Anglesey sun and sea

On Monday 1st August I spent five days on Anglesey with Sue and my in-laws.

After a fairly uneventful trip up by train to Bangor, where I was picked up by Sue from the station, I settled down for a full five days holiday in Anglesey. The weather had been hot and sticky in London but as soon as the train slipped into Wales grey skies started to dominate and I was left wondering what the weather would be like. I needn’t have worried.

Tuesday 2nd August started cloudy enough but by afternoon the sun had come out and the skies had turned a glorious shade of blue. The heat of the sun was offset by a refreshing sea breeze. Sue and I spent the morning visiting Beaumaris town, walking along the pier (where major works were underway) and up mount field. The town teemed with holidaymakers and there was bustle everywhere. We popped into the butchers to get some pre-ordered crab for tea and then returned to my in-laws house, perched on the hillside just on the edge of town, with wonderful views over the Menai straits to the mountains of Snowdonia.

After dinner we set off to find the hidden gardens of Plas Cadnant which we had read about in a national newspaper magazine. What a find this turned out to be!

Even before we got to the garden itself the long driveway and approach turned out to be splendid with mature trees overhanging a steep side and providing shade from the increasingly warm sunshine. We arrived at the end of the drive by some holiday cottages and wondered whether the gardens were open. Later we were to find out that in fact they weren’t but as there was no gate to bar our entry or a clear sign to say that the gardens were closed we entered and found ourselves alone in a garden paradise.

The first sight on entering the garden was a large formal walled area with a central lawn leading down a slope to a deep rectangular pond. Along one side was an expansive herbaceous border and along the other was a delightful pathway and steps that led between more herbaceous borders interspersed with areas set out to benches and views over the garden.

To find such a large formal garden hidden away in a secret little valley was a wonderful surprise in itself and initially I thought that this was the whole extent of the garden. But passing through a doorway and tunnel at the far end we entered a wonderland of natural landscaping. Gone were the straight lines and formal gravel paths to be replaced by winding paths down through little dells and valleys all laid out with thick lush planting. Following the path to the very bottom of this miniature valley I came to an enchanting pool where a small waterfall sang as it cascaded over rocks to form a small clear lagoon. The water was inviting and I yearned to take a plunge and swim through the crystal clear water.

Such thoughts are pleasant but unrealistic and so I made my way back up the path and rejoined Sue and my father-in-law and mother-in-law. After a another walk around the paths we finally and rather reluctantly left. As we drove back down the driveway we reflected on the secret treasure that lay just a few miles from my in-laws home.

Driving on past Beaumaris town we followed the road around the south east coast until we came to Penmon beach. This is one of our favourite sites on Anglesey. Puffin island sits enticingly just a matter of metres away across a racing channel of water and Penmon lighthouse stands resolute, its warning bell filling the air with its regular doleful peal. We sat and had tea from the nearby cafe and walked down to the edge of the pebble beach to admire the view before heading back home.

The following day (Wednesday 3rd) started with the promise of fine warm weather and the promise turned out to be true. We drove over to the other side of the island to Roscolyn. There at the bay of Borthwen we picked up the coastal path that encircles the island. Walking along the path as it hugs the coast we looked out over a sea that sparkled in the bright sunshine like the warm waters of the Mediterranean. Soft light blues, where the sandy sea bottom shone through, were contrasted with richer, darker  turquoise hues. And the sky was not to be left out of this colourful display competing with the colours of the sea to produce an intoxicating range of delightful blues of its own. Across this stunning canvas of sky clouds of all sorts of shapes, some fluffy and light other thin and stretched out, but all of purest white hung against the blue backdrop.

Walking on past a small coastguard station on a hilltop overlooking the splendour of the sea and sky we carried on until we came to St. Gwenfaen’s well, a low small brick ruin that no doubt in years gone by would have been used for religious ceremonies. The water in St. Gwenfaen’s well was reputed to cure all manner of ills including mental illness but I decided not to test it powers!

The highlight of the walk however was coming across two arches where the power of the sea had eroded a gap in the fingers of land that poked out impudently into the sea. One was aptly named Bwa Gwyn (white arch) and the other equally well named as Bwa Du (black arch). At their base and along the coastline boulders could be seen below the clear seawater. I remember well scuba diving off this coast in the past just a little further south at Trearddur bay and it was like diving in mud! Now I marvelled at the clarity of the water.

Eventually we started to reluctantly head inland and leave the glorious vistas afforded by the path and found ourselves at the ‘White Eagle’ pub. There we had a very pleasant meal sitting outside on a raised platform that had splendid views across the sea to the mountains beyond.

The rest of our afternoon was spent sun bathing on the soft sand of Borthwen Bay before heading back home and an evening meal at the Neptune’s restaurant in Beaumaris.

Thursday 4th Aug started grey but became brighter as the day wore on and by the afternoon the sun had come out and bathed the island in bright sunshine. In the morning we made our way to Red Wharf bay by way of the narrow road that leads down from Llandonna, perched on top of the island, to the wide expanse of sand. Perhaps more than any other place on Anglesey Red Wharf Bay holds a special place in my heart. Sue and I are drawn back to it time and time again. Perhaps it is the memories of the children playing on the beach when they were younger that makes it so special or just the magic of the place. We took off our shoes and went paddling along the shore where the waves lapped the shallow sandy beach, enjoying the tingling feeling of the cold seawater on our feet. The sea may have displayed itself in all the colours of the med but one foot in the water told you straight away that these weren’t those warm waters but rather the cold waters of the Irish sea!

After our walk on the beach we drove haphazardly around the island until we found ourselves in Church bay, a wonderful little cove opposite the busy Holyhead harbour where the Irish ferries come and go. We discovered a delightful seafood restaurant called ‘The Lobster Pot’ and had a wonderful lunch of seafood, which for me included some Anglesey oysters. I love oysters and indeed all seafood but oysters especially. They taste to me like eating the sea itself.

After lunch we set off for a short distance along the coastal path that wends its way along the rocky cliff edge with magnificent views across the waters that sparkled in the bright afternoon sun. We sat for sometime watching a rescue helicopter in the distance that seemed to be earnestly searching the sea’s surface. We didn’t ever find out what was going on but speculated endlessly.

In the evening after returning home and having tea Sue and I set off for a walk up the vertiginous cemetery hill and then crept along the carriageway path until we came to the gasworks, a delightful rustic walk through a small valley formed by a stream. – yet another special place for us on Anglesey.

On Friday 5th August we made our way to Porth Ellias on the northern tip of the island and rejoined the coastal path on yet another bright and sunny day. If anything the views along the coast and out to sea were even more stunning than yesterday. As we walked along we heard the shrill call of an oystercatcher – peep, peep – and saw it standing on a rocky prominence no doubt guarding a nest of chicks hidden somewhere in the many crevasses and cracks afforded by that rugged shoreline.

The walk here was smothered with the most wonderful pink heather that from a distance looked for all the world as if an artist had over enthusiastically daubed the shoreline with the brightest purple he could find in his palette. While Sue sat for a while to read I made my way further along past a very narrow path along a cliff edge and sat myself for a while meditating on the view.

After returning from our coastal walk we drove a little further round the coast to Lygwy bay where a wide (but not particularly attractive) beach serviced a large caravan site. Here families and couples were camped out on the beach and children were having fun in a small lagoon formed by a stream that led out onto the wide sand. We sat and sunbathed for a while in the afternoon sun.

Returning home in the late afternoon we were soon off again with Sue’s mum and dad to an evening meal we had booked at the ‘Lobster Pot’ where we had another magnificent meal (and I had more oysters).

As we finally made our way back home to London on the following Saturday we commented on how fortunate we had been with the weather and what a lovely time we had had.