Anglesey and LLeyn Peninsular Sea Kayaking Trip - June

The middle two weeks of June were spent sea kayaking up in Anglesey, North Wales. The first day there we went out through the Penrhyn Mawr tide race, stopping on the way for bit of a play, and then on to the Stacks - North and South, to explore the massive caves and cliffs there and get up close to all the wildlife. Spring is the perfect time to visit, with a chance to see all the nesting birds there such as; Guillemots, Razorbills, Cormorants, Arctic Terns, Puffins, Gannets, Fulmars, kittiwakes, and gulls, as well as many seals, and the abundance of flowering flora that are very prolific at this time of year. It was a stunning trip!
With a small window of a few days of good settled weather, we decided to have a go at circumnavigating Anglesey. To make best use of the tidal streams we made sure we were loaded up and on the water at Rhosneigr by 0530, paddling out onto classy smooth waters heading clockwise around the island. Arriving at North Stack we radio'd the coastguard to check it was clear to proceed past Holyhead harbour before paddling the 12km to the Skerries in just one hour with spring-tide assistance! Heading east along the north coast we eventually stopped at the idyllic Porth Wen for a nice long afternoon break while we waited for the tide to turn in our favour again. That evening we enjoyed a pleasant paddle on past Point Lynas, including a bit of tiderace excitement, to Dulas bay near Moelfre where we camped up in a secluded spot for the night. Next morning we set off at 0730 with the flood tide heading across Red Wharf Bay, arriving at Puffin Island by 0930. With the last of the tidal push we cruised up to the Menai Bridge in the Menai Straits, where we stopped for a bite to eat, before hopping on he ebb tide which took us speedily down the straits and back out into the sea again on the southwest corner of the island. We stopped at the beautiful Llanddwyn Island for several hours that afternoon to rest and wait for the pushing tide once more, before setting off at 1930 into a brisk headwind on the final leg up to Rhosneigr. Having the tide with us cancelled the wind out a bit and we still made good progress, arriving at dusk around 2200 back at our starting point, having completed the circumnavigation in just two days, or 40.5 hours! 
The wind really picked up the next few days, so we spent our time rockhopping in our kayaks along the rocky coastine, walking on Holyhead Mountain, and visiting the wildlife centre on South Stack where we could view the birds on the nests, as well as eat cake and drink tea in the cafe there too. 
After a pleasant stay at a friend of Elisabeths at Menai Bridge, we drove out to the Lleyn Peninsular on the Sunday lunchtime with the aim of paddling around that, including a trip out to Bardsey Island if conditions allowed. We set off at 1500 that afternoon from Trefor with the ebb tide and made really good progress down the coast in overcast and windy conditions, arriving at Porth Oer five hours later after covering 33km! We did however end up eating in the dark and going to bed late as a result. Next morning we had a bit of a lie-in, as the tides wouldn't be in our favour until later in the day. It was a good time to relax, tinker with kit, and plan the crossing to Bardsey Island. We eventually set off at 1500, paddling out through some clean medium sized surf off the beach before heading on down to the tip of the Peninsular, utilising a strong back-eddy to aid our progress. The tidal flow in Bardsey Sound was running at 2kn to 2.5kn, necessitating a steep ferry angle and some strong paddling to make it across to Bardsey Island itself. An hour later we arrived to a welcoming committee of hundreds of Guillemots, razorbills and Puffins, as we followed the rocky coastline around to the safe and sheltered harbour slip, not far from the lighthouse on the island. After a brief stop and a bite to eat we set off back to the mainland again, timing the return crossing of the sound with slack water for a much easier and faster return journey. It was a long paddle from here up to our eventual camp for the night at the eastern end of Hells Mouth Bay, passing hourds of jellyfish en route. As the sun was setting we made our final, and exciting, surf landing onto the beach, getting some good rides on some clean four foot waves into the beach. Next morning we paddled out through the surf around 0800, with me making it out dry, whilst Elisabeth had to effect a speedy 'hat rescue' after losing it temporarily following a breaking wave that tore it from her head! On the paddle up towards the Tudwal Islands we were joined by a small pod of dolphins that swam with us for around 20 minutes, which was just amazing, and with more puffins and bird life at the Tudwal Islands it was like a wildlife extravaganza! The last section from here back to Pwllheli was a bit of a slog into a headwind, so we broke it up with a stop on a lovely sandy beach in the sunshine, before arriving at our destination around 1500. A short bus journey later and we had the van back and were loaded up and heading back to Anglesey, with the aim of paddling out to the Skerries to see the wildlife there in the next day or two. 
The inshore waters forecast the next morning was looking promising, so after a speedy breakfast, and equally speedy drive, we arrived at Cemlyn Bay around 0900 near Carmel Head to get ready for the crossing out to the Skerries. By 1000 we were heading out of the bay and setting our ferry angle out to the island, with compasses set to 304 degrees. The tidal race out there had some quite lumpy sections in it, but nothing too bad, and we covered the 6km in under an hour! Arriving off the northern tip of the Skerries, we broke out behind one of the outer rocks in a good 3kn of flow, before ferrying back to the main island and paddling on into the inner lagoon near the lighthouse there. The wildlife here was phenomenal, in part due to the lack of man's presence, and we saw very close up massive colonies of Razorbills, Guillemots, Arctic Terns on their migration, Puffins in and out of their burrows, and some very inquisitive seals. We had a couple of hours of this all to ourselves, before the tide started to turn and we had to press on with our return journey. On the paddle back we agreed that we were very priviledged to have witnessed all that wildlife up so close, and of all the 'twitchers' on Anglesey at that time, very few would get to see that, proving that kayaking is one of the best ways to get up close and personal with the coastal wildlife that inhabit our shores. 
The next few days were spent playing in the tiderace of Penrhyn Mawr near Porth Dafarch to hone our skills, and exploring the North and South stacks again where we found some superb rockhopping and cave paddling, and got to see all the birdlife again.
We both agreed that Anglesey is a true seakayaking paradise, and we'll definitely be heading back there again for more of the same! Absolutely loved it! :)