The Traverse of Gogarth Main Cliff

It's great having friends who call you up, come and visit, and then talk you into doing crazy stuff. The traverse of Gogarth Main Cliff wasn't exactly high on my priority list (or any list, come to think of it), but soon after an enthusiastic sales pitch, I found myself walking along the cliff tops from South Stack, Anglesey in search of some coastal based tom-foolery.

Psyched up and sweating! Ready for the 'sketchy' walk in!

The weather was promising to warm up and dry out. Having walked as far as the climbers 'gearing up area', there did seem to be a band of blue sky heading our way. Sensibly, we'd carried our wetsuits thus far and now got changed amidst an atmosphere of anticipation and mild concern. The sea was looking calm(ish) and the weather was certainly warming up. In fact it felt very warm, once we'd struggled into our wetsuits! 

The scramble down to the cliff base is certainly the crux of the route and was exactly as Clare had described - 'sketchy'. Made all the more exciting/terrifying by wearing a sweat inducing wetsuit and oversized trainers with the soles flapping off. After negotiating the steep slippery grass slopes of doom and the final exposed rocky down-climb (no slipping allowed!), it was a sweet relief to finally cool down by the water!

Gogarth Main Cliff

From the cliff base we traversed northwards towards Parliament House Cave. I managed to get a decent way along, before the combination of pumped forearms and heat exhaustion sent me into the drink! The sun was fully out by now, but the water was still cripplingly cold to exposed skin.

A combination of floating, climbing and swimming ensued as we inched our way along the base of the huge cliffs. I was great to spot some of the classic rock climbs as we passed by them.

As we passed Wen Zawn (of 'Dream of White Horses' fame), We stopped to watch a few climbers then swam through a big sea arch. The water was a deep, deep green colour and would have felt tropical were it not so cold!

Eventually, we dragged ourselves up onto the beach at Parliament House Cave and to my delight, found that Beth had had the good sense to bring some chocolate and jelly babies to perk us up for the final 'seal tunnel'. The exit from the back of the cave, involves a squeeze/swim through a narrow slot, that we were told often involves negotiating right of way access with a large resident seal!

I (very bravely) opted to go last! Luckily, the seal must have been away on holiday as we passed though without drama. Shortly after, back in the daylight, we found an exit route that involved scrambling up the cliffs to the lighthouse on North Stack. All that remained was a long tiring walk back to our clothes, via Holyhead Mountain. What a glorious way to spend a Tuesday! Great adventures with great friends! Bonkers!