Friday, August 28, 2009

Restful Traeth Bychan Beach, Near Anglesey Coastal Path, Great for Dinghy Sailing

By David Phillips

Enjoy the small, sheltered and cosy delights of east facing Traeth Bychan beach near Benllech, down a narrow country lane off the A5025. If you want to really appreciate some fine sea and mountain views covering Llanddona, the Carneddau peaks above Bangor, Puffin Island and Liverpool Bay, you must come here.

Traeth Bychan is rocky on each side of the cove, giving way to a mixture of gravelly sand and small pebbles as the beach reaches up to the small stone and concrete boat park. This quiet location is the home of Red Wharf Bay Sailing and Watersports Club, and when we arrived on this occasion there were a number of dinghies and motor craft being towed up from the water, while a fishing boat waited for its trailer to arrive.

We saw some tired young sailors help guide a tractor down the beach from the slipway and to the water's edge and align the boat onto the trailer. Given that this beach faces east and Anglesey's south westerly prevailing winds, this is an ideal place to launch sailing boats and other craft. Here you will see Toppers, Lasers, GP14's, Mirrors and other dinghy classes.

Around the back of the beach are some interesting rock formations and above these thick grassy steep slopes and from here emerges the Anglesey Coastal Path route running from Benllech in the south to Moelfre in the north. The coastal path is well signposted and there is a gate on the left as you approach the beach down the hill, next to a small cottage which is built just above the rocks and the high water mark.

Just 25 metres or so from the beach as you go up the lane is Traeth Bychan beach cafe which sells cold and hot drinks, ice creams and snacks, while next to this is a car park and toilets. Opposite the cafe is a static caravan park which are ideally placed for those wanting to enjoy watersports or walk the coastal path.

A good time to come to this quiet, sheltered beach is autumn and winter, when you can really appreciate the fine sea views and coastal walks, with little if any boating activity taking place. Traeth Bychan has a historic angle which many are not aware of, relating to a maritime incident in Liverpool bay.

On 1 June 1939 HMS Thetis, a "T" Class submarine built at Cammell Laird ship yard in 1938, left her mooring in the Mersey with 103 crew aboard to carry out some trials in Liverpool Bay. Tragically, due to some unusual extreme events the sub never resurfaced and all crew bar four were lost. A few months after this tragedy, Thetis was brought to the surface and beached on Traeth Bychan beach, here on the east Anglesey coast.

Whether you come here on a fine, clear winter's day for a walk across the beach, or in the heat of a summer's day are launching your dinghy for coastal exploration, the memory of Thetis and her lost crew will remain. - 2368

About the Author:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home