About Me

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Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it

Tuesday - May 31st 2016 - "Underground, overground, wombling free..."

Another fabulously warm and sunny morning arrived but with it came the very reluctant task of packing everything up and going home. After the first dog walk along the beach and a leisurely breakfast I made a start, though with no real reason to rush I took my time about it, then just before I dismantled the tent I took a photo of where it was pitched to remind myself not to put it there again as the ground wasn't level.


Now, anyone in this country who is of a certain age may very well remember the Wombles - fictional furry creatures who lived on Wimbledon Common and recycled other peoples' rubbish into something useful - and it was when I took my own rubbish over to the bin compound that I became a Womble myself. Stacked upright between two of the bins were six large square foam mats, the type which fit together like jigsaw puzzle pieces, and other than a few dirty marks on the underside where they'd been on the grass they were all very clean and in perfect condition - far too good to be in the rubbish. So this little Womble carried them back to the van and stashed them with the rest of the camping gear, and they'll be 'recycled' for use in my own tent at a later date.

With everything finally packed away I took the dogs for a last walk round the site then set off on the drive home. I wouldn't miss Anglesey too much though as in only five days time I would be back again, this time for a full ten days holiday, and if the weather turns out to be as good as the last few days then I'll be a very happy bunny - or would that be Womble?




Monday May 30th 2016 - Part 2 - Penrhos, Cemaes & Amlwch

After my visit to the secret garden it was time for lunch and there was only one place to go for that - Pete's Burger Bar at Penrhos coastal park. The car park was full when I got there, such is the popularity of the place, so I had to park right next to the burger van, but while I was waiting for my cheeseburger to be cooked a space became vacant so I got back in the van and nipped into it before anyone else got there. The cheeseburger and coffee were just as good as always, then to counteract all the calories I'd just consumed I took the dogs for a walk.

My initial route followed a path which ran parallel to the main road for quite a distance and it brought me out on a section of Penrhos beach which I hadn't been to before. I'd seen the beach from the far end on a previous occasion and wasn't terribly impressed, but viewed from this end it looked okay and was worth a photo. Following a section of the Anglesey Coastal Path took me past the old stone boat house which I discovered last year, past several little coves and bays and finally ended back at the car park.
    

The walk had been a good one and had taken over an hour, so added to the walk I'd taken to get to the secret garden I decided I'd gone far enough so would make my way back to the camp site via the coast road but stop briefly at a couple of places just for a few more photos. First was Cemaes where I got some shots of the main street, beach and harbour, then my second stop was further round the coast at Amlwch.



The harbour at Amlwch is a strange little place, long and narrow with boats moored up one behind the other just on one side and it isn't easy to get many really attractive photos - unless I want to risk falling several feet into the water - however I managed a couple of shots and decided those would be the last ones of the day and I would head back to the camp site without stopping anywhere else.



Back at the tent my evening was spent alternately reading and watching a dvd, then just before the daylight faded completely I took Sophie and Poppie for their bedtime walk round the site. Snuggled down in bed later on I thought back over the previous twelve hours and my visit to the secret garden; finding out about it and actually getting to it had been a bit of a nightmare, then finding it closed was certainly a disappointment, but thanks to the kind lady who let me look round I came away with some lovely photos and memories of a really special place.