A working lighthouse on a rocky islet off Holy Island, reached by a long flight of steps and a bridge across a deep channel
South Stack is a small rocky island just off the western tip of Holy Island, on the far side of Anglesey, and the lighthouse stands on top of it. Getting there is half the fun: you walk down a long, steep flight of steps cut into the cliff, then cross a bridge over the narrow channel that separates the islet from the mainland. Trinity House built the tower in the early nineteenth century to warn ships off the rocks on the busy sea route between Dublin and Holyhead, and it is still a working light, automated now rather than staffed.
The cliffs above are as much of a draw as the lighthouse. This is one of the best seabird spots in Wales, with guillemots, razorbills and puffins packed onto the ledges in spring and early summer, and choughs and peregrines about too. The South Stack Cliffs are managed as a nature reserve, and there is a viewpoint at Ellin’s Tower where you can watch the birds without doing the climb.
The steps down to the bridge are steep and there are a lot of them, so it is a proper leg-stretch back up, and the crossing can shut in high winds. When it is open you can usually go into the lighthouse itself and up the tower. The whole headland sits at the end of Holyhead Mountain, and the Wales Coast Path runs along the clifftops here, so it is easy to make a longer walk of it around this corner of Anglesey.
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