The Anglesey Coastal Path 2014
Day Three: 10th April
Weather: A bit chilly but mainly bright with sun, sand and no sangria.
Route: Rhosneigr to Malltraeth - 13 miles
Refreshed by a pleasant evening and a good Thai meal at the local restaurant, even though there was only one lady serving, it was worth waiting for – I like Thai food. A good breakfast at the B&B set me up for the day and after a little faff it was out into the sunshine for a gentle stroll along the coastline. Time isn’t an issue when there’s only yourself to please and as my legs aren’t up to much nowadays it was good to take my time. Down into town to stop and shop for a sandwich and it was away onto the beach of Traeth Llydan where wind blown debris had gathered up bits of straw into little balls which were bobbing along in the wind. I think they were the Gruffalos bollix, although they looked like a mouse nest as well – I tied them up and gave them a tickle, and promptly found a 50p piece in the sand. Great fun this walking. The beach stretched out ahead or a mile or so, with the prominent burial cairn of Barclodiad y Gawres across the bay. This is a restored chambered cairn which has some impressive chevron rock art on one of the uprights. You have to get the key from a local store at Llanfaelog – some info here
Holyhead Mountain to the north was now receding and into view to the SE came the Llyn Peninsula, a little misty in the distance but ever enticing me forward. I rambled and wobbled a bit around the cliff tops, and found a nice sheltered cleft to sit in out of the wind at Ynysoedd Duon. It was so pleasant I decided to have an early lunch rather than plough on, and it’s a good job really as the path diverted away from the coast to pass around the Anglesey motor racing circuit - Trac Mons It was quiet in the morning, but due to the wind direction it was quite intrusive in the afternoon. Obviously the owners don’t want a bunch of hikers striding along the tarmac here so the coastal path diverts across a newly manured, baked hard by the sun, stinking like me on a bad day, field, a couple of quiet lanes and eventually back down to the coast at Porth China.
This was the highlight of the day, to see the tide out and easy access to the tiny church at St Cwyfan, stood proud on it’s little island in the sea. Some information here about its history – it goes back a long way. I strode over rocks, pebbles and seaweed to climb the steps up to the grassy island. Great views over to the mountains and a little bench behind the church to rest my sticky legs. They were looking a bit tasty now with all the sunshine – factor 15 just not enough to stop the frying.
Exposed on the beach cliffs were Quaternary sands and glacial till – a right old mish mash of rock and sand. Once around the long stretch of sand there was some delightful headland to walk around towards Aberffraw, gently undulating while the mountains came nearer and nearer. Twas turning out to be a beautiful day alright and the walk up the side of the estuary is superb along the Afon Ffraw. In the bright sunlight it felt far more exotic than Anglesey (that’s meant to be a compliment not an insult btw) and the path led me unerringly to the heritage centre and a very welcome break for tea and ice-cream. Many of the helpers here are ‘special needs’ so I had to be a little patient with my order, but it was a great place to be, and a very interesting conversation with a gent who kept disappearing and coming back again to enquire where I was going, did I know there was a bus, and is that your bag. Yes, no, yes was the answer several times over – bless them.
Suitably refreshed I chose to walk over the lovely arched bridge and along the quiet lane across Tywyn Aberffraw, rather than taking to the dunes as the afternoon was ticking along. The end of the day saw me walking across cow pasture to an old derelict farm building at Bont-Faen, where the bizarre sight of a huge pile of seashells greeted me, with some old hay bales that now wear a lovely green grass top. Onto ploughed fields – not the best to walk across, up to the church at Llangadwaladr, and along quiet roads and lanes for the last mile or so to Malltraeth my overnight stop – no pubs serving food yet, but a nice friendly chippy and a Rottweiler at the B&B!
Another grand day out on the Anglesey Coastal Path and not a drop of rain…except at night time…ha ha missed me.
Out through the centre of Rhosneigr and onto the beach at Traeth Llydan
My art installation on the beach
Rich sandy soil, ploughed and ready to grow - looks like potato rills to me
looking back towards Rhosneigr and Holyhead Mountain is now very distant
up onto the headland at Mynydd Bach where the Neolithic burial chamber of
Barclodiad y Gawres sits. A restored chamber, but the marked stone within is
worth a visit
the marked stone is out of shot on the right. It's kept locked but you can
obtain the key from the local stores. Crap concrete roof though
the other side of Porth Trecastell and a good lunch spot down amongst the rocks
a great python of a watering hose stretches across the fields as the path cuts
inland to avoid the Ty Croes racing circuit
the weather over on Snowdonia always looked a bit inclement, never quite giving
a clear view. Big skies though
a nice farm track leads down to Ty'n -Twll where the delights of the church on
the island can be seen - low tide of course
The church of St Cwyfan used to be part of the mainland;
however, over the centuries erosion has left it aloof of the
land.
it lies between Porth China and Porth Cwyfan
a short walk across the seaweed and boulders will lead to a set of steps up to
this wonderful little island.
goodbye to the site of the 7th century church (the one there now isn't the
original)
pleasant walking around the bay leads up to a headland before reaching Aberffraw
the view across the wave cut platforms to Aberffraw sands, with the Welsh
mountains beyond
the view up the estuary towards Aberffraw
really lovely to walk on, firm sand and great views
looking south west over to the Llyn Peninsula
old boats ready for a lick of paint
the bridge across the Afon Ffraw
the route across the dunes - I chose the easy way across, directly east along a
track through the dunes
I'd like to see them mow this lot. Maybe just throw a sheep up there. Hay bales
at Bont-faen - an abandoned farmhouse
that had a huge pile of sea shells - probably to use as fertiliser, but lying
uncrushed
across fields towards Llangadwaladr
a little road walking took me through Hermon before reaching Malltraeth
Snowdonia ever closer and a little clearer today as Malltraeth is a short walk
away
late afternoon and in a few hours it belted down, but I was dry inside the B&B
with only a grumbling Rottweiler for company
