19.04.15 Ynys Tudwal
Fach (SH 340 259)
Ynys Tudwal Fach (SH 340 259) |
As I walked up the road
in Abersoch and looked out over the jetty the sea spilled into the harbour, one
white wave followed another and the wind blew strongly from the east. When I had arrived I’d quickly dispensed with
my shorts and one skin summer walking jacket in favour of a fleece coat and
trousers. But in conditions such as the
ones I was looking at I thought our chance of visiting Ynys Tudwal Fach was
almost non-existent, or at the best it would mean a patient wait into the
afternoon, hoping that the easterly would lessen and the sea swell reduce.
Lots of white stuff in the harbour at Abersoch |
By the time I walked
back down the road Adrian and Alex were waiting at the pre-arranged meeting
spot, we were soon joined by John and Marian Mackay. This trip had been organised by Adrian with
permission to visit the island given him by the landowner.
Within a few minutes we
were beside our Rib with the boat man, who was showing enthusiastic signs of
testing the water with three of us on board.
We scrambled up into the Rib and put life jackets on, and off we went,
slowly at first toward the harbour entrance before venturing out to the open
sea.
The open sea beckons |
This was going to be a
wet ride and each of us had full water proof gear on and I’d packed my video
camera and Trimble in the bottom of my ruck sack as I suspected I was going to
get soaked.
As we left the confines
of the harbour we met the waves, which deposited us up with their swell before
thudding us down to their depths, this repeated itself as spray came in from
all angles. I sat directly behind Alex
with Adrian standing behind me; we all clung on as the bucking bronco continued
its merry passage toward Ynys Tudwal Fach.
The usual landing for
this island is on its east, this is sheltered from the normal westerly’s, but
today the wind blew from the east so the boat man manoeuvred the Rib to a sheltered small cove on the west
side of the island where I spotted my first seal in its natural
environment.
At the entrance to this
small cove is a slanting rock shelf that gained height toward the grass above,
this was our route onto the island. As
the Rib was driven in Alex clambered out timing his deposit onto ‘dry land’
with the sea swell, I remember looking at him as he left the boat and made it
onto the rock – he was standing almost upto his knees in the sea!
The entrance to the small cove where we were dropped off |
Soon the three of us
were slowly making our way up the rock shelf, with the snippiest part also
being the narrowest with the sea beckoning about 20ft below. Once on the grass we aimed for the high
point, gulls swooped all around, a constant overhead attraction.
Adrian and Alex on the slanting rock shelf |
looking down the slanting rock shelf |
Heading up on the sponge-like grass |
The ground was pitted
with many burrows with each step being similar to walking on a sponge as your
walking boot would sink into the soft grass.
Ahead lay the summit cairn with a large iron cross which had been hit by
a recent lightning strike and was now doubled over and bent.
Heading for the summit |
As with many of these
trips to small islands there seems to be a multitude of things to do and a
limited time to do them. We quickly took
a series of summit photos and I set the Trimble up on a rock to gain height for
it above the thick grass. Once data were
collected I looked for the mouth piece to my re-hydration water system which
had gone missing along with the two litres of liquid it was carrying.
Adrian and Alex at the summit with Ynys Tudwal Fawr in the background |
I soon gave up my hunt
and left the summit to walk down the island toward the one house that is nestled
into the easterly upper hillside. On my
way I passed a stone circle, a modern, but not unwelcome, addition.
The stone circle on Ynys Tudwal Fach |
To the west lay Ynys
Tudwal Fawr, only higher by a few metres and with its Lighthouse and
accompanying buildings at its summit.
The house is used by the
owners of the island and it has a rather lovely old wooden door. It must be a wonderful feeling settling in
for the night on this island with just the stars and gulls for company.
The only house on the island is nestled into the eastern hillside |
The front of the house with its old wooden door |
By now Adrian and Alex
had headed back to the slanting rock terrace as the boatman had gone back to
the mainland, picked John and Marian up and was now skimming across the sea
ready to drop them off. By the time I
reached the upper part of the descent route John was holding his hand out to
Marian as they both made it safely onto ‘dry land’.
John and Marian land on the island |
Adrian and Alex head down toward the Rib |
John soon passed me as
he made his way up the rock shelf, slightly lower down I met Marian who was
wondering if she was going to wait on the rock for John or whether to slither
her way up to the grass above.
With Alex on board, Adrian waits for the Rib |
As the Rib was manoeuvred
in Alex and Adrian got on board, for my birthing I decided to adopt the full on
belly flop approach as I considered momentum to be the important factor in
getting on board and not miss-timing a lunge for the Rib and ending up in the
sea. As the Rib approached I flung
myself head first into it, aiming my entrance so it was cushioned by my
shoulder and side, within a few seconds we were in our positions and away
toward our next adventure.
Survey Result:
Ynys Tudwal Fach
Summit Height: 36.3m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 34037 25971
Bwlch Height: N/A (sea)
Bwlch Grid Reference: N/A (sea)
Drop: 36.3m (converted to OSGM15)
Dominance: 100.00%
Dominance: 100.00%
For further details please
consult the Trimble survey spreadsheet click {here}
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