Further information on this walk

History and interest

• Technically not a mountain at only 220m, Holyhead Mountain is Anglesey’s highest point. Along with a Trig Point, there are the ruins of an Iron Age Hillfort at its summit and a Roman Watchtower.
• Breakwater Country Park is a former quarry but now a wildlife haven. It’s a great place to begin exploring the mountain and rocky coast. There is a small information centre and shop too.
• Ty Mawr Hut Circles are the remains of a settlement dating back to the Neolithic (late Stone Age). People lived here between 2500BCE and 500AD.
• Witch’s Well is an unusual octagonal brick tower with a domed roof. The present structure dates from the 1860s.
• South Stack is home to the 19th century lighthouse and suspension bridge. The 60m cliffs and stacks offer some world-class rock-climbing opportunities.

Wildlife

The areas of heather, bramble-scrub and gorse attract stonechat, wheatear, willow warbler and linnet. Other notable birdlife includes chough, peregrine falcon, and little owl. Many species of passerine mi­grants are spotted in spring and autumn. Off the cliffs can be seen puffin, fulmar, guillemot, razorbill and gannet. Grey seals, porpoises and Risso’s and com­mon dolphins may be seen off the coast. The rare plant spathulate fleawort grows nowhere else in the world except for this stretch of heathland on Holy Island.

Public transport

Holyhead is served by railway, but the walk starts a short distance out of town. The nearest bus stop is at Maes y Myndd, Llaingoch. Bus No. 22 stops there but it’s still a short walk to the country park.

Refreshments

Plenty of options in Holyhead. The RSPB Visitor Centre has a café, as does the Breakwater Country Park.