Soldiers Point to Porth Dafarch 3/11/2024

Wind 6-7 mph, S/E, high tide 11am, height 5.5m.

After a few late cancellations, Keith, Ian and I met at Porth Dafarch to organise the car shuttle, for our one-way trip from Soldiers Point. With hardly any wind and the tide ebbing for most of the day, the conditions were right for a safe trip around the Stacks and Penrhyn Mawr. We set off from Soldiers Point at 10:00 and bimbled along to North Stack, where I thought we might see our first overfalls, but there was barely a ripple on the surface of the water. There was plenty of opportunity to visit the caves between here and the South.

By the time we reached South Stack the tide was with us and we paddled through some gentle overfalls on the outside of the Stack, before continuing our exploration of the coast and the hunt for a seal-free beach for lunch. Then through more very manageable overfalls at Penrhyn Mawr, before the paddle back to Porth Darfarch.

The cliffs around the northwest of Holyhead are one of the most spectacular parts of the Anglesey coast and with a good weather window and tidal planning, they are very accessible. There were lots of groups of paddlers out making the most of this opportunity.