I had never done this route before but had wanted to for a long time. It was just me and the baby today which I think was a good decision. The 4 year old would have easily handled the distance and terrain but there were a few precarious cliff top moments! I occasionally (when I remember) carry a walking stick and today was one of those days I was glad I had it. Most of the walk was pretty straightforward although there were some steep sections with steps up and down. However, one or two places required a bit of thought and careful manouvering, especially whilst carrying a 10 month old in a rucksack!
This walk is especially suited to people who have an interest in history. It takes in Victorian industry, an ancient hill fort and the oldest church in Wales. It is located on the North coast of Ynys Môn, near the town of Cemaes.
Distance: 7.63km (according to the OS map app)
Time taken: 2 hrs 15
Total ascent: 441.54m (OS Map app)
Parking: Very limited parking along a single track road.
Facilities: None. No toilets and no bins. Please take rubbish / dog poo home with you.
1. Follow the A5025 through Porth Llechog (Bull Bay) and after about a mile take the first right you can onto a single track lane. If you drive along the lane a short while until it veers left you will see a gate on your right with a no parking sign. This is where I start my walk.
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| Start of the walk. |
There is very limited parking along here but it is possible to find somewhere when it’s quiet. Alternatively, there is a small car park located at Llanbadrig Church which is at the far end of the lane (6 on the map). As it’s a circular walk it doesn’t really matter where you start. I prefer to do the road sections at the end of a longer walk when I’m more tired and more likely to lose the light.
Follow the path through the gate to start your walk. The path is very straightforward in this early section which gives plenty of opportunities to enjoy the view of Porth Wen bay. You soon pass by a metal gate with a chain attached and not long after this you’ll catch a glimpse on your right of the old chimneys rising up from the derelict Victorian brickworks. There are a few paths to the right which will take you down to the brickworks (well worth a visit but officially out of bounds and clearly unsafe.) We carry on up towards the mast.
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| First glimpse of Porth Wen bay. |
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| Gate with an old chain. |
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| Chimneys from Porth Wen brickworks. |
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Chimney and the bay.
Porth Wen Brickworks
The brickworks was established because of the readily available quartzite from the nearby quarries, a major component of Silica bricks, which were used in the Victorian era to line furnaces for the production of steel. Brick making started on the site in the mid 19th century, with the existing buildings being built in the early 20th century.
The brickworks were supplied by two quarries to the north-west of the works. A tram road from one of the quarries leading to a winding house and incline was shown on the 1st edition OS map, 1889. Having employed mechanical energy to bring the quartzite ore to a position above, the engineers decided to take advantage of the slope and gravity to bring the ore down to the plant. The production stages were tiered and the further processed ore would descend from one to the next. Once the ore was finely resolved it was moulded and dried before being stacked inside one of the three bee-hive kilns to be fired.
Just as the Mynydd Parys Copper Mines, the product of Porth Wen had to be taken out by sea. Unlike Amlwch though, Porth Wen had no safe harbour. Ships could be fatally damaged by the sharp rocks at low tide and the harbour walls were unable to shelter the ships during stormy weather.
Porth Wen ceased production in the first half of the 20th century.
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2. The path veers to the left here, but I fancied having a look at the view from the top of the headland. It’s straight up and straight back down so this section can be missed out but you get a fantastic view of the old brickworks from the top.
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| Short detour up to the mast. |
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| View of the brickworks from the mast. |
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Looking across Porth Wen.
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Looking in the direction we would be heading.
Once you’ve taken in the views, head back down to where the path split and turn right. You probably noticed it from the top of the hill like me, but on your left in a little while is the old winding house next to Graig Wen.
 | Remains of the old winding house.
The path is lovely and wide here and I did start to think that maybe my 4 year old would be able to come on this walk in the near future.
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 | Lovely wide path.
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Those thoughts were soon dispelled, however, as the path got closer to the cliff edge and I had to negotiate a tricky little rocky section with a steep drop to my right where I ended up going backwards on my hands and knees rather than risk slipping or over balancing with Anwen on my back. This section, up to Porth Cynfor, was the trickiest of the whole walk and even then it was negotiated by me so can’t really be too bad! Apart from the rocky section just mentioned there were a few steep, narrow bits that needed a bit of careful manoeuvring on my part. There are steps at the steepest section down into Porth Cynfor itself.  The approach to Porth Cynfor with Dinas Cynfor and Ynys Badrig beyond.
Steep steps down then up again.
3. The little bay at the bottom of the steps is called Porth Cynfor or Hell’s Mouth in English. It seems like an awfully dramatic name for such a small, inconsequential section of the coastline! I did see a young seal on the rocks by the sea though, which was lovely. Once you’ve descended into Porth Cynfor you then immediately ascend up some more steep steps.
Steps up from Porth Cynfor.
At the top of the steps you have a choice to go right, up the hill, or left, which takes you around the back of the headland to Porth Llanlleiana (5 on the map). We went right, following the coastal path up to the most Northern point in Wales. It is a fair pull up the hill but the path is nice and wide and easy to follow.
Looking back the way we have come on our way up the hill at Dinas Cynfor.
4. I was unaware at the time but this headland is actually Dinas Cynfor Hillfort. During the Roman invasion it was a place of refuge for the Britons. It is named after a British prince, Cynfor, who landed at the Porth below.
Dinas Cynfor
The remains of this promontory fort, which probably dates to the Iron Age period (c. 800BC - AD43), is bounded on three sides by the sea and on the landward side by a steep slope to a marshy valley, running between two inlets of the sea. The main defence is drawn across the top of the landward slope, and consists of a wall of limestone blocks. A second line of defence runs roughly parallel with the first and lower down the slope.
Dinas Cynfor is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of later prehistoric defensive organisation and settlement.
At the top of the fort you will come across a dilapidated folly which was built as a summerhouse (with windows and a fireplace) by the Stanley family to celebrate the coronation of Edward VII in 1901.
Derelict “summerhouse”.
Following the path back around brings you to a slope down into the next valley. There are steps but the descent is steep and winding. You get your first glimpses of the former Llanlleiana Porcelain Works from here.
Looking down on Llanlleiana from Dinas Cynfor.
5. I’ll be honest, it was quite a relief to get to the bottom of the slope and have a little rest (someone’s even brought a couple of picnic tables out here for a sit down!) It would be a genuinely beautiful place for a picnic. This is the second (and final) point where you can cut your walk short if you like. If you go left at the bottom of the hill, away from the sea, you’ll see a very obvious path which takes you back to the lane where we parked.
We spent a little bit of time here for me to catch my breath, enjoy the peace and explore the remains of the buildings.
The beach at Llanlleiana with the island Ynys Badrig (Middle Mouse) in the distance.
Main building.
Chimney.
Main building looking back at the bay.
Llanlleiana
Llanlleiana means “church of the nuns” and the porcelain works were built on the site of a convent. The works consist of a main building and a remote chimney which directed the noxious fumes away from the working area. The works produced porcelain from deposits of china clay found on Dinas Cynfor. The building was also known as “Llanlleiana Camp” as it was used by Boy Scouts prior to World War I. The works closed in 1920 after being damaged by fire.
(Pictures of how the buildings used to look can be found here: http://www.penmorfa.com/porthwen/seven.html)
Once our breather was done we headed off up the stairs on the other side of the Porth. They were quite a climb, with some being very uneven. This next stretch of coast varied from being quite flat and pleasant to having to climb steep stairs. The final set of stairs honestly nearly did me in! I’m not the fittest or slimmest of people so I took them section by section with lots of stops to “admire the view”! What a view it is too. The now decommissioned Wylfa Nuclear Power Station can be seen on the far headland.
One of the best excuses for a breather!
Anwen living the dream.
At one point along this route you have to go through a gate. After the gate keep going forward. Don’t turn right like I did. I mean it’s pretty obvious after only a few steps that it’s wrong as the path disappears over the edge of a cliff! It isn’t far from this point until you spot Llanbadrig Church on your left.
6. Once you reach the church there are a couple of options. I was tired and still had the road section to walk so I followed the church wall around until I got to a kissing gate onto the road. If you want you can follow the coast path around a very small headland and then come back to the road. I had a little wander around the graveyard (I have a strange fascination with graveyards. I love to look at the gravestones and imagine the people that the names belong to.) The church was locked but if you do get the chance to go inside it’s worth it as it’s a fascinating little place with an interesting history as the oldest church in Wales.
Eglwys Llanbadrig (The Church of Patrick) Legend says that in 440AD a Celtic bishop called Patrick (yes, THE Patrick) was travelling from Iona to Ireland when he was shipwrecked off the coast of Anglesey. Having made his way from the small islet now known as Ynys Badrig (Middle Mouse), the bishop took refuge in a small cave with a nearby well (The cave is still there). Patrick commemorated his escape from danger by founding the original Eglwys Llanbadrig. The original simple timber church was replaced with a stone version in the 12th Century, and then rebuilt in the 14th Century in the general form seen today. What makes Llanbadrig extraordinary- apart from the legend and it’s status as the oldest church in Wales- is the dramatic refurbishment in 1884. The 3rd Lord Stanley of Alderley had married a Spanish Moorish woman, and converted to Islam himself (becoming the first Muslim member of the House of Lords). He donated a substantial sum of money to refurbish the interior of the church to reflect his new faith, so today’s visitors are confronted with a dramatic contrast between the simple stone exterior and the dramatic Moorish interior, which boasts blue tiles, blue glazed windows and Arabic-style iconography. At the base of the west wall is an intriguing black gravestone bearing a carved fish symbol used by the early Christians. The stone is known as the Ichthus Stone. There is some debate about its age with one theory suggesting that it is 9th Century. What is really interesting though is that this type of black stone is not native to Wales at all and, in fact, can only be found in one place in the world - the ancient catacombs under Rome.
Eglwys Llanbadrig from the coast path.
Looking down on the church and graveyard.
A beautiful Celtic cross.
After taking some time to explore the graveyard, we set off down the lane away from the church. At the end of the lane we turned left heading back towards the car. It’s all very straightforward from this point as you just follow the road back.
Sources:
https://www.anglesey-hidden-gem.com/porth-wen-brick-works.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porth_Wen_Brickworks
https://ancientmonuments.uk/129375-dinas-gynfor-hillfort-llanbadrig
http://www.penmorfa.com/porthwen/seven.html
https://cemaes.wales/local-places/llanbadrig-church/
https://www.anglesey-history.co.uk/places/churches_and_chapels/Llanbadrig/index.html
https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=556
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