We decided to visit a new island this year for our main holiday. I've been to Anglesey before once or twice as a child and then for an "A" Level Geography field trip but my memories of Anglesey are vague and B, D and E have never been.
It was raining heavily on the M6!
We decided to take the more scenic route and travelled via the M6, M54 and then A5 rather than travelling much further north on the M6 and taking the North Wales Expressway.
Timothy was looking forward to Anglesey.
I just managed to get a photo of the Welcome to Wales sign and by now the rain had stopped and the sun was shining.
I spotted these ruins on a hilltop near Llangollen a few years ago when B and I had a short break in Portmeirion. A bit of googling suggests it is the 13th century ruins of Castell Dinas Bran which looks worth a visit. It was a good job I wasn't driving as I would make far too many detours and never get to the destination.
We stopped to eat our sandwiches in Corwen and had a quick wander round the town.
The sculpture of Owain Glyndwr (c1359 - c1415) is impressive. He led a national revolt against English rule in Wales commencing in 1400 from his stronghold in Corwen. The Welsh Parliament proclaimed him Prince of Wales and he was the last native Welshman to hold the title. Initially he won many battles gaining control of much of Wales and made alliances with France, Ireland and Scotland. He proposed an independent church in Wales and two universities. His quest to gain Welsh independence from English rule eventually failed and he died in obscurity having never accepted the pardons offered to him.
Our journey continued and we reached
the mountains of Snowdonia.
This helicopter was hovering low over the mountains - we weren't sure if it was a mountain rescue or just a training exercise.
Having failed to spot the "Dragon of Bethesda" (a giant dragon carved from a fallen tree) we detoured to Caernarfon to buy some food and across the road from Morrisons car park was our first view of Anglesey across the Menai Straits.
We planned to cross the straits via the Menai Suspension bridge but ended up getting lost and crossing by the Britannia Bridge.
Our first view of the lovely town of Beaumaris.
We were staying in the little hamlet of Penmon about 3 miles from Beaumaris and the house was just superb with the most stunning views over the Menai Straits to Snowdonia.
The kitchen door had a lovely stained glass Dragonfly.
The cottage was really spacious and all of the bedrooms and the lounge had the same wonderful views and one bedroom had a little terrace where you could enjoy breakfast or read a book.
The garden was large and terraced with lots of little paths, "wild areas", many places to sit and relax and a couple of tiny pools.
Several pairs of House Martins were nesting above this window and we were able to watch them taking food to the nests.
D's record shot of one of the birds.
The garden had loads of these plants which were a magnet for bees. I think they may be Echiums and they are triennial but I would love some of these in my garden.
Later that evening there were lovely views of the moon shining on the Menai Straits
Apologies for the amount of photos of the house and garden but I do tend to also use my blog as a personal journal to record days out and holidays.
The next couple of posts will be about our visit to Penmon Priory, Church, Dovecote and St Seiriol's holy well plus Penmon Point with views of the lighthouse and Puffin Island followed by a walk through a local nature reserve to a hidden castle.
*D photos taken by D with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera
Rest of photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera
