It was well after lunch when I finally put the dogs in the van, closed up the tent and went out for the afternoon. I needed to call at Asda in Llangefni for some dog mixer - my local store back home had been out of stock - so I decided on a circular drive round the island, stopping at Penrhos for my customary cheeseburger then calling at Cemaes Bay for a bit of photography. Driving along the road from Benllech to Llangefni it crossed my mind that I could do with having some sort of device fitted to the van whereby I could just tell it where to go and it would take me there - a sort of cross between a satnav and some form of remote controlled steering - as I've driven to Llangefni and Penrhos so often the van should know its own way there. Once I got to Asda it didn't take me long to locate and purchase the dog mixer - thank heavens for stores open on Sundays - then I drove through the town to the A5 and headed for Penrhos, stopping off at the Stermat store on the way there. I only went in to look round but I found a great dish drainer in red which would just do for my kitchen at home so I was glad I had stopped.
The car park at Penrhos was almost full but I did manage to find a space overlooking the bay and once parked up I went across to the burger bar to order my cheeseburger and coffee then took them back to the van where I could sit and look at the view while I dined. The cheeseburger was followed by the rare treat of a white Magnum, then totally satisfied I hit the road for Cemaes Bay. Remembering that the car park there isn't cheap I didn't even bother going down to it when I arrived, instead I managed to find a space up on the road like I did last year. Just near to where I parked was a very pleasant grassy area with a bench seat overlooking the bay and a small sloping garden with a profusion of grasses, plants and flowering shrubs, so I spent a few minutes taking some photos before getting the dogs out of the van.
From there I went down the hill to the promenade and walked right along to the far end and back, taking photos as I went, then went round to explore the harbour area. The tide was well in, filling the little harbour and surrounding all the boats which I had previously only seen leaning at crazy angles while beached on the sand. It made such a difference to the views; the whole scene was very colourful and I was spoilt for choice where photography was concerned. I think if there ever comes a time when I want to have a change from camping at Benllech I'll look for a site close to Cemaes Bay as it really is a lovely little place.
It was hard to tear myself away from Cemaes as it was so nice, but there was somewhere else I wanted to go to so I made my way back to the van and drove up onto the main road, continuing east until I came to Amlwch where I turned off and headed for Point Lynas. This was a place I had never been to before, and looking at the map book gave no indication that it was actually worth going to, but a UKCS member had mentioned it on one of the forums and said it was nice so I thought I would check it out. Away from the outskirts of Amlwch the lane was very twisty and at one point I wasn't sure I was going the right way but eventually I drove down a hill and reached a bay at the bottom where a sign by the roadside told me I was in the right place. Unfortunately there was nowhere to park just there so I had to turn round and go back up the hill where I found a grassy car park which was free of charge - and judging by the half dozen or so 4 x 4 vehicles and boat trailers parked there it seemed that the little bay was quite a popular place for water sports.
With the dogs on the lead I walked back down the hill; there was a concrete slipway leading from the road down onto the beach and another lane going off to the right which was the access road to the lighthouse on the headland so I decided to explore along there, and with it being up above the road I got some great views over the bay.
With no general traffic along the lane it was very quiet so I was able to let Sophie and Sugar off the lead; I walked right round the bay and out along the headland almost to the lighthouse but unfortunately I couldn't take any more photos as my camera batteries decided to die a death, and unusually for me I didn't have any spares. I had walked quite a distance from where I parked the van so there was no way I was going to walk all the way back, drive back into Amlwch for some batteries then return and do the walk again just for a few photos of the lighthouse, so I decided I would call it a day and return another time. Back at the van I gave the dogs a drink then once they were safely on their bed I set off back to the camp site.
By the time I had parked up on my pitch I was more than ready for a brew so I put the kettle on and fed the dogs then spent half an hour or so relaxing outside the tent and watching the comings and goings of other campers. Later on I switched on the laptop, downloaded the day's photos and spent an hour reading through the latest threads on UKCS, then just before it went dark I took the dogs for their final walk of the day. It wasn't late when I got back but the sea air had got the better of me and I was more than ready for my bed - I think the dogs were too as they curled up straight away on theirs and I didn't hear anything from them after that, just Sugar's occasional snores as I snuggled down in my own bed for the night.
