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Porth Dafarch to South Stack
walk – moderate level
Porth Dafarch belongs to the National Trust and is a Blue Flag sheltered sandy beach on the south coast of Holy Island. The area is popular with scuba diving with the 1886 wreck of the steamer ‘Missouri’ situated half a mile offshore. Anglesey coastal path cuts through Porth Dafarch beach on the final section.
As we walk north to South Stack, the path weaves in and out along the headland which in Spring and Autumn are covered in a mass of purple heather and yellow gorse. On the cliff top path we pass Porth Ruffydd cove known locally as the range with its deep chasm where a Roman fort had once stood, along a field to Porth Y Gwin which is a part of South Stack RSPB nature reserve.
At Ellins Tower a Victorian summerhouse which belonged to the family of the Penrhos estate and is now a RSPB lookout across the cliffs to the sea and down to the lighthouse. It is a vital breeding ground for up to 8000 birds from guillemots, razorbills to puffins and is also an attracted area for porpoises, grey seals, Risso’s dolphins and Bottlenose Dolphins.
South Stack lighthouse built 1809 is situated on an island known as sea stack because of the formation of the rocks and is accessed by 400 steps and a suspension bridge. (Open Spring and Summer ).
