It was pouring with rain but with some sunny prospects for
later so we decided to go for another 2 islands, this time in Wales. Better to
drive on the worst weather day of the Bank Holiday weekend!
As we drove through Colwyn Bay then Conway the sky became a
beautiful blue and the sea looked inviting. We decided to try for South Stack
on Anglesey again after our abortive attempt on New Years Day 2013 when the
winds were so bad we were scared for our lives going down the steps to the
bridge onto the island that we deemed it not worth the risk when we could see
the bridge was closed (even though it says it is open every day.)
Suddenly as we neared Anglesey we were enveloped in a
blanket of mist which remained with us until we reached the car park at the
information place and cafe at South Stack. People were walking around with hair
plastered to their faces and somewhere down there was the sea though we
couldn’t see it. Perhaps if we had lunch the mist might miraculously disappear
we thought. So we did and it didn’t!
We set off anyway, up the path through heather and rocks,
admiring the sea pinks and spring squill, the beautiful blue flower reminiscent
of bluebells but growing close to the ground ( beware poisonous bulbs) Still unable
to see the sea we heard the fog horn every 30 seconds. There were steps set in
the rock to make climbing easier and at the top was another car park. Out of
this it was on the road for a bit and people were walking on the wall instead
of wading through a bit of flooding. Perhaps it was a good job we couldn’t see
far below though I am sure it was only a gentle slope toward the sea.
In a small parking area above the flooded road ,steps start
to go down towards the bridge. The island is owned by the RSPB and tickets,
£5.50 for adults can be bought from the information hut/cafe. The steps twist
and turn into the cliff face-400 of them (Bob counted) and we began to get a
glimpse of what the view might be like on a fine day. Brave canoeists paddled
by down below. You could see the rock strata squashed into concertina and wave
like patterns, at 570 million years old, some of the oldest rock anywhere in
Britain. Hundreds of seabirds nest on the rocks and there was a pervading smell
of guano whenever we were near the cliff face. Today we picked out guillemots,
razorbills and gulls. I believe I saw a pair of choughs earlier which I read
nest deep inside a sea cave. Seeing the bright orange bills I thought at first
they were oyster catchers but they were large and all over black. I believe a
web cam sends pictures of their nest to the information place.
We saw quite a lot of Anglesey’s county flower, the spotted
rock rose, delicate and white, on our descent. The aluminium suspension bridge
(still using the chains of the old iron one) spans 30 metres across the sea. A
lady sitting in a booth at the mainland end of the bridge, walkie -talkie in
hand, checked our tickets and said that a light house tour was just
starting and we could rush over for it
or take our time and go on the next one. We decided to amble.
We walked wherever we could at South Stack, which wasn’t a
lot, but we had clocked up another island! Over a wall gulls nested. Inside the building
are various rooms displaying facts about the lighthouse and surrounding area. I
thought these in need of refreshment- a little dated.
In the main room there were rows of glass containers that I
believe were batteries- back -up power for the light. A large bulb is
displayed, suspended by tapes on all sides inside a crate, showing how delivery
from the mainland was achieved in the days before bubble wrap. From this main room,
a door at the far wall, lead to the stairs- a hundred steep limestone ones. We
decided to leave before the next tour started wanting to save our legs for the
next island and the climb back up to the car park. It wasn’t as if we would
have seen anything in the murk.
The walk back was obviously slower. Several people were
doing it as a challenge- a thousand steps including the lighthouse. We got back
to the car where we were still amazed at teh numbers of people arriving and set
off for Aberffraw on the SW coast of Anglesey.
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