Anglesey and Gogarth

Anglesey, and Gogarth in particular have an attraction to lovers of the sea and climbing .The Gogarth cliffs offer climbing expeditions of the highest quality.........but this time I came to paddle round them

 Here`s my new kayak on its first sea trip on the tiny beach of Porth Darfach near Holyhead .This solo trip is full of interest for me , having researched it for months . There are many dangers between here and Holyhead , not least tide races, rough sea , wash from ferries and no safe landing places for five miles ,and I`m alone !!

Here we are paddling solo round to the south stack lighthouse . Fortunatly the sea was calm and I could push on at speed to North Stack . The lighthouse is open to the public for a fee and is worth a visit . The birds nesting on the cliffs are quite a sight  (and smell)

People come here to watch the birds from the clifftop , but for me paddling is the main attraction.
I paddle beneath the Gogarth main cliff . Its five hundred feet high and inspiring . Just looking up at it makes you dizzy but Ive climbed it many years ago and found it special .

If you click on the picture to enlarge it there are two climbers near the top ! this pic shows them on Cordon Bleu HVS 5b

I paddled on to North Stack passing a famous climbing area , where can be found `A Dream of White Horses` on of the most famous climbs anywhere , but not too hard ,see below

Dream of White horses goes across the rock in the centre of the above picture .Technically its not difficult. The sea caves here are deep where the sea has eroded the soft rock . I paddled into the caves as it was calm 

Some of these caves are a hundred feet deep . Its important not to scrape the kayak on the rocks as the cave gets very narrow near the back. A jellyfish swims alongside me ...

At the North Stack lighthouse I see the owner has a for sale sign on the wall facing the sea , presumably in the hope of attracting sailing types to buy it . The lighthouse is not used now and is owned by an artist.

Arriving at Holyhead the breakwater blocked my progress . As its nearly two miles long , that trip round it could wait for another day .I looked for a place to land at Soldiers Point but the beach was stony and I decided not to scrape the boat

The breakwater at Holyhead seen above must be one of the greatest achievements of the Victorian era , being one and a half miles long .Fifteen hundred men were employed building it for nearly thirty years.Its possible to drive a car along it .Seven million tons of rock were quarried and more than thirty men died making it

Paddling back this scene caught my eye  near the South stack . The strange rock formations have been folded by upheavals millennia ago deep in the earth before the age of empires 

Here`s a picture of Holyhead and the breakwater from the hill .

A Big Swim

It was a heatwave and ideal for swimming . Being a member of the British Long Distance swimming Association , I had booked to do a one and a half mile  circuit swim on the thirteenth of july the water was inviting and between twenty and thirty people swam the race

 In this picture you can see some swimmers setting off from the Bala pier with their escort kayakers . They are doing the six mile race . It is essential to have a kayak escort on a big swim in case of cramp or hypothermia or issues with other water users .

On sunday july 14th I swam in the three mile race ending at Bala pier  ,  behind me in the picture is the rescue RIB , my kayaker helped me swim in a straight line , and handed me a drink when needed . It was great to feel warm in the water for a change , that was my fourth race this year with the BLSA

Meet the locals

Bala is only five miles long so its user friendly , I paddled the length of it and met some inquisitive locals cooling off  !!

Having the lake to myself felt special , it was eleven am and the tourists were still in bed . It was peaceful until a military transport plane flew directly down the middle of the lake over my head......and shattered the silence..........

Why cant the military show any consideration for the public ??  Maybe because they never learned respect etc etc   ...

My new Kayak

This year a chance came up to buy a great kayak....... an unmissable deal .........

   I  jumped at the chance to buy a Valley  Nordkapp......here it is ..............In July I headed to Wales to try the new boat . 
So Bala lake seemed a good place to try it as its flat water and this boat is slightly tippy 
As you can see its a real good looker with smooth lines but performs in rough water and its made for expeditions which is what I need