Exploring Anglesey

The boy went off to stay with his friend again, so Mum and Dad had a think about what to do with a day that was forecast overcast in the morning and sunnny in the afternoon.  After cycling through many options it was decided that today would be a great day to explore the isle of Anglesey.  So they put on their fleeces, unplugged the Satnav and left for North West Wales.  Sadly Mum forgot her camera, but her iPhone was to hand as usual!

The first place along their journey was Treaddur Bay.  Dad found this place difficult to pronounce so he named it 'Treacle Bay'!  Before venturing towards the shoreline, cash was grabbed from the local corner shop cash machine and Dad treated himself to a nice sausage and bacon bap with oodles of ketchup.  They took it to the beach and sat on the ramp, listening to the gentle waves on the pebbles and swatting away the occasional pesky fly.

The view of Treaddur Bay from the ramp.

After that, Mum decided to skim a few stones and did a lot better than she usually does!  And then they clambered up onto the rocks and sat watching the whirlpools and eddies, children crabbing, people paddling about in canoes and even someone having a swim.  The clouds started slowly burning up, the temperature got even more pleasant and all was well with the world.  Ahhhhh =)

Together on the rocks at Treaddur Bay

Dad on the rocks.

Mum loved this pretty little Sea Pink flower, peeking out of the rocks.  There were many more to be seen later in the day!

It was time to end a very pleasant hour spent in Treaddur and head out for some more exploration.  Many a secluded pebbled cove was passed along their winding and scenic journey along the coast towards the South Stack.  After finding a parking spot and having a near miss with the filthiest council-run toilet facilities EVER, they ventured into the RSPB South Stack Cliffs centre to use their clean facilities and buy two tickets for a visit to a lighthouse!  Exciting stuff!

Before descending the cliffs, though, they took a look around Ellins Tower, a strange building which is used to observe the cliff-nesting birds, of which there were many!  Whilst in the tower, they saw harbour porpoises!  Real porpoises!!!  This made Mum and Dad very happy indeed.  There seemed to be two out there in the big, big sea, their fins bobbing up and down.  It was so nice to see them, even from such a distance.

Ellins Tower

The views across to South Stack and the lighthouse were fantastic!  It was very, very high up and there were lots of people with cameras and huge lenses that were taking advantage of the lofty ledge at the top of the cliff and watching the birds as they fought and sat on their nests.

South Stack from Ellins Tower

South Stack from the cliff edge.

It was time to find the path down the cliffs and take a look at the lighthouse.  The steps were winding, uneven and steep in parts, but there was a good wall between Mum and Dad and the huge drop.

A loooong way down.

Nearly time to cross over to the island by way of a bridge that was thankfully not made of rope!

A small gap in the rocks gave Mum and Dad a fantastic view into the swirling depths below.  And more of those pretty Sea Pinks.

They reached the bridge and showed their tickets to the nice lady in the booth.  She told them that the gulls were busy sitting on their nests at the moment, but if they were left alone then they wouldn't cause any trouble.  Mum and Dad didn't want their eyes pecked out, so it was unanimously and subconsciously decided that the gulls _would_ be left alone!

On reaching the lighthouse building, they were met by a tour guide who would escort them to the top of the lighthouse.  Mum and Dad had the chance to look around the information room first and learned lots of interesting stuff about the history of South Stack.  The first bridge was indeed made out of rope and the first fogbell was a large bell but turned upside down and banged with a hammer.

An old map of South Stack inside the information centre.

Once they had had chance to learn more about the lighthouse it was up, up and up, and round, round and round, and then up some steps that were so steep they were probably better classed as being a ladder and then....they were at the very top of the lighthouse, in the room where the light shines twenty four hours a day and the lens turns, turns and turns.  Mum found this all extremely exciting stuff!!   The views were amazing, the porpoises were closer, the old lenses hummed and turned and a vast amount of information was given by the tour guide.

The lenses at South Stack have not been changed since 1874!

Looking out of the windows.

And then it was time to go down, down and down and round, round and round with their jelly legs.  Over a hundred steps!

Looking up at the bottom of the stairs.

Mum liked this building with its whitewashed walls, green doors and lichen-covered slate roof.  Sadly the sun was glaring and she couldn't see what she was taking a picture of for most of the day!  But hey ho, there's Mum's finger and proof that she was there that day hahaha!

Dad loved this natural archway, carved from the cliff by nothing more than the power of the wind, rain and the salty waves.  There was also a fantastic cave but it couldn't be photographed at the right angle.

Dad also loved being able to see the strata of igneous rock.

Mum loved the bluegreen sea, photographed here by the bridge to take them back to the mainland.  Except isn't not mainland, is it?!  The main island, then ;)

There was no getting away from it now.  All that stood between them and the ice cream van in the car park were 1126 steps.  Let's just say that Mum and Dad aren't getting any younger and stopped for a few breaks on the way up!

At the top, a cold drink was breathily requested and shared and then it was back to the car for more exploration after a FABULOUS time at South Stack.

They drove through Holyhead but found it to be a little disappointing.  It was not pretty or quaint but it was quickly behind them as they found their way onto an almost isolated A55.  Down they zipped, to the south of Anglesey and decided to head to the south eastern town of Beaumaris.  Here they parked on the banks of the Menai Strait with what an estate agent would describe as 'arresting views of Snowdonia'.

The Menai Strait with lovely views of mountains and hills and boats.

It was time for lunch, by then, so it was off into the town centre for a bite to eat.  Dad fancied a sandwich and bought a turkey and stuffing one from a local bakery.  Mum fancied a salad and almost gave up on the idea since nobody seemed to sell them.  She finally found herself in a cafe and asked the lady at the counter.  The lady was very busy cleaning up for the day but ran and fetched fresh things and quickly had a lovely pot of salad, all chopped and arranged with a slice of home-baked ham.  Mum was so happy with it!  They took their food to the banks and sat munching it and slurping their drink and crunching Hula Hoops.  Absolutely fantastic!

Mum's superduper salad, just what she fancied and only £2.50!

Once fed and watered, they went back into the town.  They had a look around a wonderful art gallery that was right up Mum's street (sadly not literally!)  Dad treated himself to a Belgian chocolate ice cream and treated Mum to some delicious fudge and a postcard and some wrapping paper from the art gallery.

The beauuuuuuutiful postcard that Mum got from the art gallery.  It's a picture of Ellins Tower, South Stack and the lighthouse by Janet Bell.  Very inspirational!

It was such a lovely day of exploration!  Mum and Dad didn't want to leave.  They didn't want the day to end.  But they _did_ want to see The Boy and so they went home again.  But maybe there will be an Anglesey part 2 in the future!