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

Thursday July 13th 2017 - Part 2 - Ambling round Amlwch


The next bit of exploration that day was totally unplanned and done on the spur of the moment. From Dulas Bay I drove up the A5025 towards Parys mountain, with the intention of exploring some of the parts of it I didn't see on my visit there a couple of years ago, however as I got near to it I could see there was a huge patch of white cloud sitting right over it, and though the sun was still shining any photos I took would have a washed-out look. So I changed direction and drove over to Amlwch harbour instead; I've been there several times over the last few years and nothing ever changes but it's an attractive little place and always worth a few more photos.

Leaving the van in the car park beyond the fishing dock I walked back down the hill to the Sail Loft cafe with the intention of getting something to eat and drink, only to find that the place was closed. The sign on the door which displayed the opening times told me it should have been open but the door was firmly locked so obviously it wasn't, though I wasn't too disappointed. With a photo taken overlooking the dock I went down the hill to the harbour side and treated myself to a white Magnum from the gift shop at the entrance to the Copper Kingdom Centre, then set out on my next quest. 



Situated somewhere on the cliff top across the other side of the harbour was an old windmill - it could be seen from the road above the quayside and I'd noticed it on previous occasions though I'd never thought to try and find it before. This time though I decided to go and look for it but with no idea of its exact whereabouts or how close I could get it was a case of following my nose until I found it. 

From the harbour side I went up onto the main road which ran through the village, turned right then a hundred yards or so along turned right again. A very pleasant minor road with houses and gardens on one side and hedges on the other soon narrowed into a lane with views over the harbour; this in turn narrowed into a track no wider than a normal car, and with dense trees and shrubbery to my right I lost sight of the harbour so I could only hope that the satnav part of my brain was taking me in the right direction.

A bit further on the track went uphill and joined a tarmac lane which skirted round a large fenced off area of private land - and there on the right, set back just a few yards from the lane, was the windmill. Research has since told me that this was Melin y Borth, a corn mill built in 1816, and with seven floors and a height of over 60ft it was the tallest windmill on Anglesey. It closed for business sometime in the early 20th century, the buildings surrounding it disappeared and by 1929 it was an empty shell. The land on which it stands is now owned by Anglesey Council and steps have been taken to halt the mill's decline. I would have loved to have a look inside but sadly it wasn't possible so I had to be happy with a photo taken from the outside.


Making my way back towards the harbour I passed a house with a garden which was a riot of colour. A packed border ran the length of the path and the gravelled area was filled with several wooden planters and pots; it looked lovely, and was certainly worth a quick photo. Across the road a small open grassy area with a recently painted bench overlooked the harbour, and steps down the cliff side took me from there back to the end of the quay.



I crossed from one side of the quay to the other at the top end of the slipway, though I did walk down it far enough to get another photo, then I made my way back towards the car park, stopping every so often to get shots of the various boats moored alongside the harbour wall. I've probably taken the same shots of the same boats several times over the last few years but it's such a lovely little place that I can't resist taking more.



As I walked back past the entrance to the Copper Kingdom Centre I was very tempted to get myself another Magnum but I resisted - one treat in the day was enough and the afternoon was getting on anyway so I decided to head back to the camp site and make myself a proper meal, though I did make a slight detour on the way.

The little sailing cove of Traeth Bychan (Small Beach) lay at the bottom of a lane off the A5025, about a mile and a half from the camp site; it's an attractive little place with a cottage which has an unusual and jumbled up mish-mash of a garden so I decided to pay a return visit. Unfortunately by then I'd left the blue sky behind and much of this part of the island was covered in thick white cloud but I still managed to get a handful of photos, although the garden ones would have looked much better with a blue sky.


Back at the camp site I prepared a meal for myself and settled in for the rest of the day. The cloud eventually cleared and the sun came out in force again but other than the bedtime dog walk later on I had no desire to go anywhere else - I'd had enough adventure for one day so it was time to relax for a while.



14 comments:

  1. Going to places like the above without leaving my seat has really cheered me. How I recall with cat, husband going off in our caravan, after his death just me and cat for a couple of years. Brings back fond memories and I hope you have plenty more wonderful travels to share.

    Yvonne.

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    1. You must have some lovely memories of your caravan travels Yvonne, it's nice to think that my posts and photos bring some of them back for you :)

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  2. Amlwch is a very pretty place. I like both gardens and love the organised borders and pots garden although the mish-mash garden is nice in it's own way. Just a shame the sun disappeared!

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  3. I've taken photos of the mish-mash garden on a couple of occasions before, now I've got an excuse to go and take some more when there's a blue sky. :)
    I really liked the organised garden though, the colours in the pots and borders were so bright :)

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  4. Lovely photos. Boats are so very photogenic, aren't they? And I love the mish-mash garden. I remember the mill. There was a swarm of insects near the top, making a mini whirlwind shape. Watched them for ages. Too high to see what they were, but maybe a swarm of bees.

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  5. I love boats and water, always a good subject for photos. Some of your posts from your walk round Anglesey last year have inspired me to seek out a few places I didn't know existed (in spite of going camping there for 20 years) though I only managed to get to a couple of them this time. Still, there's always next year...and the next... :)

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    1. Have you been to the giant stepping stones near Dwyran yet? I can't remember. Well worth a visit, if only for the sheer terror of walking across them!

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    2. The stepping stones are on my list Ruth but I haven't got to them yet, also I believe there's nowhere close by to park so I'd have a long walk. I didn't get round that part of the island at all this time but I'll try to remember that one for next year.

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  6. Really beautiful, the satnav part of your brain seems to work very well.

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  7. Amlwch is a very photogenic little place Anabel. As for my 'satnav brain' I've always had a very good sense of direction and very rarely get lost anywhere, even when it's somewhere I've never been to before. Many people think I'm odd because I don't have a satnav in the van but I don't need one - anyway, what did we all do before they were invented?? :)

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    1. In my case, got lost! I can get lost even with the satnav.

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    2. Years ago I got a satnav for my partner. I couldn't drive back then so he was the driver and I was the navigator with the map book, but on long overnight journeys it meant I had to stay awake, so I got the satnav for him to follow so it didn't matter if I had a snooze. It was worse than useless though, all the directions were opposite to what they should have been and it couldn't even navigate us back from my mum's less than two miles away. When it tried to send us the wrong way down a motorway we gave up with it and I went back to using a map book. I've used one ever since, and that and my good sense of direction have very rarely let me down :)

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  8. Quite nice it seems in that area over the past few weeks gone to snowdonia taking people to the peak challenge viewing Anglesey from the road and puffin island

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  9. Sounds interesting John. As for Anglesey, it's a lovely island and really beautiful in good weather.

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