At 220 metres, Holyhead Mountain is barely a hill by mountain standards, but it is the highest point on Anglesey and an unmissable walk for anyone with half a day to spare. The summit is a tumble of quartzite boulders fringed with heather, gorse, and stunted hawthorn bent by the prevailing south-westerlies. The path from the South Stack car park climbs steadily through low cliffs and old quarries to reach the top in about forty minutes.
The view repays the effort. To the south, the whole sweep of Cardigan Bay; to the east, Snowdonia rises on the Welsh mainland; to the west, the Irish Sea opens out to the horizon. Skylarks sing overhead for most of the spring and summer, and stonechats perch on the topmost branches of the gorse. Take a windproof — even on a still day in town, the summit can be very breezy.