I had a quite morning in Prestatyn, doing a bit of research on trains and catching up on some videos (I hadn't left much to do in Prestatyn before my train). I caught the hour and a half long train ride to Holyhead. Holyhead is the largest town on Holy Island, a small island off the coast of Anglesey, a relatively large island off northwestern Wales. I was surprised to learn that a. Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey with only 11,500 people and b. Holyhead has 84% of the island's 13,700 population. To get to my new destination, I had to pass through Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, more commonly known as Llanfairpwll or Llanfair PG. It has the distinct honor of having the second longest place name in the world and the longest place name in Europe.
Both guidebooks I've been using were pretty down on Holyhead, but I wanted to keep an open mind. So far, I've had a mixed experience. Holyhead is a transition town. It used to be the major access point between Ireland and Britain, with ferries going back and forth. With the rise of affordable airfare, this travel died down and so did Holyhead. I think this has made the community somewhat wary of visitors, though they still have many come through on the ferries. As I walked through the town I got many stares, presumably as I was obviously a tourist (big backpack, camera around my neck, constantly checking signs and my phone, etc.). The stares were neither friendly nor hostile, but (with a few exceptions) it's the iciest experience I've had on the trip so far.
There's not terribly much to see in Holyhead. I went straight to see St Cybi's Church, also known as Caer Gybi (Cybi's Fort). The small church is built within the walls of a small Roman fort. The Roman fort, whose Latin name is unknown, is fairly unique as it was a three walled fort; the fourth wall of the fort was the sea. Though the sea has retreated since Roman times, it used to come to the bottom of the ledge on which the church sits. The fort walls were also built down to the water, creating a protected harbor. The fort had a series of towers along the walls, presumably with parapets and ramparts running between them. It is thought that the fort was built in the 4th century to help deal with Irish raiders. This means it may have been linked to the Roman watchtower on top of Holyhead Mountain (where I'm headed tomorrow!). It is possible that the watchtower could have warned Roman naval forces, who then motivated from this fort to deal with the coming barbarians.
After visiting Caer Gybi, I walked around Holyhead more. I quickly learned that there is a Royal Air Force station nearby because I saw six or eight military jets fly over and had a startling experience when a Sea King, a search and rescue helicopter, flew very low overhead. Unfortunately, the Maritime Museum, one of the few things to do in Holyhead, had already closed for the day, so I wandered to the Ucheldre Centre, an art gallery and performance space housed in an old chapel. From there I wandered along the coast and spotted an interesting way the teens of Holyhead entertain themselves: jumping off a 25 or 30 foot pier. I watched these kids jump off over and over again and I was not the only spectator. Can't say I was tempted to join them.
I had a nice dinner at a hotel near my B&B and tried a strawberry and lime cider that was delicious. Then I headed back to my room for a quiet evening. I'm hoping to head to bed on the earlier side as I have a long day of walking tomorrow. I'm going up Holyhead Mountain (which is not a mountain, but a 720 foot hill) and from there go to South Stack, which is on the other side of the island, but home to a spectacular lighthouse. Hopefully it will be a fun day! But it will require well rested feet.
Fun Fact #4: Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, trained and flew search and rescue helicopters out of RAF Valley (the station on Anglesey), making him the first British royal to live in Wales since Henry VII.
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