ron-t kayaking blog
27 November 2014 ............ Dinas Gynfor and Middle Mouse
We continue to get some great days despite the fact that it is late November, so I have been out a lot to get the best of them.
I haven`t been up to the north coast of Anglesey for quite a while, so I headed up to Cemaes for a trip out to Dinas Gynfor and Middle Mouse.
It was a few days after Springs, and perfect tide timing for this trip - you get the ebb tide all afternoon, and a high flow past Dinas Gynfor - it can be quite a spectacular race, and if you end up on the wrong side of Dinas Gynfor, you can forget about getting back round until the current dies down.
I launched from Cemaes just after lunch and just after high tide, and paddled off - this bit of the coastline is characterised by a succession of headlands, and each headland can have its own tide race, each one a bit different.
Here are the first two, the nearer one on the right is I think called Old Quarry Point, the further away one with the whitish rock is Llanbadrig Head.
Here is the first of the un-named headlands - it is quite an impressive headland.
Before the next headland there are a couple of caves - very deep caves, but rather narrow, here is the first one -
The second cave is probably as long as the first one, but is much narrower, so I didn`t want to try going in - if it was a flat calm I might well have tried, but there was a bit of a sea in the cave, and I would have done rather a lot of bashing off the rocks.
The second un-named headland is maybe not quite as impressive as the first one, but you can get quite a significant race around it.
Out to sea, and Middle Mouse is looking to be a good place to go and visit, but pictures like this don`t show the strong currnets that flow around it.
By now the most northerly point of Anglesey is in view - Dinas Gynfor - also know as Llanlleiana Head - it is a steep climb up to it from either side, but the folly at the top is a good viewpoint, and gives good protection from the wind.
However just before you get to Dinas Gynfor, there is a quite sheltered beach tucked away in, Porth Llanlleiana - complete with picnic tables.
Handy for a break, but if the waves are coming from the north, you can get very unfriendly dumping surf - at the back of the beach is an old porcelain factory.
Round at Dinas Gynfor the ebb tide was producing a good example of the kind of race that you get there - not the biggest race I have ever seen there, but a good chunky race all the same.
As I wanted to get out to Middle Mouse, I couldn`t go with the flow, so headed out into the flow and started a ferry glide out, heading quite a bit ahead of Middle Mouse.
Out at Middle Mouse there was the fairly typical large eddy sandwiched between the south side of Middle Mouse, and the race created by Middle Mouse splitting the ebb flow.
This is sitting in close to Middle Mouse, looking out across the race to the Anglesey coastline further to the east - just visible is Point Lynas.
I reckoned I would try to go round Middle Mouse clockwise, as by doing it that way, I know what is happening at the west end of Middle Mouse before I commit myself to the strong current on the north side.
The tide race that forms the long tail downstream of Middle Mouse was in full flow, and I could see some big waves further downstream.
However it was okay to sneak round the rocks, and head up the north side of the island against the current.
Sneaking round the rocks was the least of my worries - I now found that the current was strong enough to mean I wasn`t going anywhere - if you want to develop your skills in forward paddling power strokes - go paddle round Middle Mouse !
Eventually I got to the far end, but it took a long long long time.
Back down the south side, back into the eddy, and down to the end for a look at the race that rushes through between the outlying rock and the main body of Middle Mouse - I started to see if I could take a picture of it - and a big seal pops up out in the middle of the race. You can just see it right in the middle of the picture.
It came across much closer a couple of times and popped up for another look at me, but it was too quick for me to get any more pictures.
Time to head back, and looking back across to the mainland - Dinas Gynfor is right in the middle of the picture.
Back across the race, and it was an easy paddle back westwards again - leaving Middle Mouse -
Further along, and looking along the coastline past the headlands to Dinas Gynfor -
It is a fabulous bit of coastline, with sea conditions that are quite different from the more frequented parts of Anglesey like Rhoscolyn, Penrhyn Mawr, and the Stacks.
A last look back past Llanbadrig Head to Middle Mouse before heading into Cemaes Bay - and the end of a great few hours out.
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