Date walked: 13th April 2015

Distance: 8.5 miles

Map used: OS Explorer 263: Anglesey East and OS 262: Anglesey West

A bag was being transferred between accommodations by Anglesey walking Holidays. They charged £16 a day to transfer one bag (their minimum charge, which would have covered two bags).

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Breakfast at the Dinorben Arms was a solitary affair in rather bleak surroundings. After yesterdays soaking my walking clothes and waterproofs had all dried out but my boots were still a bit damp; the landlord had tried to be helpful by stuffing newspapers in them as they sat on a radiator. Not a good idea (although I remember doing this years ago). It just stops the moisture from evaporating.

Still, it wasn’t raining and with a fresh pair of socks and knowing that I only had a short walk today, I started off in a reasonable frame of mind. Amlwch didn’t improve much on better acquaintance. The former Bethel Chapel was looking very sad, overlooking an equally sad-looking street.

Bethel Chapel, Amlwch, photographed by Charles Hawes

Bingo Hall?

Jonahan Meades would probably have sardonically (when is he anything else) described the old water tower as Brutalist; I was delighted in writing this up to discover that there is a Water Tower Appreciation Society that tells you all you might want to know about this particular example.  I liked it.

Water Tower at Amlwch photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

They don’t make them like this anymore

More difficult to appreciate was the view back towards the abandoned bromine and dibromoethane production plant which this tower had served, the only redeeming feature being its turquoise ducting.

Bromine extraction plant photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

I wonder why they haven’t rusted?

  Looking out to sea from this rocky path I could see the diminutive Yns Amlwch.

Yns Amlwch photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

 Ahead was Bull Bay and in less than a mile the path joined the A5025 for its route into town.

View to Bukll Bay photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

Love all that yellow!

I didn’t see anything to make me want to linger here and after passing the hotel the path resumed its cliff-top meandering.

 View north from near Bull Bay photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

 Some of these cliffs were quite impressive….

Cliffs near Bull Bay photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

….. but what really excited me was the sight of the former brickworks on the far side of Porth Wen.

View to the Borthwen brickworks, Porth Wen photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

The path takes a route above the brickworks but I wasn’t going to miss out on exploring this industrial archeology .

The Borthwen Brickworks photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

A steep and narrow gorse-lined track passes the massive chimney and brings you into the heart of the complex.  And it is absolutely fascinating. I would have loved to have had some explanatory boards about how it all worked, but surprisingly there were none.

So I am going to present you with my “best of” selection of images and let them speak for themselves..

The Borthwen Brickworks, Porth Wen, Anglesey, Wales photographed by Charles Hawes

 

The Borthwen Brickworks, Porth Wen, Anglesey, Wales photographed by Charles Hawes

 

The Borthwen Brickworks, Porth Wen, Anglesey, Wales photographed by Charles Hawes

 

The Borthwen Brickworks, Porth Wen, Anglesey, Wales photographed by Charles Hawes

 

The Borthwen Brickworks, Porth Wen, Anglesey, Wales photographed by Charles Hawes

The Borthwen Brickworks, Porth Wen, Anglesey, Wales photographed by Charles Hawes

 

The Borthwen Brickworks, Porth Wen, Anglesey, Wales photographed by Charles Hawes

 

The Borthwen Brickworks, Porth Wen, Anglesey, Wales photographed by Charles Hawes

 

The Borthwen Brickworks, Porth Wen, Anglesey, Wales photographed by Charles Hawes

 

The Borthwen Brickworks, Porth Wen, Anglesey, Wales photographed by Charles Hawes

It was hard to drag myself away from such an extraordinary place.

The Borthwen Brickworks, Porth Wen, Anglesey, Wales photographed by Charles Hawes

The onward route climbs  to the top of the hills  through the grassed over quartz quarries that fed the brickworks. The sea at Hells Mouth provided  a welcome moment of calm from all this visual stimulation.

Sea near Hells Mouth photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

Calm, calm, calm

Ahead, the first view of the nuclear power station at Wylfa offered promise for tomorrows walk.

View to the Wylfa nuclear power station photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

Today’s natural landscape still had some cliff views;

Dinas Gynfor photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

on the top of Dinas Gynfor this landscape was not improved by the ugly remains of a lookout tower built to commemorate Edward VII’s coronation.

Lookout post at Dinas Gynfor photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

Some history is not worth saving

More man-made work was to follow.

Porth llanlleiana clayworks photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

Someone’s had fun making those curved walls

From just after this promontory the path drops steeply to Porth Llanlleiana, where the shell and chimney of an old porcelain factory sits very comfortably in a little valley.

This was turning out to be a great day for ruins.

Porth Llanlleiana clayworks photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

A further mile or so of undulating grassy track provided many more views of Wylfa and over to the left  a rather pathetic installation of wind turbines which probably occupies the same footprint of its nuclear cousin to produce a tiny fraction of its power output.
Wind turbines near Porth llanlleiana photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

The church and graveyard of St Patricks at Llanbadig must have been an unwelcome location for horses charged with the task of dragging any hearse and its occupant up the hill from nearby Cemaes.

St Patricks church, Llanbadig, photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

As I passed the wall of the churchyard I noticed that several remnants of wreaths were strewn down the cliff face, no doubt whipped over the wall by strong winds rather than wayward mourners.  I went in to inspect some graves (the church was locked) and was delighted to find several stones with the stylized tree that I have admired many times in graveyards since I reached north Wales.

Gravestone in St Patricks Church, Llanbadig photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

Translation John?

Wylfa was still a mile and a half away, but it began to dominate the seascape.

Wylfa power station near Cemaes photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

Due to be finally decommissioned at the end of 2015

I kept to the cliff tops rather than take a brief road section, passing through a couple of fields with some friendly young cattle.

Cattle near Cemaes photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

Maybe they like my smell?

On the way down to Cemaes I passed one more construction – a lime-kiln probably.

Lime kiln near Cemaes photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

The car park serving the beach was closed off ; a group of fluorescent clad men deep in conversation seemed disinterested as to whether I walked across it anyway.

Cemaes car park photographed from the Wales Coast Path in Anglesey by Charles Hawes

Some problems are just so complex it needs a lot of brain power

I liked Cemaes. The road crosses the river Wygyr in the middle of the village. The main street of local shops feels very untouristy, although I imagine that tourist income is important. Several buildings are quite brightly painted, the Bethel Chapel being, unusually, the most ostentatious.

Cemaes High Street, Anglesey, Photographed by Charles Hawes

Them chapel folk have a sense of fun

I was staying at very highly rated Bryn Padrig Bed and Breakfast towards the far end of the High Street. My bag was waiting for me in the hall and the owners couldn’t have been more friendly, providing me with a piece of cake in my room to have with a cup of tea.

Showered, refreshed and changed I went out to enjoy the early evening sun on the harbour. What a great little walk that had been.

Cemaes harbour, Anglesey, photographed by Charles Hawes

 

 

 

 

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