Holyhead Mountain - GW/NW-069 SOTA (2021)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Friday 2nd July, 2021.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Holyhead Mountain, North Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/NW-069 (1 point).
Summit Height: 220m elevation, 220m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 53.31341, -4.67557. Maidenhead Grid IO73ph.
Distance: 3.4km travelled with 170m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T1.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 1hr 10m (including operating).
Weather: 19°C, 12 mph SE wind, 84% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, MFJ-1714, Zippy 8400mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 6 (2m FM).

Trip Notes

Holyhead Mountain, known locally as Mynydd Twr, stands at a modest 220 metres as the highest point on Anglesey. This rocky outcrop on Holy Island has a rich history, with the remains of Caer y Twr (a late Roman watchtower) and Iron Age huts scattered across its slopes. Archaeological evidence suggests human occupation here dating back to the Stone Age.

I chose to start my hike from South Stack Lighthouse, where there’s free parking at the RSPB South Stack reserve. This facility also offers a cafe and toilets for visitors. One note for future reference - the main car park near the visitor centre tends to get extremely busy during peak times, and I’ve made a mental note to try the smaller but quieter Ellin’s Tower car park on future visits.

From the parking area, I followed a clear and well-maintained footpath heading northeast across the open access land. Several path options are available in this initial section. The terrain is typical coastal heathland, with patches of heather and gorse adding colour to the landscape.

After passing the distinctive radio station masts that are visible from much of the surrounding area, I continued along the Wales Coast Path as it winds its way northeast. The final approach involved a short ascent up the western face of the mountain, which presented no technical challenges - just a steady climb on a good path to the trig point at the 220-metre summit.

Unfortunately, the views from the summit were largely obscured by low cloud on this occasion. On clearer days, visitors can expect panoramic vistas across Anglesey, the Irish Sea, and even the mountains of Snowdonia and the Irish coast.

I set up my radio equipment at a convenient small stone shelter near the summit and began my Summits on the Air activation. Despite the relatively low altitude, the coastal position provided excellent radio propagation, allowing me to make six contacts on the 2-metre band. The highlight was a summit-to-summit contact with Ian GI0AZB/P, who was operating from Slievelamagan (GI/MM-006) in the Mourne Mountains of Northern Ireland.

After completing the activation, I returned via the same route back to South Stack. This out-and-back walk covered 3.4 kilometres with 170 metres of ascent, making for a pleasant and undemanding excursion that took just over an hour.

Holyhead Mountain offers an excellent option for those visiting North Wales who may be looking for a gentler alternative to the higher Snowdonia peaks, or perhaps seeking to escape poor weather in the mountains. The combination of historical interest, coastal scenery, and relatively easy access makes it well worth including in your itinerary if you’re in the area. Additionally, for those interested in rock climbing, the mountain features a variety of short routes on its quartzite faces.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Holyhead Mountain on Friday 2nd July, 2021.

Walking Route for Holyhead Mountain

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Holyhead Mountain. The GW/NW-069 summit area is marked on the map with a blue pin icon.

You can download the route shown above as a GPX file suitable for use with most GPS devices. This file is provided for information only, to support your own walk planning and research (it may contain navigation errors, detours and/or safety hazards). The route downloads provided here are governed by the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.

Station Log

I logged the following 6 amateur radio contacts operating as MW1HAX/P from GW/NW-069 Holyhead Mountain on Friday 2nd July, 2021 (all times shown are UTC):

In the notes field I will usually log the other operator’s name and the signal report they provided. In accordance with the Summits on the Air rules, I do not make a log entry where a complete exchange of callsigns and signal reports was unsuccessful.

Additional Information

The following resources may be helpful to walkers, mountaineers and SOTA activators interested in Holyhead Mountain:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/NW-069 Holyhead Mountain.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Holyhead Mountain.
• Google Maps Page for Holyhead Mountain.
• Wikipedia entry for Holyhead Mountain.
• 360° Panorama near summit of GW/NW-069 Holyhead Mountain.

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