Gwynfa - Paradise?

Its been a very hectic but a really good day. I awoke at about 5:30am, I listened to birds, and felt warm sunshine, I just had to do it... a rare thing for me, but I got up early, had a cup of tea in my conservatory and listened to "Farming Today". Then the urge hit. I knew that the tourism people on Anglesey are trying to get a round Island walk connected up, and I am only a mile or so from the beach, so there must be a footpath close by to get there. I got out the old map that the previous owners of this place had left me, and I saw a straight green dotted line to the sea, clearly marked, just after the house over the road.
This was it, I took my bike with me and headed off to the beach.
I was stopped at the first hurdle, a KISSING GATE . My bike and the sheep were designed specifically to not be able to go through a kissing gate. So I padlocked my bike to a 40mph sign, and walked.
The dew on the grass, the birds singing, the purple foxgloves, to be honest, it was lovely. I walked across a couple of fields, around a caravan site nature reserve, with a few signs about birds/flowers etc, but not a human or a caravan in sight, and then had to give up because I had reached a dead end... the straight-line on the map had either gone in circles or the route I was on was different. I think I could have pushed on and found the beach, but with the bike on the road, I decided to try another route, that I had already driven down, so I walked back, baaaing at the sheep and taking a few pictures.

Now, I hope that Tuesday Rainstorms isn't reading this. She might be able to cycle London to Brighton, but I am an ageing woman that has lived for almost 30yrs in the flattest terrain in the UK. Although I have cycled to the shops... had a few fun rides, everything has been flat... constant pedalling, but no real effort. Cycling down that road to the beach was not just down, it was undulating, it had a few up bits, and some down ones. The puffing and panting that seemed to accompany me drowned the sounds of the countryside. I felt a strong compulsion to look at the scenery every so often to stop the world spinning quite so quickly. I thought about my sessions at the gym and and realised I had wasted my money and that all this was for free. Not only that, my cycling career had not equipped me with a few fundamental skills. Like... I really didn't know how to use the frigging gears as I hadn't needed all of them in flat as a cow turd Lincolnshire and Norfolk. So I struggled and walked... and rode and panted... and then came the other modern contraption that my bike had never needed in Lincolnshire.. brakes. In Lincs you just have to stop pedalling and you stop. Not here, I found myself stopping to see if my brake pads were melting, concerned at the deafening screech as the pads quickly removed all the 15yrs of rust that had accumulated on my bikes rims. They shine now! I forgot they could do that. I think in about 15yrs of use that bike has only had one change of brake pads. Now they would be gone in days!

Anyway, it was all worth it, as I cascaded down the hills, and awoke every living things between Dublin and Liverpool with the sound of my brakes, I reached a car park. and saw the sea across it. The walk across the beach was exhilarating and the place was deserted. This was Lligwy beach. I took photos, I walked to the sea as the tide was out. I saw no one. It was all mine.
I took a picture of a jellyfish and wondered if it would survive. Did I want it to? But it made a good photo.
I took a movie of the beach, it will download, so don't click here if you want to avoid a huge file. movie of beach

Then came the cycle back.
I am sure you can now imagine how I coped with that, but I did and I got back to Gwynfa before 9am.

I devoured some muesli and a banana as this was about all I had to eat in the house and thought ... SHIT!!.. I must get to Amlwch as my stuff from BT has arrived, I need the net!!
So I shot off in the car, and found the place to get my parcel, and rushed home... NO!.. I didn't
I got way laid.. I saw a sign. SMOKERY
A very nice man showed me his smoked fish, cheeses, bacon, chicken and I felt my purse emptying rapidly. I really shouldn't go to places like that when I am hungry. I came away with some kippers, a pork loin smoked and marinated in cider and some bacon, all absolutely essential. This smokery is about 2 miles, maybe 3 from where my place is.

Then I rushed home, and only had to ring up BT twice, but I did get my broadband connection working with no real probs.
Suddenly this place looked better. Gwynfa means "blessed place" or "paradise" it said in a book that I saw in a tourist information centre. Maybe, on a warm sunny day, they could be right.