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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 June 9th 2016 - Aberffraw & Llyn Cefni

The morning started off dull and grey and hadn't really improved by lunch time; it had put paid to my plans for that day so having got fed up of pottering about in and around the tent I decided to go over to Asda in Llangefni as I needed to get some supplies, then I'd see if the weather was any better over the far side of the island. 

 From Llangefni I drove over to Aberffraw; I hadn't been there for a while and even if it was dull I could still take the dogs for a good walk along the river estuary and out to the beach. By the time I got there things were starting to brighten up and although the sky was still grey patches of blue were beginning to show and the sun was trying its best to get through. Leaving the van in the parking area I crossed the hump-back bridge and wandered a little way down the far side of the river as I'd never been down there before, then I crossed back and walked down the riverside beach to the proper beach at the end. 

The tide was coming in and as the water was fairly shallow near the beach and the waves were gentle ones I decided to take Poppie in for a dip. Although she didn't quite go in deep enough to swim she did have a good paddle around for several minutes before deciding she'd had enough; Sophie was her usual self and stayed on the edge of the waves just getting her feet wet. After fifteen minutes or so I set off back along the river to the van; I could have walked to the far end of the beach to see if there was anything worth photographing but thought I'd leave it for another time and sunnier weather.


From the parking area I drove through the village and out to the next bay where the church in the sea was. It was five years since my previous visit there, and though I didn't think anything would have changed I thought it would be worth taking a look. It was exactly the same as before, and though I was tempted to walk across the causeway to the island I decided against it as (a) I'd been before and (b) the sea was coming in and I could have been stranded for several hours.

By the time I got back to the van it was turning out to be quite a nice afternoon so I drove back to Llangefni, parked up at Asda and went for a walk through The Dingle nature reserve. This was another place I'd been to a few years ago though this time, instead of wandering round the boardwalk through the trees, I stayed on the main path and went right up to Llyn Cefni reservoir which I hadn't seen before.

A signpost not far from the beginning of the path told me that Llyn Cefni was a mile-and-a-half away but as I walked along I began to think someone had got their distances wrong as it seemed to be much further than that. Leaving The Dingle behind I went through some lovely peaceful countryside where I could hear nothing but the sound of various birds and eventually I saw the reservoir dam up ahead. 

 There didn't seem to be anything special about the reservoir when I got there, it was just a huge expanse of water surrounded by areas of  pine forest, but I could see more water up ahead and hearing voices I decided to follow the path a bit further. The voices turned out to be four teenage lads who were taking it in turns to jump off the bank into the water, and just after I passed them I came to the second reservoir which was much smaller and looked nicer than the first one, with groups of swans swimming around. With time getting on and not wanting to overstay the allotted two hours on the car park at Asda I made that my turn round point, and with a handful of shots taken I headed back towards The Dingle and eventually the van. 

It was 7pm when I finally got back to the tent and with no intention of going out again I made myself a meal and settled in for the rest of the evening. It was a shame that the day had started off as dull as it was but it had come nice in the end and I'd managed to get some photos. And having now been to Llyn Cefni I may very well go back another time when it's earlier in the day and the sky is much more blue - it would be worth a second visit even if there is nothing there.

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6 comments:

  1. Eileen H23 June 2016 at 06:43

    You have taken some lovely photos. Nice to see Sophie and Poppie enjoying the beach too. I've only been on the boardwalk at the Dingle and now you've made me yearn to return and explore some more.

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  2. Tigermouse23 June 2016 at 09:50

    It's a very pleasant walk from the Dingle itself up to Llyn Cefni. The main path through the Dingle has a bit of a steep up-and-down part but once you get past that it's level all the way almost to the reservoir. There's another boardwalk over the river and if you look down you can see brown trout. I should really have taken more photos of the actual countryside beyond the Dingle as some of it is quite pretty - but that makes a great excuse to go back again another time :)

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  3. nashvillecats223 June 2016 at 10:24

    The pictures showed a much evident calm and relaxing atmosphere, I'm pleased you enjoyed your travels.
    Yvonne.

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  4. Tigermouse23 June 2016 at 10:34

    I enjoyed myself very much Yvonne. I think most places on Anglesey are very calm and quiet, especially when it's term time and there are no kids around. When I did that walk from the Dingle up to the reservoir I didn't see one single person until I got to where the lads were jumping into the water, and on the way back to the van I only saw one other person. The peaceful atmosphere of the countryside I passed through was so great it was almost tangible.

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  5. Christine23 June 2016 at 14:36

    Ah, such beautiful places you find, with or without blue skies.

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  6. Tigermouse23 June 2016 at 15:45

    Anglesey is a beautiful island Christine, it would be hard to find anywhere there that isn't nice.

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I really appreciate good comments - who doesn't? - but due to a recent tide of spam from anonymous readers all comments will now be moderated, and only those with a direct bearing on this blog will be published. I'm sure my regular blog readers/commenters will understand the need for this - and to anyone whose comment isn't published, you know why.

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