Holyhead is one of the sunniest places in Wales; it really is perpetually drenched in the sunny stuff. With that in mind Big G urges us all to head west. Once there we can soak up the rays, boost our depleted vitamin D banks, and there are even some boulders to play on…

Dear NWB.com readers,

Many climbers have been so taken with Gogarth Main Cifff as to wish they could somehow take it home; or a small piece of it at least.

A quartzite boulder - now that would be quite a thing, especially if it reflected the best formations encountered hereabouts.

Well oddly, there is one, positioned right over on the east side of Holyhead Mountain (GR 224 823) as if it had halted on some ancient inland journey, and it really is like a bit of the giant seawashed cliff with a multiplicity of finely weathered scoops and dimples.

So, for the first time, boulderers can enjoy the positive elements of the ‘Gogarth experience’ without the inconvenience and terror of descent into deep sweaty zawns, encumbered with complicated climbing equipment. (Anyone feeling the urge to verify this for themselves need only trudge west from the boulder and they will find themselves at North Stack, its loose and undistinguished walls covered in a thick and unpleasant layer of fluffy lichen possessed of Velcro properties. If that is not enough to confirm the value of our sanitised little block then look south toward Wen Zawn and you will see a health and safety nightmare of poorly keyed together rocks pounded ever looser by the merciless ocean...er...back to the block.)

Landings are excellent and the views superb, with the pier dog-legging off to the north west, the distant profile of The Skerries to the north, and to the east the port of Holyhead, with the flatlands of Ynys Mon stretched beyond.

A strange spot then - curiously well positioned to dodge rain and absorb sunshine better than any of its North Wales counterparts. Go before the bracken grows.

Power to the brothers and sisters,

Big G

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