Sunday July 17th 2011 - In search of more water

Another glorious day arrived and I decided I would continue my mission to visit places I had previously photographed when the tide was out and re-photograph them with the tide in. Over a breakfast of toast and marmalade and a brew I consulted my tide table and found that high tide wasn't until later in the afternoon so I would have plenty of time to relax before I went out. After taking the dogs for a good walk round the site I spent the morning either sitting in the sunshine or pottering about round the tent - not that I could really do much pottering anyway as it's not a very big tent to potter about in. It was as I walked back from the dustbins that I got talking to a couple camped further along the field with a van similar to mine but theirs had been purposely adapted for camping and had an extremely large awning attached to it. They were a very pleasant and friendly couple and I stood chatting for quite a while; the guy said he had watched me putting my tent up the previous day and admired me for having the guts to cope with camping alone. It was nice of him to say so but many people camp alone so I'm certainly not unusual - to me it's just a part of my solo life which I've got used to over the last two years and which I enjoy very much.

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.