When I woke that morning I found that not only had the sunshine returned but the wind had come back too and it was blowing a gale, though fortunately the tent wasn't affected too much as the tall trees behind my pitch provided a reasonable amount of shelter. My plans for that day were to start off at the car boot sale up the hill just out of the village then drive over to Newborough beach, first walking along to Abermenai Point, the part of the island which is closest to the mainland, then maybe having another look round Llanddwyn Island if the tide wasn't in too far; however, things didn't work out like that at all.
With the wind being as strong as it was I wasn't sure if the boot sale would still be on but I went anyway and it was - and the only thing I bought was a mouse ornament to add to my collection. Finally, after many times searching that and other boot sales, I'd actually found a mouse! It wasn't as good as most in my collection but at least it looked like a proper mouse and it was one I hadn't got so I handed over my cash, tucked it into my pocket and returned to the van a very happy bunny.
The drive over to Newborough on the other side of the island involved a route which I hadn't taken before. Having previously looked at the map book I'd noticed a country lane and a B road which would take me almost in a straight line from Pentraeth, just a few miles from the camp site, right into Newborough village on the far side of the island - a much more direct route than if I went all the way round via the A roads. The first part of the route from Pentraeth village was a very narrow lane no wider than my van and more like a farm track, winding its way between high hedges. Judging by the thick line of grass growing along the middle it was a very little-used lane too, and with no passing places I just hoped I didn't meet something coming the other way. Fortunately I didn't, and the lane eventually joined the B road which took me straight into Newborough village.
Before going down to the beach there was something I wanted to check out, so I drove a couple of miles up the road to the Afon Cefni estuary at Malltraeth. Down a lane off the main road and a mile or so inland there was a stone bridge featured in the photography book, and though I didn't have the book with me the image was firmly etched in my mind so I wanted to get my own identical version of it. I found the bridge easily, parked up just before it , and wandered over and round to the other side to get my shot, which came with the added bonus of a few sheep in foreground which weren't in the book photograph.
Back at the estuary I parked the van in the small car park just off the main road and had a wander round to see if I could get any more worthwhile shots; I got two, but it was so windy and so chilly in spite of the sunshine that I really didn't want to linger too long. Across the road and fifty yards or so down the lane I'd just driven along was the Riverside Cafe so leaving the dogs in the van for once I went to get a much-needed coffee while I had a rethink on my plans.
Just out of Malltraeth I took the B4422 which would take me into Llangefni; it was an easy way back to the little town and I could make a stop there to get some bits and pieces from Asda. With the shopping done I was back at the site within fifteen minutes and happy to see that the tent was still intact; the wind did die down considerably over the following couple of hours so as the dogs had spent most of the time in the van while I'd been out I took them for a late afternoon walk round the cliff path to the beach.
Back at the tent I made a meal and a brew, and as there's never anything very interesting on tv on Saturday evenings I spent a couple of hours watching a dvd - The Theory Of Everything - and for anyone who's not yet seen it I can recommend it. As the daylight faded at 10pm I took Sophie and Poppie for their bedtime walk round the site then the three of us settled into the tent for the rest of the night, with fingers and paws crossed that the following day wouldn't be as windy as this one had been - I had big plans and I didn't want anything to ruin them.
