Exploring :: Ynys Llanddywn

Hi there everyone 😀

We have been at our lodge in North Wales now for a couple of weeks and, after a fair few days of not doing very much we felt it was time for ‘a big day out’.

There was somewhere we had been wanting to see for a while so we headed over to Anglesey … but this time, instead of taking the Menai Bridge and heading right towards Beaumaris … we took the Britannia Bridge and headed left down to the Newborough Nature Reserve. 

The place we really wanted to visit was Ynys Llanddwyn which is a small tidal island rich in legends, in particular its association with Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of lovers. Llanddwyn actually means “The church of St Dwynwen”. The island bearing the ruined remains of St Dwynwen’s church. 

From pictures we’d seen It looked beautiful with lots to see, for such a small area, with ancient crosses and lighthouses, as well as the church ruins. 

When we set out for Anglesey we didn’t really think we’d be able to walk right out to the island as it’s about a four mile walk there and back, which is a fair way further than we’d normally attempt. I was just hopeful we may be able to walk part way and get some photos from a distance.

There’s a nice big car park at the nature reserve and it cost just £2.00 for four hours. There are toilets and an ice cream van at the car park, which is pretty much on the beach. It wasn’t long before we were on the most beautiful sandy beach, with plenty of blue sky and warm sunshine with this as the view back across to the mainland …

We could see the island ahead of us with the lighthouse at the far end and I said to Martin … “I think we might be able to make it” … it really didn’t look too far and it just looked so beautiful that we decided we’d give it a go and see how we got on …

Just above Martin’s head is the lighthouse at the end of the island and where we were heading …

It really was a lovely beach … backed with dunes and pine trees …

It was one of those walks … by the time we were really tired and beginning to realise it was further than it looked we’d really gone too far to give up …

There aren’t many spots on the beach to take a breather so  we made good use of the one patch of rocks that we did find …

… with this now as our view looking back across to the mainland …

… and this our view through the photo ball that we’d decided to bring out to have a play with …

We didn’t give up and were eventually at the information board at the beginning of the island … we definitely couldn’t give up now …

There were plenty of people about but it was still lovely and from the minute we stepped on the island there were lots of good photo opportunities to be had …

… with tantalising glimpses of what was ahead to spur us on …

Everyone was in good spirits and we stopped and chatted with lots of people along the way.

Whilst we would have preferred it with a few less people about it was still possible to get some decent shots of the ruined church …

… the ancient Celtic cross …

… The Pilots’ Cottages … which is where pilots who helped guide ships into the Menai Strait would have lived …

The stone wall of the cottages was a lovely place to rest our legs and watch the world go by for a while before I decided I would walk over to Twr Bach … a small unlit tower standing 5m tall. It is thought the tower was built in the early 1800s to guide pilgrims crossing between Anglesey’s islands …

We really would have loved to have carried on that little bit further and climbed the steps up to the Twr Mawr lighthouse, which was built in 1873 to replace the Twr Bach, but we really thought that would be pushing it so made do with some photos from a bit of a distance …

Before heading back, knowing how far we’d got to walk, we both agreed that, however shattered we were by the time we got back, the walk had definitely been worth it … though I think the memory of how far it was will need to fade a bit before we do it again. 

It was such a lovely day I even took my fleece off on the way back and wasn’t that far off taking off my shoes and having a paddle … but I think I would have had a rude awakening as I’m sure the sea would have been a bit fresh …

Back at the car we had a welcome sit down and raided the snack box before heading for home.

We did stop to pick up a Geocache along the way at a very pretty church with the most beautiful outlook …

Whilst we were both absolutely shattered we’d had the loveliest of days and were so glad we’d managed to explore Ynys Llanddwyn. It had most definitely been worth the effort 😀

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Lodge Life :: March 23 - #2

Hi there everyone 😀

We headed back across to North Wales and our lodge earlier this week for our first Easter stay. 

We had been hoping to be further on in the garden at home before we left … but the weather had been against us … though there were a few more bits starting to make a spring showing …

It was this time last year when we stayed in a cottage on The Llyn Peninsular and we loved it so much that we decided it would be a good spot for a possible holiday bolthole … and here we are 12 months on … looking forward to finding out how busy everywhere would get over the Easter weekend.

It was a bit of a slow get away, getting stuck behind the bin lorry before even getting out of our street … and it was our first trip without Ken Bruce and we really missed our 10.30 Pop Master fix … if you are a Radio 2 listener you will probably know where I am coming from.

Once we got off the A5 and were heading towards Knockin we started to relax into the journey and it was lovely to be driving roads less travelled, with hedgerows and roadsides litter free.

Being our first trip at this time of year it was lovely to see so many swathes of bright yellow daffodils and I did try and capture a few shots, though it was raining for most of our journey …

It was also lovely to see so many spring lambs but I wouldn’t have been able to get close enough to photograph these without getting soaked so no pictures of those I’m afraid.

Day 2 was Martin’s birthday. It rained pretty much all day and we didn’t go anywhere. We just spent a very lazy day pottering, reading and just generally chilling out on a very nice quiet site … we hadn’t seen another soul since we arrived. 

We did see plenty of bird life though, including our first song thrush along with the usual suspects of blackbirds, magpies, pheasants, crows, rooks, doves and a pretty chaffinch. 

Day 3 and it was time to hit Asda for a big shop, ready to do some batch cooking for friends who are coming for the Easter weekend.

When we got back the rain had abated and Martin was feeling energetic so did some jet washing. I wasn’t feeling anywhere near that energetic so straightened my hair, filed my nails and read the paper 😜

We did have a look at the weather forecast for the Easter weekend and so far it is looking pretty darn good … let’s hope it stays that way …

On day 4 we thought we ought to make a bit of an effort and venture out somewhere other than the supermarket. The weather wasn’t looking that good so we opted to try out a new cafe for brunch.

We headed for Glynllifon Park which is set in a lovely spot. We haven’t explored the park yet but were hoping just to avail ourselves of the cafe which comes with fab reviews …

Sadly the cafe was closed …

… so we ended up heading down to Dinas Dinlle Beach and BRAF, which is another cafe we’ve been wanting to try out …

It was nice and bright inside, spotlessly clean and very friendly. There was just a brunch menu on offer but it looked pretty interesting and a little bit different, if quite pricy, so we decided to go for it …

I had the breakfast and Martin went for the Huevos Rancheros. Both were really tasty and went down a treat

We were both very tempted by the enormous home made tea cakes but decided against it for today.

From here we headed Llandwrog to have a look at the Blythe Farm Emporium to see if it was somewhere worth visiting on a rainy day when we had people staying. 

We had a good mooch round and there was lots of old and interesting stuff but nothing we fancied buying on this visit …

Once back at the lodge it was another chilled out afternoon just sitting reading and looking at the view. March has ended with a bit of blue sky and the merest hint of sunshine. Fingers crossed for plenty more of that for April 🤞🤞🤞

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