I'd been hunting around for a paddling partner during the week and was planning to go out by myself, then on saturday Julian posted on the NWSK forum that he was up for a trip, so a few hurried pms and we were on for Anglesey. The weather was forecast to be sunny but cold, however more worrying was the inshore wind forecast of 5-6 from the SE. We were hoping to paddle out from Porth Dafarch and head round to the Stacks, but on arrival at the beach the conditions didn't look too user friendly, so we replanned for a trip on the more sheltered N coast.
With high tide Liverpool mid afternoon we had a couple hours of the flood remaining with the tide turning just after 1pm. So we decided to launch from Cemaes Bay heading east on the flood.
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| Leaving Cemaes Bay |
As it turned out I'd never paddled this stretch of the island before, so it was nice to paddle some new territory.
Excellent rock hopping ensued - on a warmer day perhaps we would have been more adventurous in the channels we attempted!
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| Rock Hopping |
The rocky headlands and beaches were interspersed with industrial complexes - a nuclear power plant, brickworks, china clay and some dubious looking outfalls by Amlwch add industrial interest but do detract from the natural beauty of the north shore.
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| Brickworks in Porth Wen |
A pleasant lunch stop in Bull Bay was followed by a paddle to out turning point at Amlwch. With the tide in it was possible to paddle all the way up the long harbour.
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| Bull Bay |
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| Gulls in Bull Bay |
The return trip was done at a reasonable pace, keeping out in the now ebbing tide to give us a helping hand.
About 22km paddled, approx 4 hours on the water. Conditions varied from flat calm to choppy on the headlands with some small tide action. Good route choice to keep out of the wind - it looked a lot rougher further out to sea to the N.
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| Amlwch Harbour |
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| Julian |
