“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” John Muir
For months I have been seeing beautiful pictures on my social media of a covered little bay with a beautiful rock formation and a path with rails looking like it heads out into the sea! Naturally I wanted to go! In fact I couldn’t believe I had not already visited it, after all it was in Wales!
Amlwch Creek is a beautiful hidden gem on the outskirts of Amlwch in Anglesey. The name Amlwch derives from two welsh words, am and llwch, meaning around or near the creek or inlet, a reference to the harbour at Porth Amlwch, which is a short walk from the town of Amlwch itself. This town is in the north east of the island, and is the most northerly town in Wales.It may be difficult to appreciate now, but Amlwch was once the world’s leading exporter of copper. That was back in the early nineteenth century when copper, extracted from the nearby Parys Mountain, was taken to the harbour at Porth Amlwch, and loaded on to boats for export. The incoming cargo was often tobacco leaf, which was processed in one of a number of tobacco factories in Amlwch.
The Creek is only a short 10 minute walk from where you park. The path down from the parking area is tarmacked so an easy enough and also a rather pleasant walk. Either side of the path are fields full of wild flowers of various colours, in summer anyway. You can find The Creek close to, Amlwch LL68 9DU, there is a free parking area, however not many spaces so you will have to get there at the right time.
I arrived at low tide which meant I saw the great little beach in the bay, slowly uncovered by the ebbing tide. You have to be careful climbing down, the rocks can be very slippy however it is a fantastic place for swimming. There is a railed path around the rocky outcrop that sticks out into the sea, this is a good spot of day dreaming. When I arrived there was a group of people but they literally got their Instagram pictures and left, leaving me this little gem all to myself for about two hours.
The Creek in Amlwch is one of Angleseys numerous hidden gems, small but definitely worth visiting. During the summer months the pristine blue waters look and feel as though you could be any where in the world. Unless you knew about it, you certainly wouldn’t just bump into it.
The creek has a history of being a swimming place favoured by the local people. Its is still thought of fondly to this day. In years gone by there used to be little bathing huts for people to use, these fell into disrepair around 30 years ago and are now long since gone. Luckily the handrailed steps down are still in good condition, allowing is continued use to everyone, however at low tide the hand rail doesn’t reach down to the beach so be super careful!
About two seconds after this picture was taken I just went for a swim! Clothes and all! The water was so incredibly clear and warm, I have realised just how incredibly short this life is! If you want to swim in the sea do it, your skin and clothes dry! Lucky there was no one around because honestly I must have looked insane just swimming along fully dressed, as insane as I looked walking back to my car dripping wet. At this point I did seem to pass a lot of people who looked me up and down and gave me a bit of side eye! I just smiled and carried on!
So after my little swim and sitting naked in my car with my clothes over the seats to dry off and a soggy sandwich. At this point everyone in the world decided to visit the area and work past my car, by naked I was in my bra and knickers, which is pretty naked. Almost dry I headed to my favourite cafe in Anglesey, Bradleys coffee shop in Benllech. Maybe I do go Wales too often if I have favourite coffee shop! I am more than happy to sit and eat on my own something that other people still find odd, the number of people that felt the need to talk to me and check I was OK was lovely if not slightly ridiculous. If you are ever on Anglesey I suggest stopping here for food! After food and 4 cups of tea, I headed onto my next adventure which will be tomorrows blog post!
