Amelia's photos

South Stack Lighthouse was built by Trinity House in 1809, marking a tiny islet off Anglesey at the north west tip of Wales. It is located on a small island reached via a descent of 400 steps down the steep mainland cliffs. I would have liked to climb all the way down and onto the small island, but after about 300 steps down I began to get worried about climbing back up again as I am not fully fit yet, so we spent some time looking at the birds then slowly made our way back to the top. Next time we visit I'll go all the way down.

Macro Monday today: Gears.

The flowers in the foreground are Scilla verna - Spring Squill. Spring Squill populations are in decline and these lovely plants can now only be found in Britain on the western coasts; they occur also on parts of the eastern coast of Ireland. Beside the coastal paths of West Wales you will find these pretty spring flowers on dry grassy slopes. Like most cliff-top wildflowers, Scilla verna is low growing and very tolerant of salt spray.

Sea campion is a native perennial of our coasts found on various habitats including sea-cliffs, shingles, sand dunes and strand lines. It can tolerate high nutrient levels (i.e. guano) and is particularly abundant on off-shore rocky islands and inaccessible cliff tops where large seabird colonies occur.

Elin's Tower (Welsh: Tŵr Elin) is a short castellated tower located around 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Holyhead, Anglesey. Built between 1820 and 1850 by the locally well known Stanley family from Penrhos, it was originally used as a summer house. Set on the western edge of Anglesey, the dramatic cliffs, wide seascape with gorse and heather-covered landscapes of the RSPB's South Stack reserve offer something for everyone. Whether it's the dramatic setting of the 19th century lighthouse and suspension bridge at the foot of 60 metre (200 ft) cliffs or the spectacle of thousands of nesting sea birds perched perilously on cliff edges.

The tide was rapidly coming in with a 2-pronged attack, so we decided to get back to the car in order to continue our coastal exploration. We'll come back here another time.

To get to this beach one must pay a toll of £5, which might seem excessive, but the walk is worth every penny. Excellent parking (and clean toilets), and a place where one should spend at least a whole day exploring. Unfortunately we didn't have the luxury of time, but will definitely visit again.

This lake is part of a series of lakes which is optimistically called Shropshire's Lake District. It isn't possible to walk all the way round the lake unfortunately; but the whole walk is about 2 miles. I was hoping to see some young goslings or cygnets, but I only spotted one duck with 3 ducklings.

The Saturday Self Challenge this week is: Selective Colour I have used this technique twice in the last 2 weeks, so I thought a bit of subtlety wouldn't go amiss. I chose this clematis, 'Guernsey Cream', which is a creamy white with pale green veining as my subject. The backdrop is part of the National Trust house in Bodnant Garden.

The PiP is taken 24 hours earlier. The British weather can be very erratic. ;-)

We had a day of four seasons. After a promising start, rain clouds formed over the sea, then the rain arrived onto this beach, eventually turning to hail. By lunchtime the sun was shining and eventually it was jackets and water-proof clothing removed.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plas_Newydd_(Anglesey)