrise from the balcony at the rear of the flat can be very impressive. Its only now as I re look that I can see that Ive captured a sun pillar albeit faint.




A few of the cove in front of our flat





This is Rhosneiger - a beach in NW Anglesey a few miles south of Holy Island taken in April a few years ago.






A stranded and deceased small-spotted catshark / sandy dog fish. The most common shark found in UK waters.



Rhosneiger has some very pretty houses, presumably once fishermen's cottages






Anyway the other main thing I want to show you is South Stack lighthouse and RSPB reserve.

[bixaorellana]

Yaaay ~ there is more!

At the risk of sounding trite, I have to say that the picture of the cove in front of your cottage is a breath of fresh air.

[lugg]

The South Stack lighthouse is built on Ynys Lawd, a small rocky island just off the edge of Holy Island. Quite often its described as located on Anglesey but that is not correct. Anglesey and Holy Island are very close but also very separate.
The lighthouse itself was built by Trinity House in 1809. I had never heard of Trinity House - but was hooked when I read more; the history is fascinating


www.trinityhouse.co.uk/about-us/history-of-trinity-house

And in a nutshell

www.trinityhouse.co.uk/about-us/history-of-trinity-house/a-brief-timeline


Trinity House was granted a Royal Charter in 1500s by Henry V111 mainly in relation to the navigation of the Thames but eventually developed began building lighthouses / lightships etc across the UK from 1600s .In 1566 Queen Elizabeth I’s Seamarks Act enabled Trinity House

“at their wills and pleasures, and at their costs, [to] make, erect, and set up such, and so many beacons, marks, and signs for the sea… whereby the dangers may be avoided and escaped, and ships the better come into their ports without peril.”

Today it is both a charity supporting the welfare of mariners but also it maintains and controls all lighthouses as the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. The full name is a bit of a mouthful ....Guild Fraternity or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity and of St. Clement in the Parish of Deptford Strond.


So onto South Stack which is widely considered to be an epic lighthouse ( my words)



More to follow ..

[lugg]

South Stack Lighthouse was first envisaged in 1665 when a petition for a patent to erect the lighthouse was presented to Charles II. The patent was not granted and it was not until 9 February 1809 that the first light appeared to mark the rock. The lighthouse was designed by Trinity House surveyor Daniel Alexander and originally fitted with Argand oil lamps and reflectors. Around 1840 a railway was installed by means of which a lantern with a subsidiary light could be lowered down the cliff to sea level when fog obscured the main light.
In the mid 1870s the lantern and lighting apparatus was replaced by a new lantern. In 1909 an early form of incandescent light was installed and in 1927 this was replaced by a more modern form of incandescent mantle burner. The station was electrified in 1938. On 12 September 1984 the lighthouse was automated and the keepers withdrawn. The lighthouse is now monitored and controlled from Trinity House’s Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex


Info taken from www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses-and-lightvessels/south-stack-lighthouse

Parking for the lighthouse is at the RSPB centre. Controversially the RSPB recently introduced parking charges much to the fury of many Holy Island and Anglesey residents. Despite opposition the RSPB won the day although they had to offer concessions to residents and the charges are not as hefty as proposed initially.
The RSPB are on site as South Stack is also famous for the colonies of birds that nest on the cliffs. Sadly this was the only puffin we saw.



The views from this part of Holy Island are great –



and the cliffs are majestic 60 metres plus straight down into the sea.










Its quite a way down ( and up ! ) to the lighthouse – around 400 steps. The photo below gives you an idea of the descent down ( taken through one of the lighthouse windows)



On the way down we passed countless nesting guillemots and saw some choughs and razorbills too.








Of course some great views of the lighthouse itself as you walk towards it,












In the distance we saw Skerries which is the lighthouse at the entrance to Holyhead which is a key port for transport between UK and Ireland


Did anyone have Bryan Ferry’s album Siren in the past ? If so the photo below may look vaguely familiar








I have no idea how they got down there, ( if they did ?) it looks nigh on impossible . The photos apparently for the cover were taken from below the suspension bridge .

Ynys Lawd, the small rocky island that the lighthouse is built on is about 60 metres from the main island so you have to cross a bridge to get over the raging sea. In the past this crossing varied from a hanging basket pulley system to a rope bridge .,Fortunately the modern version is much more substantial.
You might be able to see the reflection of the bridge in the water








Noticed some kayakers braving the turbulent seas.




I think this is / once was the entrance to a path / transport route to and from the sea . Old photos show a small docking point.



The light house keepers cottage now rather forlorn home only to a few seagulls.





So inside the lighthouse – there is a very small museum which was quite interesting but we were keen to make the ascent to the top to see the light.










It was worth the climb !




So time to go back up – spotted a lizard sunning himself









Nice place to catch our breath before heading home.

[lugg]

That's all for now.