Geotrail Around the Penmon Area * V A. Smooth and Re- Still Accessible from the Sea
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14 HI Geotrail walk Geotrail walk H 15 k iii limestone, worn would have been comparatively easy and yet Geotrail around the Penmon area * v a. smooth and re- still accessible from the sea. The original castle cemented together. would have been a wooden structure; the The headland to the stone buildings were reputedly built in the 17th Enjoy fascinating geology and magnificent scenery on this beautiful walk on the south right is a sequence of century and there are various rumours about east coast of Anglesey. Dr John Conway (GeoMon Geopark) thin beds of sediment the Civil war and love affairs. The valley is that had been shown as open water on some older maps, Pictures: J. Conway, unless stated otherwise completely chewed up suggesting that the castle was served by boat, by burrowing but has long since silted up, helped by the organisms. continual slow rise of the land level since the Easy going but long, about 8 miles in ice melted. total, or can be split in shorter sections, A path leads back up or utilise the carparks along the way for a to the coastal footpath The path continues down the valley to the series of stops. which circles round coast. Peat and waterlogged wood, or even Ynys Seiriol / Bwrdd Arthur, a low hill tree stumps can be found on the shore For greater detail, consult: Puffin Island / Conway, J S 2010 Rocks and landscapes capped by a slab of demonstrating the rising sea levels after the of the Anglesey Coastal Footpath. 192pp ice melted, possibly ISBN 0-9546966-3-8 leading to the folk tales Penmon Point Trwyn Du about drowned lands Starting point: Starting from Aberlleiniog, Glan-yr-Afon around the Welsh follow the shore passing low cliffs in reddish coast. Looking out brown deposits left by a huge glacier across the Lavan originating in Scotland and passing Anglesey sands, one can on its way south. Join the road at Trwyn speculate about Penrhyn, where the low headland is in fact a changing sea levels very small drumlin with brown earth soil and the future of our profiles visible in the cliff. From here on the coastal lands - to our Llangoed entire headland is composed of Carboniferous distant ancestors, this rocks, mainly limestone. was all fertile land! A high wall marks the boundary of the This is a fantastic Penmon deer park. Follow the road to beach to examine or Penmon point passing the Priory church, collect pebbles - monastic buildings and dovecote O built of hermit living in a cave in the limestone, with a rich (dolomite). The lighthouse G stands on a limestone. Originally a limestone pavement, eroded from the cliffs of material carried by the local limestone. The monastery grew up spring bubbling up from the rock and feeding reef of limestone exposed at low tide, whilst the people in Iron Age time tipped large blocks of glacier ©); there is a huge boulder of around the 6th century cell of Seiriol, a Celtic the monks' fishponds. The original wooden red beacon marks the end of a similar low reef limestone on end to form the boundary wall of Carboniferous limestone carried by the ice buildings were destroyed in a Viking raid in extending out from the island - the passage is a hill fort [Din Silwy], There is no official path to from Penmon, smoothed and scratched on its 971; the oldest remaining part of the church very narrow with a strong tidal race. The island the top, but one can often find a way through journey with evidence of pre-glacial solution weathering in the form of dates from the 12th century and is well worth actually has three names; Puffin Island, Ynys Follow the coastal path toward Red Wharf the gorse and the views are both panoramic deep hollows and exploring for its Celtic crosses, one with Seiriol or Priestholm. To the left there is a Bay. There are many large coastal quarries Q and spectacular e channels reminiscent of limestone pavement Christian Viking carvings and Norman arches. spectacular storm beach and beyond is a which used to export building stone directly by features. There are also erratics of Ailsa Craig Dissolved in 1537 by Henry VIII the site partially collapsed arch © . The headland here ship; one now houses a fish farm. Take the Return along the road to Glanrafon then turn granite from Scotland, Shap granite from the passed to the Bulkeley family who still own it. offers a wide range of habitats and is a road to Fedw Fawr (White Beach) to see the to Llangoed from where a path leads to the Lake District, coal, flint and basalt from favourite with birdwatchers, with many spectacular cliffs and explore the range of rock miniature castle o of Aberlleiniog, built by northern Ireland and many other rock types. Carry on to the headland by the lighthouse seabirds on the cliffs and the island. types - coarse pebbly conglomerates, finer Hugh, Earl of Chester in 1090 which sits on a where the limestone is well exposed; the In the tourist season, there a small cafe with gritstones and sandstones and thin layers of mound of boulder clay - a carefully chosen honey colour indicates that it is magnesium- toilets. shale. One bed is composed of large blocks of location where construction of the mound .