Chester Rambling and Hill Walking Club

Cliffs, canvas and kite-flying

The Club’s 2014 autumn camp at Lligwy, Anglesey, was blessed with superb weather and encouragingly large numbers of eager participants, both on and off site. A small group of us arrived a day or two earlier than the official start of the weekend, to take in some of Anglesey’s other attractions, like Newborough, Beaumaris, and historic sights close to our camp site. Ariving early also had the added attraction of extra time to put one’s tent up, handy for us as we’d not used our canvas home for 12 months, were somewhat rusty, and broke a pole in the process.

Friday morning dawned hot and sunny, and fellow club members staying at B & Bs and self catering places locally, met us at the site for the first official walk - a delightful coastal trek from Amlwch back to camp. Our organisers, John and Jane Chilton, had worked hard to overcome the obvious snags that come with linear walks, and had arranged for our group to use the local service bus to Amlwch for the start of this walk. The sight of 29 boot-clad ramblers clambering onto their normally quiet bus caused much interest from bemused locals! Once at Amlwch, we headed along the quiet harbour of this once busy port, to reach the coastal path. The joys of coastal walking are many, and the ups and downs of this craggy shoreline were enhanced by the sight of porpoises dipping and diving through the calm sea. From the coastal path we could see the rockyislandofYnys Dulas, with its solitary tower built in 1821 to store food and equipment for shipwrecked sailors. Further on, the coastal path heads inland at the wide sand and shingle estuary of Traeth Dulas, where a convenient bridge enables walkers to cross the river without getting their boots wet!  Heading back towards the coastal cliffs, it was a short distance back to base, where we indulged ourselves with a ‘Happy Hour’ to recover from our delightful, if rather warm, 10 mile walk.

Friday night saw the only rain of the week, but bright and breezy weather graced Saturday’s walk, which involved a drive up to Amlwch, where we were booked onto a private coach to Cemaes. From there, we followed the coastal path eastwards along the coast back to Amlwch. Anglesey’s beautiful northern coast offers lots to interest those of us with curious minds, and first stop was the ancient church at Llanbadrig, on a headland near Cemaes. An on-duty steward kindly explained the history of this intriguing church, which was originally built in AD 440, and dedicated to the Irish patron saint, Patrick, who, legend tells us, was shipwrecked nearby. It was something of a surprise to come across Muslim touches in northern Anglesey, especially in this ancient Christian church! The blue tiled icons and Moorish window glazing here were introduced in 1884 by the 3^rd Lord Stanley of Alderley, aCheshire baron who owned land on this side of the island.  A Spanish Muslim wife, a fascination for Moorish culture and more importantly, the cash to finance much-needed renovation meant a touch of the Islam was brought to this ancient little cliff top church.  Half an hour was barely enough to savour the rich history of the place, but the coastal path beckoned and we still had several miles of walking ahead of us. Further along the craggy coast we encountered the lonely ruins of the porcelain works at Porth Llanlleina, which closed in 1920. At this point, there was a choice of routes. Those with plenty of lung power opted for the steep climb up to the monument on the top of the cliff, and the rest of us took the easier route round the hillside. Within 15 minutes, we all met up for our lunch stop overlooking theIrish Sea. It never ceases to amaze me what some ramblers keep in their rucksacks, and one member, fortified by his sumptuous sandwich lunch, produced a kite which he flew with all the confidence and enthusiasm of a 10 year old. Some distance further and more history presented itself when the imposing remains of Pen Morfa Brick Works came into view, tucked in a small bay. Opened in the early 1900s, it produced bricks made from local clay, not for house building, but for lining kilns and furnaces. The production of bricks and tiles continued up until the First World War, when the site’s tricky location on a hazardous rocky coastline sounded its death knell.  Today, the stoutly built beehive kilns continue to draw the eyes of passing ramblers until out of sight beyond the headland.  Who would have expected to see porcelain, bricks and Muslim architecture in a single day in a remote corner ofAnglesey?  A great day’s walking, and plenty to chat about over our group dinner at the local pub later that evening!

Sunday was our last official camp day, and we had a less challenging walk, catching a bus to RedWharfBay, then walking back to Lligwy along the coastal path. The eastern side of Angleseyis much easier walking terrain, flatter and with more beaches and villages. An added bonus was the rather super ice cream shop at Moelfre that did a roaring trade with the sudden arrival of our group of 38 hot and sweaty ramblers! At Moelfre, there’s a monument to the 450 victims of the shipwrecked ‘Royal Charter’, a vessel which came to ground on the rocks here in 1859. The ship was on its way to Liverpool, carrying miners with their rich pickings of Australian gold, but only 49 people survived. At Moelfre’s Seawatch Centre, we stopped to admire a rather spectacular piece of bronze sculpture created in 2009 to mark the 150^th anniversary of this maritime disaster. Later, approaching Lligwy, the tide was well out, exposing the full extent of this glorious sandy beach. Back at the camp site, tea and cakes were produced for another comradely ‘Happy Hour’, before tents started being dismantled ready for the trip home.

This was a really superb camp, so well organised by our hosts, John and Jane, who managed successful liaison with 3 separate bus companies to ensure that our groups, ranging from 29 – 38 happy hikers, got to experience a range of locations around this lovely piece ofAngleseycoastline. Somehow, they also managed to book spectacular weather for the entire few days of the camp. A special deal with the gods, or just plain good luck?

Maria Owen 

September 2014