Wales Coast Path 2024

  Today's walk resumed at the Ffingar crossroads to pass Bryn Celli Ddu, then around the Plas Newydd grounds. When we originally walked the Anglesey Coastal Footpath, there was a long gap here, but since then work has been done to make it a complete circuit of the island, and ensure continuity of the Wales Coast Path. So today this started off as an inland walk, and to be walking along the side of the A4080, albeit on an enclosed path at the edge of a field, really wasn't all that exciting.  But then we got to the shore again at Pwllfanogl, a former mill, port and shipyard, and more recently the base of Anglesey's late artist Kyffin Williams RA. This was more like it. A walk along the shore (more comfortable than some) brought us to the Nelson Statue, then up and around the Britannia Bridge before returning to the shore again. We have seen both bridges thousands of times, but see them again on a sunny day was very welcome. With the sights of Ynys Gorad Goch and Ynys Tysil...

  Soon after leaving Newborough we came to the stepping stones across Afon Braint. Unlike last time , some twenty years ago, the tide was low, which may have seemed an an advantage - but it also made us realise quite how high these stones are! They are certainly bigger than I remember, and make it one of the more memorable points on the Anglesey part of the Path.  From there, the Coast Path does a lot of zigging and zagging through fields and farm tracks, with only occasional glimpses of the sea. Eventually, we got to a series of steps down to the beach at Foel, and pleased to see contractors at work improving these steps.  Once down on the beach, it became abundantly clear  that we had turned another corner. We were properly on the Menai Strait, with the castle and town of Caernarfon opposite, and really not that far away. We look forward to walking to there very soon now. With another clear sunny day, not quite so hot, the whole range of Eryri was in view - al...

  We don't usually follow all of the alternative routes suggested around the Wales Coast Path, but today was different. The Coast Path here isn't especially coastal and mostly follows roads and lanes, but a prominent sign at Aberffraw suggested instead taking the Llanfeirian permissive path, which we did. This was very well waymarked throughout with Bodorgan Estate signs, and took us almost all the way to Malltraeth. We stopped for lunch at Malltraeth, where we were blessed with a choice. We could have gone to the Malltraeth Chip Shop, or indeed the Joiner's Arms, both of which were open and serving food, but we chose the Riverside Cafe. We have been to the cafe many times before, usually on walks from the other direction, and this had been our plan for today. It was getting warmer now as we approached Newborough Forest, and we were thankful for the shelter of the trees. For this reason we didn't take the route along the shore, neither did we venture onto Ynys Llanddwyn...

We took the bus from Aberffraw to Rhosneigr, getting off where we had reached last time when we had walked to the railway station. We stopped off at Cafe Notos for coffee and a cinnamon bun on the way down to the beach. A wrong turning got us on the beach too early and we had to double back once we realised we could not get round the White Cottage with the tide in. Getting back on the right route, the guidebook gave us the choice between walking along the beach and the official Coast Path route which goes through the dunes, and we chose the former. It was a hot August day and the beach was busy with buckets and spades, paddleboards, surfing and even swimmers. Although the tide was close to high water, there was plenty of room to walk along; this alternative route actually carried on a long way as the signposted path didn't rejoin until  Porth Nobla, when we had walked three little bays. The gate into Barclodiad y Gawres was shut today, but we have visited before: it's well wo...