Saturday May 5th 2012 - In the footsteps of a photographer

I woke that morning to blue sky, hardly any cloud and lots of sunshine, and in spite of a chilly breeze when I took Sophie and Sugar for their first walk it was a perfect day for photography. I'd brought with me from home the book about photographing various locations on the island which I bought last August, and my intention was to visit some of those locations and try to get the same shots as in the book, but first I was going to the car boot sale about three quarters of a mile up the road from the village.

After a leisurely breakfast - the power had been restored by the time I got up so I was able to use my toaster - and with things washed up and put away, I put the dogs in the back of the van, disconnected the awning, and headed off to see if I could find any bargains. As usual I was looking for mouse ornaments to add to my collection but though many of the stalls did sell ornaments there wasn't a single mouse to be found and it was only when I'd gone back to the village that I did find a bargain - but it wasn't a mouse. Stopping at the Spar shop to get a morning paper I had a look in the charity shop next door and found a computer keyboard, brand new and in its original sealed and undamaged box, for the 'extravagant' sum of £2. I'd needed a new keyboard for a while as some of the letters had worn off the existing one and my spelling mistakes were getting ridiculous, so this was a bargain too good to miss. 

Driving out of Benllech I headed along the road towards Moelfre, though at the top of the road leading down to the village I turned off in the direction of Lligwy beach and soon came to my first port of call - Din Lligwy ancient chapel and settlement. The chapel was just across a field and not far from the lane, so with the van parked in a convenient lay-by, the dogs on their leads and my book in hand I set off to explore. Walking round the outside of the chapel and studying the book it wasn't hard to figure out where the author had taken his photos from and I was able to get three almost identical shots plus several good ones of my own. There was nothing inside the chapel except a small underground burial chamber in one corner with half a dozen stone steps leading down to it - no skeletons down there though! - so it only took a couple of minutes to look round.



The settlement itself was across the far side of the field, and being surrounded on three sides by trees it was rather hidden away from the outside world; with the sun shining and the birds singing it was a very peaceful place to be. A couple of information boards gave the history of the place and after reading them both I wandered round taking my photos, with the first one being taken from the same position as the one in the book, then satisfied that I'd seen everything I made my way back to the van.

My second stop was Moelfre; although I'd taken several photos there during the last couple of years there was a view featured in the book which I hadn't yet taken, and as the sun was shining from the right direction the opportunity was too good to miss. I parked in the free car park behind the road through the village; between the car park and the road itself is a small row of cottages with a stream flowing past the front gardens and a very pleasant alleyway leading down towards the beach - it looked quite attractive in the sunshine and worth a couple of photos. I'd intended to take some last year but had forgotten, so I decided to rectify that before I went any further.

Down near the beach I consulted my book to see exactly where I needed to be and I found the right spot, and with the sunshine and blue sky I could have got a good photo but someone had parked a large 4 x 4 vehicle right on the edge of the beach and it really spoiled the shot. I did take a couple though, then decided to walk along the cliffside path to the end and back in the hope that the 4 x 4 would be gone when I returned. It was, but it had been replaced by several people and a couple of kids' buggies, although they didn't ruin the shot like the 4 x 4 did. Then down at beach level I took a shot of the fishing dinghies pulled up on the shingle and piled up with a hotch potch of colourful fishing stuff - that particular photo wasn't in the book but I thought it was too good to miss. It was only a couple of minutes later that the first 4 x 4 was replaced by a second one so with that I gave up trying to get the perfect shot according to the book and decided to retrieve the van and go back to the camp site.

The rest of the afternoon and early evening were spent in and around the awning then just after 7pm I decided to go out with the camera once more; evening sunlight is often good for photography so I thought the short drive to Red Wharf Bay might be productive. The tide had gone right out when I got there, leaving vast stretches of sand broken by channels of water which were quite deep in places and with boats dotted about here and there. The evening was so clear that Pentraeth and Llanddona across the other side of the bay seemed to be little more than touching distance away; unfortunately by then there was a very chilly breeze blowing so I didn't linger too long - half a dozen shots and I was on my way back to the camp site.

I had only been back in the awning for about half an hour when for the second night running the power went off; now although some people might actually enjoy sitting around in the cold, trussed up in several layers of clothing with woolly hats, scarves, gloves and heaven knows what else, it's certainly not my idea of fun, so I resigned myself to the fact that I would be having another very early night. With the hot water bottle warming my bed up I took the dogs for a final walk round the site then settled them in the back of the van; it was far too early for sleep though so with a mug of coffee and a KitKat to hand I snuggled into my own bed and spent a couple of hours reading my book by the light of the camping lantern. With no power on anywhere the site had gone very quiet soon after 10pm and apart from the occasional hoot of a nearby owl the only other noises were Sugar's snores as she chased rabbits in her sleep.