Anglesey – day 4: Vallay

Afon Crigyll

No transport today but for our own two feet.

Afon Crigyll

We strolled to the edge of Rhosneigr, crossed Afon Crigyll and reached the beach at Traeth Crigyll.

Traeth Crigyll looking back to Rhosneigr

Ynys Feirig

Crossing the dunes brought us to the spindly finger of Ynys Feirig, poking into the sea.

Ynys Feirig

An RSPB warden keeps watch over the tern colony of Ynys Feirig from a caravan embedded in the dunes.

Ynys Feirig divides the long sandy beach into Traeth Crigyll and Traeth Cymyran. Walking the length of Traeth Cymyran took us past Valley airfield with its constant loops of screaming training jets and scurrying yellow choppers.

With the tide out, the channel between Holy Island and Anglesey shrinks to a trickle, allowing you to walk where the water should be. A sheltered ramp of warm sand provided the perfect lunch and nap stop, despite the howling fury of the planes.

Ynys-las

After lunch, we plodded through the soft sand and standing water to the island of Ynys-las.
 

Ynys-las

A nice dune welcomed us up...

Ynys-las top, looking to Valley

...to the gorse pocked top.

Ynys-las gully

A flattened out area is criss-crossed with trails in the grass. The high point is covered in low bramble.

Ynys-las, looking northwards

We hooked back in land, back towards the airfield and the nearby lakes. Water lilies covered one of the lakes.

We continued on to Llyn Traffwll, wandering through the thickets and boulders to discover swathes of bluebells around the water's edge.

Llyn Traffwll bluebells

Tired and sunburnt again, we traipsed back through a desert of gorse and the golf course to Rhosneigr.

Braich Parlwr

Indefatigable T couldn't resist the late evening sun on the thrift of Braich Parlwr. Exhausted D curled up in a warm, rocky recess for a quick snooze.

Braich Parlwr

Anglesey – day 3: Menai Bridge

How much mileage can one place get from the length of its name? For the answer you'll have to visit Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, the longest place name in Britain. This small, otherwise anonymous village was renamed in the 1860s to encourage tourists to stop off at the newly built train station, and has been pulling in the punters ever since. Historically speaking, the train is the right way to arrive, but pronouncing your destination to the conductor can only cause embarrassment. Even the abbreviated Llanfairpwll proved impossible for a Welsh speaking novice such as myself.

James Pringle Weavers

Alternatively, if you're very old or a foreign student, you can be driven by coach straight to the tourist landmark that is James Pringle Weavers. Here, you can get your 'tourist passport' stamped to prove that you have visited, before buying any amount of Welsh related tat.

  

The village never misses an opportunity to promote its name. If you walk down the high street, the pub, the vacuum cleaner hire place and the fish & chip shop all sport a very long sign on their fronts.

After ten minutes we left for the coastal path, passing another local landmark – The Marquess of Anglesey's Column.

We reached the water's edge near Nelson's Statue, close to Britannia Bridge, and followed the Coastal Path eastwards.

Britannia Bridge

The original Britannia Bridge was designed and built by Robert Stephenson. It opened in 1850, providing a rail link from London to Holyhead over the Menai Strait. After 120 years of service the bridge was damaged by fire, and it remained closed for nearly two years. The upper road deck was opened in 1980, giving a second, much needed road link to the island.

Looking down the Menai Strait gives a great view of the Menai Suspension Bridge, with the curious island of Whitebait Island (Ynys Gored Goch) in the foreground.

Ynys Gored Goch (Whitebait Island)

Ynys Gored Goch lies within the fast moving currents of the Menai Strait, and supports a large, white painted house. It used to be a holiday home, available for rent, but has recently been purchased for private use. As we walked by, the buildings seemed to be having a face lift for the new occupiers. The long walls that emanate from the island act as a fish trap as the tide drops. This fishing technique has been used on Ynys Gored Goch possibly as far back as the 13th century to supply local monasteries. We wished we could have visited. Instead, we dreamed of past days when travellers could ring a shore-side bell for collection and wait to be ferried over for a Whitebait Tea.

Ynys Welltog

A short way further on lies Ynys Welltog – a small, but densely vegetated island nicely positioned between the two famous bridges. Looking through the binoculars, a couple of little egrets balanced on the drooping branches of the trees.

On Anglesey Coastal Path

The Coastal Path cuts up to a high road from which you can get a great view down onto Church Island (Ynys Disilio) – another fantastical, slightly gothic island. A walled causeway runs out to the island, which as the name suggests is the site of a small church. A huge yew tree stands guard behind the entrance gate, as tilting grave stones cover the rising mound.

St Tysilio's Church, Church Island

A war memorial stands at the very top of Church Island. From here you can get a great view of both bridges.

Menai Suspension Bridge

The Belgian Promenade, built by WWI Belgian refugees, led us from Church Island to the legendary Menai Suspension Bridge, designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826. This picturesque stretch is justifiably popular with the strolling, scooting, jogging and cycling locals. Without any foundation, I had always thought that the small town of Menai Bridge would be a bit of a dive. So I was genuinely surprised to find such a pleasant, relaxed place – especially along the charming waterfront.

Ynys Faelog

Four islands attach themselves to Anglesey east of the Menai Bridge. The first is Ynys Faelog. A concrete runway jags across the mud and water, past a rusty tin shed to the island.

A few houses nestle in among the trees that cover the island.

Ynys Faelog

An alternative route onto the island is by the raised private road that reaches out to its eastern end.

Ynys Tobig

A tree tufted islet called Ynys Tobig lies close to Ynys Faelog, but it is too small to warrant any connecting causeways.

Ynys Gaint bridge

Ynys Gaint is the largest island of the four, with a short, straight road servicing the island's two homes.
 

Ynys Gaint

Ynys Castell

Ynys Castell enjoys a magnificent spot, which can be enjoyed by all who can afford it as the seven bedroom house on the island can be hired as a holiday home.

Ynys y Big

The final island of the group, Ynys y Big is a small wooded island that is part of a private property bearing the same name on Anglesey.

Anglesey – day 2: Holy Island (Ynys Gybi)

Rhosneigr High Street

We ambled out of sleepy Rhosneigr, along the High Street composed of a handful of bars, restaurants, and cafes, as well as a creperie, gift shop and...

... Convenience Store. Without a car we had placed a lot of hope in the groaning shelves of the only supermarket in town. As you can probably guess, that hope was misplaced, unless you're partial to a selection of cold meats that is.

Holyhead Mountain from Holyhead suburbs

We caught the train to Holyhead and set out for South Stack. After failing to find the footpath out of town we settled for the road...
 

...which turned out to be a blessing as the verges were overstuffed with flowers.

At this point, something happened against our better judgement. We were enticed from the road to climb Holyhead Mountain. We really should know better by now, we have plenty of experience of being distracted, of aiming for landmarks that look close but are in fact a lot of hard walking away.

But on the other hand, a summit is a siren call to human nature and our desire for conquest. Who were we to deny it.

Of course what we thought to be the top, was not the top, but we made it eventually – all 220m to the summit. Not huge by any means, but the highest peak on Holy Island, and taller than anything to be found on Anglesey. As ever, the views were worth it, especially looking over Holyhead, and the UK's longest breakwater snaking into the sea.

Continuing west, we came off the mountain and were pleased to see some orchids in the heath.

South Stack (Ynys Lawd)

Hot and sunburned, we reached the large visitor centre of South Stack. There were cakes, but nothing too tempting, so we pushed on for our first view of South Stack island. The crumpled, orange cliffs were inundated with sea birds as well as a couple of rock climbers starting out from sea level.

Gogarth Bay

Doubling back from South Stack to Holyhead Mountain provided a stunning view along the coast to North Stack.

An old fog warning station can be found on the headland next to North Stack. It's a truly amazing spot – the actual fog warning at the end of the garden has been converted into a kind of summerhouse.

The sign outside suggests the artist's (Philippa Jacobs) studio is up for sale. I couldn't think of a nicer place to paint.

North Stack (Ynys Arw)

North Stack itself is a bit of a disappointment after seeing the dramatic headland next to it. I'm not sure if it can be classified as an island as a sheep will certainly have trouble living there. However, it is a substantial block and home to many seabirds. Also, we had walked way too far for it not to be added to the list.

Ynys Wellt

Oh dear, another grey rock for an island, which to be fair, were a lot less frequent in Wales than in Scotland. The culprit here is Ynys Wellt.

Salt Island (Ynys yr Halen)

We were running out of time to make our train, so the last section looping back to Holyhead was rushed. I just about managed to grab a shot of Salt Island from a distance. Just a few weeks earlier we boarded the ferry to Dublin from here. Anyway, we missed the train but ended up having a hearty meal in the Venue Walkway. There's not a great deal of choice in Holyhead for dining, so the Venue Walkway goes down as our recommendation for its good location, large portions and a menu showing some imaginative tweaks to good pub staples.