14 Feb 2026

[Will add photos soon]

This walk was originally intended to be done in November 2025 but had to be postponed until February 2026 due to part of the path being closed during the pheasant shooting season.

I was joined once again by my walking buddy Ian who generously drove us both from Chester to the end of Anglesey and back. With no public transport available and only one car, we did this walk as part of a longer circular route starting and ending at Porth Satan (Church Bay). We walked along lanes past the church towards the monument on Mynydd y Garn. After passing the hill we joined a lane to the north and then walked along a path which looked like nobody had used for a very long time. Sometimes it was almost completely blocked by brambles. We should have packed secateurs. We reached an ancient derelict farmhouse called Caerau which sadly has fallen into ruin with a more modern abandoned house nearby. We managed to navigate the neglected footpaths across the fields and reached the start point of the walk proper at Cemlyn Bay car park.

Shortly after the start we passed a 150th anniversary memorial for the 1st lifeboat on Anglesey and then found a bench to have lunch. We then set off west around the bay of Hen Borth and on towards some structures visible on the hillside at Carmel Head in front of us. Trying to figure out what they were kept us entertained for quite a while. They were two of them, broad at the base and tapered towards the top. Both of them seemed to be leaning to the right. There was also a chimney nearby which turned out to be misleading. My first thought was lime kilns and Ian thought they may have had some military use, perhaps a sound mirror. There was an island off the coast called West Mouse which we could see and this had a small tower on it. As we got nearer I suddenly had an idea what they could be. If the two structures on land aligned with the tower on the island they could be used as a navigation aid. When we got close up we could see they were triangular with a buttress behind giving them the asymmetrical profile. They aligned perfectly with the tower on the island. The chimney was in a separate complex of ruins which was part of old mine workings.

After Carmel Head the path turns south and through part of the Mynachdy Estate which is used for pheasant shooting hence the seasonal path closure. The next section passed the island of Ynys y Fydlyn with it’s striking rock formations and along cliff tops getting quite close to the edge in parts. A bit of rain came in briefly before we approached the end of the walk at Porth Swtan. We had to divert near the end because there had been a collapse of the cliff. (One of many in the last few years to have obliterated parts of the coast path.)

6.53 miles