Saturday July 16th 2011 - Tent up, tent down, tent up again

It was another gloriously sunny morning and I was doing exactly as I'd promised myself I would do - returning to Anglesey for another weekend. When I arrived at the site I was quite surprised to find the barrier was raised so I drove straight through even though the warden wasn't around - seeing her brother outside his van I stopped to have a word and it seemed the barrier had a fault so it had been left up temporarily until he fixed it, but he didn't mind me driving straight in. The pitch I had vacated only a few days before was now occupied as were all the others on that part of the site, but just round the corner was another field and when I went to have a look I found there was no-one in there and just two hook-up points about halfway along the hedge line. That would do for me, so I parked up, took the dogs for a quick walk round then set about putting up the tent. 

With the tent up and well pegged down I connected up my hook-up cable so I could plug my fridge in before I did anything else, but found there was no power coming from either that socket or the other one on the post. As I hadn't yet booked in I walked down to reception, which was now open, and after paying my site fees I mentioned the lack of power to the warden, who told me that those two hook-up points are privately owned by the people who live in the house across the field, and they were only turned on when certain groups used the field - so it looked like I was going to be without power for the weekend. However, the warden did say that there would be several campers leaving that morning so if I had a scout round I would probably find a vacant hook-up point somewhere. So that's what I did and as luck would have it, at the bottom end of the small field where I camped in April/May, I found four young men in the process of packing up their tent and belongings. But I was now faced with a problem - hook-up points on the site are limited and can't be booked in advance so are used on a first-come-first-served basis; this particular spot was quite a distance from where I'd originally pitched and there was the great possibility that in the length of time it would take me to take the tent down and get back there somebody else might have arrived and taken the hook up. So not leaving anything to chance I legged it back to the tent as fast as I could, wound up my cable and threw it in the van then drove back to the other field and plugged it into the hook-up point while the four young men were still packing up, though I did explain what I was doing and asked if they minded, which they didn't. Then I drove back to the first field to get my tent - and if ever there was a competition for the fastest time to take a tent down then I would surely win it. Grabbing my claw hammer I went rapidly round the tent pulling out the pegs as fast as I could and throwing them into the peg box, then with the poles out of their sleeves I bundled the tent and the groundsheet together any old how, threw them into the middle of the van and drove back to the other field. The young men were just in the final stages of packing up so I parked at the end of the field and waited, and as they drove off the pitch I drove straight on - result!

By this time I was more than ready for a brew but I wanted to get the tent back up as soon as I could so I got to work straight away, and just over an hour later my 'house' had been built, carpeted, furnished and the bed made, and I was ready for a major chill-out. I put the kettle on then and made my much needed brew, and while I was sitting outside the tent three different lots of campers drove down the field looking for a space with a hook-up point, so I was glad I'd done what I did even if it was rather hectic. And I don't think I could have chosen a better pitch on that part of the site - nice and level with trees on three sides, it was rather like being in a quiet cul-de-sac.

It was after lunch when I thought about going out somewhere but after my rather hectic morning I didn't feel like driving too far so I decided I would just go up as far as Moelfre and Lligwy beach to let the dogs have a run. The lane leading down to Lligwy beach is on an incline and as I drove down and neared the end I got a great view of the bay and the beach. I parked on the lane rather than in the car park - the lane is free, the car park isn't, also the ground is very rough - then with the dogs on the lead I walked down to the dunes and through to where the stream runs across the beach to the sea. The dogs were free then to run about and explore - at one point Sophie disappeared in all the long grass and I was just beginning to wonder where she was when she popped up on top of a dune further along, with her ears pricked up and her tail wagging. If dogs could talk I'm sure she would have said "Ha! Fooled you!"

When the dogs had had a good run round and explore I returned to the van and after using the car park to turn round, as the lane was fairly narrow, I made my way to Moelfre where the car park is at least free. With Sophie and Sugar back on the lead I headed down the hill past the beach and up the other side and along the cliff top path towards Moelfre Island, stopping every so often to take some photos. When I reached the end of the path and the very stony beach I sat for several minutes on a large rock, just taking in the view and enjoying the sunshine. There was a path which skirted one section of the beach and seemed to veer off across a nearby field, and several people were walking along it - I wondered if it might be part of the Anglesey Coastal Path, and made a mental note to explore along there another time. Walking back to the van along the cliff top path I turned a corner and was met by a lovely view of someone's garden. There was a row of cottages at least a hundred yards away with their lawned gardens all leading down to the path, and with its abundance of flowering shrubs and hedges this one garden seemed to be rather pretty. Unfortunately there was a rather solid stone wall in my way so it was difficult to get any really good photos but I managed a couple - maybe next time I pass that way I'll get some better ones.

Back at the van I gave the dogs a drink then headed back to the camp site, stopping off at the supermarket on the way to get something for my tea. With the van parked up on the pitch and the dogs on their beds in the shade I opened a can of Coke and spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the sun outside the tent - I'd done enough for one day, I could explore somewhere else the following day.