South Stack Sunset

A very late posting for Tuesday I’m afraid. The combination of a late return and feeling quite exhausted, together with WiFi problems …….

A dull and rainy morning takes us to Oriel Môn - another first time visit, much to my embarrassment. The gallery holds a wonderful Tunnicliff collection as well as several
Kyffin Williams pieces - both men having lived and painted on the island. But it’s the temporary exhibitions that I really love. One, entitled ‘Four Painters and a Sculptor’ features five Welsh women artists, their work beautiful and contrasting, inspired by the beauty of North Wales; the other featuring work from the Kyffin Williams drawing prize with the most amazing work in pencil, charcoal, and pastels. 

After a mooch around Beaumaris, we retreat to our hotel room. We plan to head to South Stack for sunset this evening, and I know this will be too much for me without an afternoon rest.  

Crossing over to Holy Island always leads to nostalgia and reminisces. This is where we both spent our childhoods and where we initially got to know one another over 50 years ago.  We eat in the White Eagle in Rhoscolyn, both of us feeling the quality of food has gone downhill, before passing G’s old school and then his childhood home - now, like many Treaddur Bay properties - a holiday home. The once close-knit community is long gone, the village shop now a restaurant serving the many tourists in the area. 

But the beauty of the bay remains remarkably intact, and we drive along the coastal route past the many rocky bays that line this stunning area. We stop at Porth Dafarch and walk along the cliff path, lined now with sea pinks and a host of other coastal flowers. It’s absolutely gorgeous in the late sunshine. This area resonates with family history for me - but this is something that I’ll leave for a future blip. 

For now, my reminiscence is interrupted by a telephone call from my lead consultant, bringing me up to date with the next stage in my ‘treatment’.  First there will be a PET scan to check the extent of inflammatory areas in my body, then the start of immunosuppressant medication. She will step back, and my dermatologist will become the lead consultant.  It seems bizarre to be sitting on a clifftop in these stunning surroundings discussing my complex medical needs, but once again, I’m very grateful for the time spent trying to get to the root of my case. 

Then it’s on to South Stack, bathed in late evening sunshine. It’s late to do any proper bird watching, but I’m hoping to find some choughs, and G spots a pair mutually grooming on the cliffs. It’s right at the farthest reach of my 600mm lens, but I just about manage to capture them. I just love their bright red beaks and legs. 

We’re waiting for the main show; sunset at South Stack. Photographers are gathering and there’s always the question of where you’ll get the best view. We decide the lower view from Ellen’s Tower as the sun will go down behind the island, and amazingly we’re alone. It’s just so cold, any heat from the sun long dispersed. There’s a sea of golden haze behind the lighthouse, two ferries on their way to Ireland caught in the mist. 

As the sun goes down, the light presents huge challenges, the island and the lighthouse disappearing into the darkness, so editing is called for to correct this and, to be honest, I’m not yet convinced by the results. So for my main there’s a more dramatic shot of the actual sunset taken with my 600mm lens. Then there’s extras of the orange glow and a collage of Porth Dafarch views - oh, and those choughs of course! And you know there’s always a possibility that I’ll change my main!