Distance: 23 miles; 1,436ft elevation gain; 7:50:04 walking time; 20.2 average moving pace; 2,018 calories burned
Full of a hearty English breakfast and with glorious blue skies and the sun shining, we set off from Cemaes Bay towards Benllech.
You’ve just got to love a walk that starts with a steep set of steps to a cliff path! What a slog when your legs have not yet loosened up. Mornings are never great for me at the best of times when I’m walking. It takes me about an hour to get my walking legs on. Tim on the other hand tends to flag towards the end of the day. I guess therefore that’s why we partner so well as we keep each other motivated at different times. Still, the views at the top of the cliff looking back to Cemaes were definitely worth the effort (usually the case!).
Walking along the cliff, around the headland and down and up a set of steps through the site of an old quarry, we headed over a field towards White Lady Rock.
We continued along the path towards Llanbadrig Church where the cemetery is situated precariously close to the edge of the cliffs. The church reputedly stands on one of the oldest Christian sites in Wales and possibly dates back to AD440.
The coastline here is rugged and tough with lots of ups and downs. This is why the guide had said it was strenuous.
As we made our way along the coastal path, we bumped into a Dutch couple who had been walking around Ireland, a little bit of Anglesey and then they were heading on to England…… oh to be retired eh?
Eventually we came to the top of the hill overlooking a steep set of steps with the old and derelict summerhouse at Porth Llanlleiana at the bottom.
It was tough descending the steps especially in the heat…. the climb up the hill at the other end was equally exhausting.
We’d read in advance that there was an easier, more gentle option out of here but we missed it completely as we were just focussed on the main path which zig zagged up the steep slope. The views however from this option would surely have been more stunning….. wouldn’t they?
Following the ridgeline of the headland we continued past the watch tower, up a set of steps and around the headland until the wide bay of Porth Wen and its abandoned brickworks came into view. Passing by the old winch, we continued the path down crossing a couple of footbridges towards castell, a white house.
We continued along the coastal path to Bull Bay before taking the path around to the headland at Trwyn Melyn. As we reached Bull Bay, the rowers that had been training near the brickworks were packing up their boats and arranging to meet at the café.
We on the other hand continued up the road past the Bull Bay golf club (much to Tim’s delight – don’t ask!) before crossing a field and following the coastline past Traeth Dynion towards Amlwch Port. Hopefully we’d pass a café or somewhere to get some food as we’d been unable to pick anything up in Cemaes.
Eventually, we reached Amlwch Port and the Sail Loft Café where we took the opportunity to have a rest and something to eat – carrot cake for the both of us and Fanta for me & Vimto for Tim! I managed to eat about half of my cake before passing it onto Tim who managed to polish it off without any issue.
The path towards Porth Eilian (there’s certainly a lot of Porths….) and Point Lynas was somewhat easier and much more gentle on the feet. It certainly wasn’t as undulating as the previous day that’s for sure. We hugged the coastline all the way to Point Lynas.
Before the entrance to Point Lynas, we turned onto a path before crossing a field down to the coast. We again followed the coast and over fields to cross a bridge over a stream at Freshwater Bay.
The next stretch of the walk was pretty much the same as we followed the path over fields and alongside the coast until we reached the Dulas Estuary. After crossing a drainage ditch by Cock Willan Bach, we followed the banks of the estuary past Min y Don passing the low level area of marshland before arriving at the main road where we turned left.
We knew there was a pub around here and we’d planned to stop and have a bite to eat and something to drink. Late in the afternoon, the Pilot Boat Inn was quiet aside from a dew screaming kids outside in the playground. We sat inside and ordered a tuna sandwich and a couple of shandies (bitter for me and lager for Tim!)….. that’s the difference between Yorkshire and Cheshire I guess!
From the Pilot Boat Inn, we headed through a field onto a track before gain passing through a field and re-joining the path by the coastline. Eventually we dropped down onto the uninspiring beach at Porth y Môr before taking a set of steps off the beach up to a fenced path. Not long after, we arrived at Traeth Lligwy which is considered to be one of Anglesey’s finest beaches. With stretches of fine sand, it’s not difficult to see why.
Following the path along the coast, past an old quarry we joined the path that took us to the memorial to Coxswain Richard Evans at the Seawatch Centre in Moelfre.
After passing the Lifeboat Station and the Seawatch Centre we joined the road to Moelfre. From Moelfre we passed the anchor of the wrecked Hindlea and then turned into an enclosed path. In this heat, these enclosed paths were muggy and unpleasant and the pace seemed to quicken somewhat as we hurried to get out into the open air again.
It was nice to get “out” and onto the shores at Porth yr Aber and even nicer to see our destination not too far ahead in the distance.
As the tide was low, we were able to cross the sandy beach of Traeth Bychan before joining the shingle beach at the southern end. Walking on the beach really was bliss on the feet.
The path into Benllech was dreadful – covered, enclosed and overgrown…. again the pace quickened although, as it was long it did seem as though we were “in there” forever. A popular route as there are several caravan parks nearby, we met several people taking advantage of the late afternoon summer sunshine.
Finally, we descended a set of stone steps onto the beach at Benllech. Fortunately our guest house (Sea View Guest House) was on the main road so we didn’t have to walk too far out of our way.
We arrived to a notice to say that the owners were out but after a phone call, we were able to get into our room. After a shower and getting sorted, we headed out for drinks and food. Whilst having a drink at The Benllech, we decided on a pizza takeaway along with a few drinks from Tesco.
We’d planned on sitting outside to eat them but our hosts, David and Michelle made us feel very welcome and we ate in the dining room of the guest house. A complimentary glass of red wine also went down particularly well…..
The Planning click here
Day 1: Holyhead – Cemaes Bay click here
Day 2: Cemaes Bay – Benllech click here
Day 3: Benllech – Llanfairpwllgwyngyll click here
Day 4: Llanfairpwllgwyngyll – Aberffraw click here
Day 5: Aberffraw – Trearrdur Bay click here
Day 6: Trearrdur Bay – Holyhead click here
Keels 
DID YOU GO BACK TO ENGLAND FOR YOUR BREAKFAST, IF NOT SURELY IT WAS A “HEARTY WELSH BREAKFAST”