Aimee likes sunsets. That’s fair. Sunsets are nice. Lots of people like sunsets. My photographer friend Brendan likes sunsets and one of his favourite places to go see a sunset is at South Stack Lighthouse off Holy Island, Anglesey. So, one mid-May afternoon we decided to go see a sunset in Anglesey.
The sun was out, the sky was blue and we left Cheshire at about 2pm to beat the traffic and also to do other things in Anglesey, cos its a long way to go just for a pretty sunset. It was a lovely, lovely drive along the North Wales Expressway.
We parked at the RSPB South Stack car park, where charges apply from 9am – 5pm. Parking for cars and vans is £2 for an hour and £5 for all day – which was annoying as we’d arrived at 3:30pm. However, the bloke in the visitor centre/cafe said we could pay for an hour and that would be fine. Winner.
Entry to the South Stack Lighthouse costs £7.50 and include a tour guide. We had just missed a tour going out, and couldn’t be bothered to wait for the next one, but we were content to simply enjoy the view from the cliffs.
400 steps steeply descend down the cliff face to the aluminium bridge that connects the small island. Walking down is the easy part.
From the stairway you can marvel at the ocean crashing against rock, and at cliff ledges swarming with seabirds such as guillemots, razorbills, puffins and if you’re lucky, hungry peregrine falcons. And seagulls of course.
An iron suspension bridge was built in 1928, then an aluminium suspension bridge in 1964, and finally this bridge in 1997. Bridges get battered here, it seems. Before the bridges, stock and people were transported to the island by a basket on a cable. I bet that was fun in winter.
I’m glad Aimee didn’t know how many bridges South Stack had gone through when this one was swaying to our footsteps. She’s scared of bridges.
As we hadn’t paid to properly visit the lighthouse, we adventured no further. After watching the waves and the birds, we geed ourselves up for the ascent.
I’d love to say the climb back up the cliff was simple cos I’m fit and young and like hiking… but lying is bad.
Lungs bursting, we decided to have a wander of the surrounding area which again required uphill walking.
We saw a stone structure on the hill so went to investigate.
I suppose it’s a lookout post? It provided a nice view of the lighthouse and surrounding ocean.
With buildings like this, I often like to think of what it would be like to camp over or seek refuge on a stormy night in one of these, cold but protected from the elements, maybe with a little campfire… This isn’t Aimee’s first thought. Hers was to try and look cool.
Wowwww she’s floating!
Looking northwards up the coast you can see the much less impressive North Stack (the little island to the left) and Holyhead Mountain, the highest peak in Anglesey.
The nearer we walked to the mountain, the more I thought… should we climb it…? We hadn’t prepared for a hike, for example, here’s our footwear.
A return of Aimee’s hiking Vans.
And we had no water or food on us. But hey, with sunset at 9:08pm, we had time to kill (and with these shoes, feet to kill). Why the eff not?
At just 220m, it’s barely a mountain, with Snowdon over 800m higher. But Snowdon doesn’t provide such views of the sea!
The path to the top was pretty tough underfoot for two people in trainers. However, it is easy to follow and signposted.
Just 40 minutes after leaving the lookout hut, we arrived at the copa/summit of Holyhead Mountain.
Another trig checked off.
Our triumph was tinged with great sadness though. Blue skies and perfect sunset conditions were starting to give way to cloud. We kinda needed the sun to set now, but we still had to wait 4 hours. I was starting to think we might not get a decent sunset…
If you look hard enough at the summit, you can make out walls amongst the rubble. These are the remains of Caer y Twr, an Iron Age hill fort.
On a clear day you can often look right across the Irish Sea at the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. I thought maybe, MAYBE, I could make out their faint outline on the horizon. If so, that’s the first time I’ve ever gazed upon the Emerald Isle.
From the summit, we headed to the ruins of the Holyhead Telegraph Station, built in the 1840s.
Not much remains. But from here you can get a lovely view of the coastline stretching back to South Stack.
And you can see North Stack, looking sad and barren.
It took us an hour to get back to the car, by which time the cafe was closed and the car park was empty. So we headed into Holyhead town, found a local chippy, bought fish and chips and returned to the car park to watch dusk fall.
It was 7:45pm and we still had over an hour to wait for a sunset, so I suggested we visit the Ty Mawr hut circles down the road. However, the temperature had now dropped and Aimee complained she was not dressed for the conditions.
NO MATTER!
Does she not know me at all? I am David! The guy who, on his first ever hike, got absolutely drenched and depressed failing a Yorkshire Three Peak Challenge! The guy who had to be driven home in sodden clothes! It was a valuable lesson learned, and thus I always keep spare clothes in my car! And they’re always so flattering!
Well… Beggers can’t be choosers…
With Aimee now looking like a clothes bank bin diver, we headed down the hill to the ancient monument.
People have been living on these slopes for at least 3000 years, with these stone homesteads some 2500 years ago.
The low stone walls were built to support wooden-roofed huts. Roman coins found in one of the houses suggest families had been living in this area for a thousand years. History!
With a bit more time killed, we returned to the car and waited.
The sunset was worth the wait.
Great. It would have looked just as good in Winsford.
P.S. Here’s what it should have looked like, courtesy of Brendan…
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