On the 15th August 2017 My son and I set off from our holiday home on Minffordd Caravan Park at
On reaching the carpark by the bay we follow the Isle Of Anglesey Coastal Path. A 130 mile path around the Island.
Soon once pass the Lligwy Bay cafe and car park we start to climb up the cliffs above the bay.
Here we get to see the beautiful Anglesey Coast and its crystal clear blue waters.
Along the cliff we come across a sculpture called Bryn Wyfla. A Modern art sculpture, to reflect Anglesey's "history in stone, slate and bronze".
Now as we near Moelfre we pass a island called Ynys Moelfre. Ynys Moelfre is a small island off the coast of Anglesey, Wales. At low tide it has a maximum length of 261 metres and a maximum width of 121 metres with a maximum area of 6.6 acres (27,000 m2). The nearest settlement to the island is the village of Moelfre, and the two are separated by a shallow channel called Y Swnt
(The Strait or The Sound), which is never more than 194 metres wide and
can at low tide only be waist-deep all the way across. At extreme low
Spring tides, it is possible to walk across to the island on dry ground
all the way. Due to its proximity to the mainland there are grasses found on the island and a few wild flowers. Species of birds that can be found on the island include gulls, terns, gannets, fulmars,
and Great/Arctic skuas. Porpoises are occasionally seen also. There
are, however, no man-made structures. It is referred to by some locals
as Rat Island.
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| Ynys Moelfre |
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| Ynys Moelfre |
Here my Dog Ben decided he needed a swim and ran off to do so.
We reach Moelfre and pass the Lifeboat Station, we were here on our first day for the annual Moelfre Lifeboat day. Now its much quieter, with no stalls lining the roads and hoards of people.
Moelfre Lifeboat Station has a remarkable history of bravery with its lifeboat crews being awarded 37 medals for gallantry. Two of the Gold Medals were awarded to the outstanding figure in the station's history - Coxswain Richard Evans.
Standing proud above Moelfe and looking out to sea is the Monument to Dic Evans.
This bronze statue of lifeboat hero Richard Evans (1905-2001) was
created by sculptor Sam Holland and unveiled by Prince Charles on 23
November 2004. Few lifeboat volunteers are awarded the RNLI’s gold medal
for bravery, but he was awarded two.
His father, both his grandfathers and an uncle had already served with Moelfre lifeboat
by the time he was born. Dic, as he was known, began sailing on a
coastal cargo vessel at the age of 14. He later ran a butcher’s shop in
Moelfre and married Nansi, a farmer’s daughter. He became lifeboat
coxswain in 1954, on the retirement of his uncle John Matthews.
In 1943 Dic, then second coxswain of Moelfre lifeboat, received a
silver medal for his part in the rescue of four airmen who had ditched
from an aircraft.
He received a gold medal in 1959 for his part in the rescue of all eight crew from the stricken freighter Hindlea in
hurricane-force winds gusting to 104mph. Waves rolled the lifeboat onto
its side, putting the mast beneath the water while the ship’s propeller
whirled dangerously above the heads of the crew. Despite these
difficulties, Dic brought the lifeboat alongside the wreck 10 times to
complete the rescue. In 1961 the Queen presented Silver Sea gallantry
medals to the crew for this rescue.
Dic was 61 years old when he received his second gold medal for his
part in the rescue of the crew of the Greek ship Nafsiporos which was in
danger of being wrecked on the Skerries, north of Holyhead. His own son
David and Holyhead lifeboat were also involved in the rescue.
In 1969, the year before he retired, Dic received the British Empire Medal. He died on 13 September 2001.
By the Lifeboat shop and cafe is also another Memorial to another sea disaster.
Here The Royal Carter is remembered.
Royal Charter was a steam clipper which was wrecked off the beach of Porth Alerth in Dulas Bay on the north-east coast of Anglesey
on 26 October 1859. The precise number of dead is uncertain as the
complete passenger list was lost in the wreck although an incomplete
list (not including those who boarded just before departure) is retained
in the Victorian Archives Centre in, Victoria, Australia. About 450 lives were lost, the highest death toll of any shipwreck on the Welsh coast. It was the
most prominent victim among about 200 ships wrecked by the Royal Charter Storm.
The ship was used on the route from Liverpool
to Australia, mainly as a passenger ship although there was room for
some cargo. There was room for up to 600 passengers, with luxury
accommodation in the first class. She was considered a very fast ship,
able to make the passage to Australia via Cape Horn in under 60 days.
In late October 1859 Royal Charter was returning to Liverpool
from Melbourne. Her complement of about 371 passengers (with a crew of
about 112 and some other company employees), included many gold miners,
some of who had struck it rich at the diggings in Australia and were
carrying large sums of gold about their persons. A consignment of gold
was also being carried as cargo. As she reached the north-western tip of
Anglesey on 25 October the barometer was dropping and it was claimed
later by some passengers, though not confirmed, that the master, Captain
Thomas Taylor, was advised to put into Holyhead harbour for shelter. He decided to continue on to Liverpool however.
The Royal Charter broke up on these rocks near Moelfre
Off Point Lynas the Royal Charter tried to pick up the Liverpool pilot, but the wind had now risen to Storm force 10 on the Beaufort scale
and the rapidly rising sea made this impossible. During the night of
25/26 October the wind rose to Hurricane force 12 on the Beaufort Scale
in what became known as the "Royal Charter gale". As the wind rose its
direction changed from E to NE and then NNE, driving the ship towards
the north-east coast of Anglesey. At 11 pm she anchored, but at 1.30 am
on the 26th the port anchor chain snapped, followed by the starboard
chain an hour later. Despite cutting the masts to reduce the drag of the
wind, Royal Charter was driven inshore, with the steam engines
unable to make headway against the gale. The ship initially grounded on a
sandbank, but in the early morning of the 26th the rising tide drove
her on to the rocks at a point just north of Moelfre
at Porth Alerth on the north coast of Anglesey. Battered against the
rocks by huge waves whipped up by winds of over 100 mph, she quickly
broke up.
One member of the crew, Maltese born Guzi Ruggier also known as
Joseph Rogers managed to swim ashore with a line, enabling a few people
to be rescued, and a few others were able to struggle to shore through
the surf. Most of the passengers and crew, a total of over 450 people,
died. Many of them were killed by being dashed against the rocks by the
waves rather than drowned. Others were said to have drowned, weighed
down by the belts of gold they were wearing around their bodies. The
survivors, 21 passengers and 18 crew members, were all men, with no
women or children saved.
A list of 320 passenger names departing from Melbourne in August 1859 on the Royal Charter
is available on-line from the Public Records Office, Victoria: "Index
to Outward Passengers to Interstate, UK and Foreign Ports, 1852–1901".
A large quantity of gold was said to have been thrown up on the beach
at Porth Alerth, with some families becoming rich overnight. The gold
bullion being carried as cargo was insured for £322,000, but the total
value of the gold on the ship must have been much higher as many of the
passengers had considerable sums in gold, either on their bodies or
deposited in the ship's strongroom. Many of the bodies recovered from
the sea were buried nearby at St Gallgo's Church, Llanallgo, where the graves and a memorial can still be seen. There is also a memorial on the cliff above the rocks where the ship struck, which is on the Anglesey Coastal Path.
At the time of the disaster there were allegations that local
residents were becoming rich from the spoils of the wreck or exploiting
grieving relatives of the victims, and the "Moelfre Twenty-Eight" who
had been involved in the rescue attempts sent a letter to The Times
trying to set the record straight and refute the accusations. The fact
that English-speaking press representatives must have encountered a
language barrier when attempting to gather information can only have
served to further misunderstandings.
Almost exactly a century later (to the day) in October 1959 another ship, the Hindlea,
struck the rocks in almost the same spot in another gale. This time
there was a different outcome, with the Moelfre lifeboat under its
coxswain, Richard Evans, succeeding in saving the crew.
We reached the village and stopped at The Kinmel Arms for a drink. I had a pint of Robinson's Unicorn Ale, a lovely pint too while my son had a coke.
Kinmel Arms, has a great selection of quality real ales, with housing
Robinsons award-winning ales; Unicorn, Dizzy Blonde, Wizard, Cwrwr
Ddraig Aur and Robinsons Dark Smooth. They also stock Guinness, Carling,
Carlsberg, Coors Light, San Miguel, Strongbow and Stowford Press. You
will also find an eclectic choice of wines spirits and soft drinks.
After our refreshments we walked back along the same route we took out.
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| Moelfre Village |
The meaning of the Welsh language word ‘Moelfre’, translated into
English, is 'bald or barren hill', which describes the land behind
Moelfre village, as seen from the sea.
On July 30th, 1862, the screw sloop Enrica, soon to be commissioned as the Confederate States of America warship CSS Alabama sheltered in Moelfre Bay while evading both British customs authorities and the USS Tuscarora, which had been sent to capture or sink her. There were no street lights in the village until well after the Second World War. Moelfre RNLI Lifeboat Station has a distinguished history, including the Hindlea rescue in 1959, when all the crew were rescued. There has been a lifeboat in Moelfre since 1854.
Just before we reached the Lifeboat station, I couldn't believe my eyes. A Razorbill was just sitting on the rocks totally ignoring all the foot traffic above.
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| A Razorbill on the rocks |
Further on we reached a bay with a stony beach, where we decided was a good spot for a bit of swimming.
After drying off we walked on back the way we came and eventually back to the Minffordd Caravan park after a lovely 6 mile walk. The furthest my son has walked, so was particularly proud of him.
The Minffordd Caravan Park is somewhere I'd recommend if you want to stay in the area. An immaculate kept park and caravans with friendly owners.
