Tuesday 22nd May – Tyn Ddol, Llanystumdwy

After Jane did some washing in order to take advantage of good drying weather (warm, sunny and just a little breeze), we set off to investigate the village. The plan was to visit the museum and do a little walk before lunch but the David Lloyd George museum was so interesting that it was lunch time before we came out.

The afternoon was spent in walking up the Dwyfor valley on a lovely walk that followed the bank of the river all the way. The return route was the same but the sun through the trees and the river rushing over large rocks was a delight.

We were made very welcome by the landlord of the Tafarn Y Plu and had very pleasant chats with him during the evening. The menu was not extensive but the food was good and the Welsh beer was excellent. I can certainly recommend the pub but be aware that it is only open in the evening. Their view is that lifestyle is more important than earning lots of money and when they were open all hours they started to hate it. They thought about selling but then decided that they could make enough money and enjoy life much more by opening in the evenings. They were closed last night because they had gone to a wine festival in Hungary at the weekend and couldn't get anyone to cover for the Monday evening. They had a great time but couldn't remember much of the later evenings!

Photos: Horse and foal at Tyn Ddol; David Lloyd George's home for 16 years; A quiet stretch of the River Dwyfor.

Monday 21st May – Tyn Ddol, Llanystumdwy

Another lovely day with blue skies and sunshine greeting us in the morning. We decided to move on this morning with our first stop being the nearby resort of Aberdaron. This turned out to be a lovely little seaside village and, despite having two hotels, two cafés and a number of touristy shops, it still had a lot of charm. We were able to buy a loaf, two pies and some Eccles cakes from the local butcher and went on a short walk around the village and looked in the interesting church dedicated to St. Hywyn. This was a both a parish church and a pilgrimage church that was used by the Mediaeval pilgrims on their way to Bardsey Island.

We bought fresh crab meat from a local café and took a picnic to the promenade where we sat in the warm sun and watched over the bay looking for porpoises or dolphins. I discovered from an information board that it was bottle-nosed dolphins that I saw yesterday and not porpoises. We didn't see either today but the view was very pleasant!

One of the places on our 'Must see on the Lleyn' list was Mynydd Rhiw, close to the huge sweeping sands of Hell's Mouth. We approached from the north reaching a small National Trust parking area at the north-east corner of the Access Land (OS SH237298). This was an ideal starting point for the short walk up to our target, the site of a Neolithic Axe Factory. Close to one of the outcrops of rock are a series of shallow pits surrounded by low banks that were discovered after gorse on the hillside was burned in 1956. The rock is very good for the production of sharp edges and axes, scrapers and knives were produced here and exported from the local coast from about 1,200BC for a period of approximately 1,000 years. A picked up a couple of small rocks with the idea of attempting to make some stone tools although they will probably just join my collection of dusty, never completed projects!

We wanted to make one last stop on Lleyn and we chose the small village of Llanystumdwy. We chose it for a number of reasons – the area looked interesting on the OS map; there is a museum dedicated to David Lloyd George; there are two campsites there and a pub. The latter reason was important as we had not managed to have an evening meal out in a pub yet and we were in danger of going for the whole of the sojourn without doing so. This was totally unacceptable.

The choice of campsite was interesting – a Camping & Caravanning Club owned site or a Camping & Caravanning Club Certified Location (CL). We prefer the smaller sites so we headed for the CL, Tyn Ddol that is ideally located opposite the school in the centre of the village. When we got there we found that it was a gem. The pitches are next to the lovely river Dwyfor and everything in the village is within 5 minutes walk. The facilities are basic – one Gents toilet, one Ladies toilet and one shower. With five motorhomes or caravans and a field full of tents in high season, this would be a problem but we were the only people there. There was a gate and steps that gave access to the river and on the other bank was a café with picnic tables on the lawn. In the camping field there were three miniature horses one of which had a young foal. A lovely rural setting yet in the centre of the village and all for £10 per night.

We took a stroll round the village locating the museum and the pub that had a note on it saying that it was closed on Monday 21^st May – today. Luckily we had already planned to stay for two nights and to eat at the pub tomorrow.

Photos: A heron on a hot tin roof – a very tame heron (we thought that it was plastic or stuffed at first) stands on the local stores roof; Y Gegin Fawr (The Big Kitchen) café, built in 1300, where Bardsey pilgrims could claim a meal before their crossing to the island; A view of Aberdaron with St. Hywyn's church in the foreground.

Sunday 20th May – Ty Newydd, Uwchmynydd

The campsite owner gave us a photocopy of a circular walk around the campsite. As we walked along the coast we spotted a seal fishing in amongst the buoys marking the position of lobster pots. Jane turned back for the campsite whilst I carried on along the coast. Standing on the headland of Pen-Y-Cil I watched a school of porpoises swimming against the strong current flowing here. It was a privilege to watch them breaking the surface before diving after the fish. I took some photographs to prove to Jane that I had seen them – tiny black dots in a big grey sea!

Just after I turned inland at Porth Meudwy, a miracle happened – the sun came out! By the afternoon there was a cloudless blue sky and, for the first time on this sojourn, we were able to sit outside in T shirts. We were beginning to wonder why we had brought the garden chairs with us! Lets hope that this is the start of a good spell of weather.

This will be our third night at Ty Newydd and we can thoroughly recommend this very pleasant campsite.

Photos: Puff Ball fungi on the coastal walk; The rugged coastline so reminiscent of Pembrokeshire; Porth Meudwy, probably the pilgrims' embarkation point for Bardsey Island.

Saturday 19th May – Ty Newydd, Uwchmynydd

In the morning we walked the short distance to the end of the Braich-Y-Pwll headland to St. Mary's Well. A small spring feeds a tiny stream that runs down the little valley leading to the rocky shore. Just a few metres away a series of rock-cut steps, followed by a scramble over rocks takes you to a small pool just above the level of the high tide. The pool and the rocks below are covered in moss indicating that the water is fresh. It is said that the pilgrims stopped here as part of their pilgrimage and to collect water for their trip over to Bardsey Island. However there is a small well associated with the spring in the valley and this looks like a much more practical place to collect water. It is also said that the pilgrims set off from here in their boats but I find that very difficult to believe as the coast here is very rocky and totally unsuitable for boats. It would surely have introduced even more risk into what was already a dangerous crossing to the island. Local believe that the embarkation point was much more likely to have been Porth Meudwy, just a short distance around the coast where there is a sheltered bay and beach. The Medieval pilgrims were travelling to the island of 20,000 saints and the walk and crossing were so difficult that three pilgrimages to Bardsey were considered by the church to be equal to one pilgrimage to Rome.

After lunch I took a walk around the hill of Mynydd Mawr, the highest hill on the headland. I could see a long way from here but the overcast conditions made it look very gloomy. However the main reason for climbing the hill was to phone my brother. We couldn't get an Orange or Vodafone signal in the campsite but here there was excellent Orange coverage.

Photos: Walkers drinking water from the mossy pool that is St. Mary's Well; Jane at the more practical St. Mary's Other Well; The prehistoric standing stone opposite Bardsey Island.

Friday 18th May – Ty Newydd, Uwchmynydd

We had thought about staying a third night in Edern but it rained during the night and there were showers in the morning. We decided to move on to the tip of the Lleyn.

The first stop was the butcher in the village to pick up a dressed crab. Unfortunately he had received his delivery so we moved on to the cromlech just off the B4417 a mile south of Trudweiliog. There are an incredible number of campsites and we passed many on the way to Porth Oer. We parked in the National Trust car park and walked down to the beach known in English as Whispering Sands. The guide book told us that the name came from the sound made as you walk on the sand. At first we couldn't hear any sound but we then found that if you scuffed your feet it produced an interesting sound although it is better described as a squeak rather than a whisper. This part of the coast is really rugged and we enjoyed the short circular walk around the coast and back to the car park arriving just before the rain started.

After lunch we headed south west and found a campsite very close to the tip – Ty Newydd at Uwchmynydd. Another Ty Newydd but much better value – the same price (£15 per night) but with a café and a recently renovated (and much cleaner) shower block. We have an excellent view of Bardsey Island from our pitch.

Photos: The Cromlech – are the bumps on the capstone designed to reflect the hills in the background?; Whispering Bay; An example of the rare Black-faced Wing-nut Sheep.

Thursday 17th May – Edern, Nefyn

It was time to investigate the area and we set off through Edern, stopping off at the butchers on the way. A footpath took us across fields to the golf club buildings and then down through the course with warnings about the golf and advice on what to do if you hear the call of 'FORE!' - “duck and cover your head”! On the way through we had a chat with a man who turned out to be the course manager who had been there for 35 years. I had asked if there was a tournament as there were a lot of golfers out on the course. He said that it was simply that the course is very popular and attracts people from all over the world, especially Scandinavia. I have to say that the links course was immaculate and looked challenging. It was also in a spectacular position on a high promontory with views to Anglesey, Snowdonia and down the Llyen coast. It was easy to understand its popularity.

We descended to the hamlet of Porth Dinllaen, tucked into the cliffs that protected it from the westerly gales. This area is owned by the National Trust and a small exhibition told us more about the history. It is difficult to believe that Port Dinllaen was once a thriving port that traded with Chester, Liverpool and Ireland, records going back 400 years showing that cloth, pepper, tobacco and coal were brought in here. It was nearly selected as the main port for trade to Ireland, narrowly missing out to Holyhead – a correct decision! The importance of the port also helps to explain why there were four pubs on this stretch of beach – that must have been every other house – and there is still one left, the Ty Coch (Red House) although given its remote position, it must be very quiet in the winter!

We walked to the lifeboat station and around the top of the headland before returning to Porth Dinllaen to walk along the beach to Morfa Nefyn. Here we left the beach to have lunch in the Cliff Inn with a lovely view over the bay.

We walked back to Edern, calling in at the butchers to pick up some leeks.

Photos: A very rare sighting of a butterfly on this sojourn – it has been so cold that they haven't been around; Porth Dinllaen with the Ty Coch more brown than red and Morfa Nefyn in the distance on the left.

Wednesday 16th May – Edern, Nefyn

For some days now the weather forecast has suggested that today was going to be the best of the week. On this basis we planned a walk on our way down the Lleyn Peninsula.

We stopped off at the church at Clynnog-fawr dedicated to the Celtic saint Bueno. The church was an important stop on the pilgrimage to the holy island of Bardsey off the tip of the Lleyn and said to be the burial place of 20,000 Celtic saints. As a result, the church became very wealthy and is the reason why such a large church is to be found in such a small village. We appreciated the many display panels that told us a great deal about the history of the church and the pilgrimages.

Just outside Clynog-fawr close to the sea is a cromlech that has a capstone covered with 110 enigmatic cup marks. We took the short walk to it from the church. There are no signs to it and the footpath is not even marked from the main road so the OS map was very useful.

We drove to the car park on the way to the Nant Gwrtheyrn Welsh Language Centre from the village of Llithfaen. After lunch we skirted the main peak of Yr Eifl to climb the slopes of Tre'r Ceiri. We definitely chose the correct day, there was very little wind and the views were great. We could see right down the length of the Lleyn Peninsula, across to Anglesey and even the mountains of Snowdonia were clear.

Tre'r Ceiri is one of the most spectacular stone-built hill forts in Britain, having walls up to 4.5 metres thick and containing more than 150 huts. At a height of 485 metres, it also has fantastic views. The slopes here and the neighbouring Yr Eifl are covered with boulders so the raw materials for wall and hut construction were readily on hand and it could be argued that the reason that the walls were so thick was because it was necessary to clear huge volumes of boulders on the summit it order to make it habitable. The mystery is why there are so many huts here and why was it occupied for such a long time – from a few centuries before the Roman invasion right through to the end of the fourth century AD. There are apparently no signs of corn grinding, although there are literally hundreds of rocks on the summit that have natural concave dips in them making them look just like quern stones. So that suggests that the inhabitants were keeping stock but they couldn't possibly have kept enough stock to support the population suggested by the number of huts. Perhaps the women got fed up with their old huts and insisted that the men built a new one every couple of years. Or the men were obsessive builders – I know one of these – Hi Les! After that I am out of theories so let's just put it down as a ritual site, the standard fall-back for archaeologists who can't think of any other explanation.

We spent a long time looking at the views, quickly spotting Snowdon – we could even see, with binoculars, the railway station just below the summit. Definitely the clearest views since we started the sojourn.

We walked back to the car park looking at the views down to the bay and beaches of Nefyn, our next stop. We chose Ty Newydd Lan Yr Ysgol, a Caravan & Camping Certified Site, because of its location in Edern, within walking distance of Morfa Nefyn and the bay. The site is pleasant enough but the shower block is very tired and not the cleanest that we have seen.

Photos: Dog Tongs dated to 1815 from St. Bueno's church – these were “used to catch unruly dogs and expel them from the building”; The walls of Tre'r Ceiri; And some of the many hut circles; View of Snowdon from Tre'r Ceiri.

Tuesday 15th May – Caernarfon

It rained yesterday evening and over night and it didn't look very encouraging as we left the campsite this morning. We were heading for the Roman Fort at Segontium just ten minutes walk away. When we arrived we found the site open with the grass being mowed but it was obvious that the museum was permanently closed. There were no attendants but a man who had been on his mobile phone came over and talked to us. It turned out that he was the chairman over a local archaeological society, knew everything that was known about the site and had help in some of the recent excavations. He was expecting to attend a Roman lamp-making class that morning on the site and had been checking with CADW (the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage). We found out later that he had got the date wrong and the class had happened last week. He offered to take us on a quick guided tour of the site and it was brilliant. The information on the site is very poor with only a small information board at the entrance but our guide was able to tell us much more. He also told us more about Anglesey and the Druids. It is known that Druids from all over Europe came to Anglesey as a centre of learning. His society believe that they have located the Druid school near to the lake of Llyn Cerrig Bach where a huge deposit of Iron Age swords and armour was found in 1943. It is thought that these metals were brought as payment by the students. He also told us of a site that has identified on the shoreline of Anglesey opposite Segontium and they have proof of Roman occupation from the early Roman invasion right through to the end of the Roman period. It is thought that there may have been a crossing point of the Menai Strait here in Roman times when the sea level was some 4 metres lower. Fascinating.

We said goodbye to our guide and crossed over the road to another part of the site that he had told us about. Here were the remains of the Roman governor’s bathhouse and a section of Roman wall. Whilst we were admiring the wall, a lady from CADW came up to us and introduced herself. Adele had been told that someone was at Segontium expecting a guided tour and she had driven from the other side of Bangor to get here. We explained that we weren't expecting a tour but guessed that it must have been a misunderstanding of the phone call that our previous guide had made. Adele was extremely helpful, gave us a brochure on the site and more information about the fort and the Romans in North Wales. We discussed the lack of information on the site and the demise of the museum, whose finds are now in Cardiff. They would really like to get them back to Segontium and there are plans to re-open the museum as a multi-functional building that would make it more viable. All they need now is the funding! Adele also told us that there is a Roman cookery demonstration at Segontium on May 23^rd and we have noted in in our diary in case we are back in the area at that time. Apparently CADW run a number of events on the Segontium site although there were no notices at the site nor did we notice anything when we were at the castle yesterday. Perhaps the marketing needs some more work! We thanks Adele very much for her help and walked down into the town centre.

We got very wet on the way when we were hit by a heavy shower but that stopped as we got to the terminus of the Welsh Highland Railway at the port side. Here we saw the train and a South African steam locomotive that had just arrived from Porthmadog and was due to return in the early afternoon. It was fun to watch the water tanks being refuelled and the engine taken to the other end of the train. The carriages were varied and interesting although the very smart 1^st class observation car seemed much more preferable than the open sided carriage in this weather.

We had an excellent lunch in Cafi Maes whilst it rained and then dodged the raindrops to do the rest of the Town Heritage Walk and a little shopping. By the time that we got back to the campsite, the sun was out and it became a much more pleasant afternoon.

Photos: Looking N.W. over Segontium from the granary – they had to store enough grain for 1,000 soldiers and the walls of the granary were buttressed to stop the weight of grain pushing the walls out; Raking out the ash tray of the Welsh Highland Railway loco; The loco pulling off after taking on water – not a good place to stand?

Monday 14th May – Caernarfon

Good weather this morning so it was time to investigate Caernarfon whilst it held. We wandered down, through the main square to the castle that dominates the town. We called in to the Tourist Information Office opposite the castle and obtained a leaflet that gave us a heritage walk around the town. It was soon lunch time and we decided to have a meal at the Anglesey Arms just beyond the castle between the high town walls and the sea. The pub is owned by Marstons and disappointingly did not have any Welsh cask ales but the Marstons Bitter was good. Jane had a roasted vegetable lasagne with salad and chips but I was tempted by an exotic entry on the menu, something that I had never had before – I think that my Mum will be horrified – a cheesy chip sandwich! This was served as a generous bowl of chips covered with cheese with two buttered slices of white bread on the side. It was almost as if they couldn't bring themselves to put the chips in the sandwich. I stuffed as many of the chips as I could between the slices but this still left lots of cheesy chips as a second course. I had intended to have apple pie and ice cream as a pudding but I was absolutely stuffed by the time that I had finished the chips. Decidedly unhealthy but really good for a change.

After lunch we visited the castle. We have visited castles throughout Europe and many of these have had much more in the way of internal buildings, furnished rooms and dungeons, usually full of torture equipment. Caernarfon had none of these but was so impressive in other ways. Although the interior is just grass, it is possible to access almost every part of the walls and towers. Seemingly endless spiral staircases took us up many levels until we spilled out, breathless, on to the top of a tower with commanding views over Caernarfon, the Menai Strait and beyond to Anglesey, the Llyen Peninsula and the Mountains of Snowdonia. The best views of all were from the Eagle Tower, the tallest of them all at 128 feet on the side next to the sea. At every level of the staircases there were rooms or access to walkways along or through the walls. Quite often covered passages, sometimes helpfully lit, took you to a dead end. Were they there to confuse the enemy or was there some other purpose? There were exhibitions and a film show that told us about the history of the castle and the town. We spent a very interesting few hours in the castle leaving just after half past four and arriving back at the campsite just as it started raining.

Photos: Caernarfon Castle from across the harbour; The interior of the castle; A view from the castle looking over the Menai Strait to Anglesey – the white building is the Anglesey Arms.

Sunday 13th May – Caernarfon

Jane had read about Penmon Priory and liked the sound of it so we set off in that direction. The route took us through the pretty town of Beaumaris with its massive castle and then along beside the Menai Strait. Although it was sunny, there was a strong wind, especially strong here where it seemed to be funnelled up the Strait, whipping the sea into white horses.

The priory is on private land and it costs £2.50 to park. We were told by the attendant that there was a church service in process so we weren't able to visit it at the moment. However the car park fee also includes the toll fee to drive up to the end of the Penmon peninsula and he suggested that we did that first. This turned out to be a very good idea and we had a very pleasant, if breezy, walk around the tip, admiring the views of the lighthouse, Puffin Island and the mainland including the huge bulk of Great Orme.

By the time that we got back to the priory, the church service had finished and we were able to visit the church, priory ruins and the holy well where St. Seiriol is said to have lived in his hermit cell in the 6^th century. One of the highlights of the visit was the huge dovecote, built in 1600, the interior of which holds nesting holes for 930 pigeons, providing plenty of tender meat for the landowners.

On the way back to Beaumaris we stopped in a lay-by next to the beach and had lunch being battered by the wind, watching the rough sea and being grateful that we were in a motorhome rather than a boat!

Next on the list was Plas Newydd, a National Trust house just the other side of the two bridges crossing the Menai Strait. The house has lovely grounds and we spent a couple of hours walking around before we went into the house. The Rhododendron Garden is a long way from the house but is well worth the visit. A total maze of paths take you through providing a constant series of surprises as rhododendrons of all sizes, colours and varieties appear around each corner. The house was also very interesting, made especially so by the very helpful volunteer guides in each room.

We decided that we had time to get to Caernarfon and had identified a Caravan Club site within 10 minutes of the town centre. However when we arrived there we found it closed although there were no signs to say that was. Direction signs were still there and we could see the pitches but there was a chain across the entrance and no units on the site. Checking the OS map we found another site, also close to the centre on the Bethel road. At first sight, Cwm Cadnant didn't look encouraging as it was in amongst housing estates and behind a fire station and we couldn't actually see into the site from an entrance. However, the owner was very friendly and we decided to take a chance. It turned out to be a very good decision as the site is great. Set in a small wooded valley with a stream running down the middle, it is an oasis of calm and still only 10 minutes walk from the town centre.

Photos: The lighthouse on the Penmon Peninsula - the bell on the side tolled all the time that we were there; St. Seiriol's hermit cell with the well entrance in the background; Plas Newydd - the most fantastic tree house that I have ever seen; Plas Newydd rhododendron.

Saturday 12th May – Beaumaris, Anglesey

First on the list this morning was a short walk around Mynnydd Bodofon from the 'Best Walks in North Wales' book. These hills were just a short drive from the campsite and despite not finding the car park mentioned in the book, we were soon walking over the hills. The weather had improved considerably and we were blessed with bright sunshine although there was still a cold wind, especially when we were standing on the peaks. However the great news was that the views were very good and this was what the walk was all about. The peaks of Yr Arwydd and Bodafon give fantastic panoramic views over the whole of Anglesey, Great Orme, Snowdonia and the Llynn Peninsula. The latter two had their own cloud system making them look dark and rather forbidding but Anglesey was bathed in sunshine. In exceptionally clear weather it is possible to see Ireland and although it wasn't that clear today, we could make out the outline of the Isle of Man. Parys Mountain lay before us with a wind farm between and Holyhead Mountain stood out clearly at the tip of the island. Magical!

We drove on into Almwch where we filled up with LPG before visiting the Visitors' Centre at the port of Almwch. This was fascinating and well worth the visit. It told the story of mining on Parys Mountain from the Bronze Age through the Romans to the boom in the 19^th century. It also told the history of the port and town which is tied up so closely with with the mining. The centre also has a café where were purchased two pieces of Bara Brith for our lunch – the best we have ever had.

Parys Mountain is a mess and yet beautiful. The intensive opencast and deep mining of the 19^th century has left the mountain deeply scarred and covered in spoil heaps. Having said that it is a fascinating site and one that we thoroughly enjoyed exploring. The first thing that struck us was the colours. Piles of rocks lay everywhere and the colours ranged from black to deep purple, lilac, grey, brown, red, ochre, sulphur yellow and even some broken yellow rocks with bright white centres. Sometimes the colours were mixed in one pile but often adjacent piles had contrasting colours such as purple against ochre. The colours were not the result of any industrial process, they were the natural colour of the rocks. The whole mountain was obviously full of minerals and ore of many types – a geologists heaven. As we walked around the mine we passed a windmill and engine house both used to pump water from the deep mine. There were also many settlement lagoons used to clean the water draining from the site. Rainwater and subterranean water from the lower working leech an array of chemicals from the rocks and, despite efforts to reduce the problem, run-off from the mountain is still the major polluter of the Irish Sea.

The most interesting part of the walk came towards the end when we came to the viewpoint over the huge opencast area. Spoil heaps tumbled over the edge into this vast space with its multi-coloured rock faces and at the bottom of the crater we could see the black, gaping mouths of the deep mine shafts. We were told that early Doctor Who episodes were filmed here and it truly does look like the surface of another planet. Hopefully, these were colour TV episodes as it wouldn't have looked anywhere near as good without all of those wonderful colours.

There is still one working mine here and fairly recently they discovered new veins of valuable ore that could sustain the mining for many years to come. Whilst we were there we saw a drill rig drilling exploratory bores into the area around the opencast area.

Photos: A view of Mynydd Bodafon over a mountain tarn; A view over the Parys Mountain opencast area; A piece of Parys rock full of minerals.

Friday 11th May – Llygwy, Moelfre, Anglesey

With a big improvement in the weather we were able to investigate the area. We had chosen the Plas Lligwy site because of its location in the middle of a number of archaeological sites. The first was only a hundred metres from the junction of the farm track and the road. Here is the Neolithic Lligwy Burial Chamber, built before 3,000 BC it was found to contain the bones of some 30 men, women and children when it was excavated in 1908-9. The most impressive feature is the capstone weighing at least 25 tonnes and showing marks that are thought to be Neolithic tool marks made when the stone was quarried.

A walk of a hundred metres in the opposite direction from the farm track took us to a kissing gate for the path to the next two sites. The ruined 12^th century chapel of ease came first followed by the walled Romano-British settlement of Din Lligwy. Din Lligwy is one of a number of such settlements in the valley, some of which are Iron Age and it may well be that Din Lligwy's history also goes back to that time. The ruins are in very good condition and the walls, two round houses and number of rectangular buildings can be seen very clearly. The rectangular buildings were either farm buildings or workshops, one showed evidence of five hearths, charcoal and slag.

Returning to the van for lunch we plotted a walk for the afternoon. This took us down to the coast on the edge of Moelfre and then along the coastal path past Lligwy Bay to Dulas Bay. It was a lovely walk with great views and the sunshine was most welcome although on the coast the wind was very and cold. We had met the campsite owner at lunchtime and I asked permission to take a look at some more hut circles shown on the OS map. On the way back I headed off the farm track to a copse just a few metres away. Here there was clear evidence of at least three more hut circles no more than a couple of hundred of metres from the Din Ligwy settlement. Whether these were of the same date, I do not know but if they were, they must have been associated with that settlement. The farmer also told me of another series of hut circles in the woods on the other side of his farm.

Photos: The Lligwy Burial Chamber with its huge capstone; The Din Lligwy settlement showing a round house, a rectangular building and the enclosure wall; The coast near Moelfre – the monument is a memorial to over 400 people who lost their lives in 1859 when the Royal Charter steam clipper travelling from Australia was driven onto the rocks in hurricane-force winds. The fact that the ship was within 30 yards of the shore shows how bad the conditions must have been.

Thursday 10th May – Llygwy, Moelfre, Anglesey

I have to use four-letter words to describe the weather today – wild and vile. It was raining hard when we went to bed and when this stopped well into the night, the wind got up. By morning we had both and we realised that we were going to have to revise our plans.

Although the campsite has wi-fi and the connection to the office was good, we couldn't use the Internet because the system failed at the point where we had to enter our payment. We explained this to the receptionist and he invited us in to use B&B guests' login. This worked and although the connection was slow, we were able to get our emails and post all of the blog up to yesterday.

By the time that we had finished that, it was after 11:00 but the weather was still vile and we weren't in any hurry. We had intended to walk over Parys Mountain but that would have been miserable in the rain so we plotted a cross-country route to the other side of the island.

We knew that there was a working windmill at Llynnon and we wanted to take a look at it for two reasons. My brother Norman restored and ran a watermill in Dorset and I wanted to see how a windmill compared to a watermill. I also bake all of my own bread in a wood-fire oven that I have built in my back garden and I wanted to try some of their stoneground flour.

The weather was no better when we got there – the rain was coming in horizontally – and we ran across the car park to the shop. Much to my surprise, there was no sign of flour in the shop and I asked why this was. Apparently the mill had to stop production for health and safety reasons. The miller, who had been running the mill for many years, has a health and safety qualification to cover climbing and the use of a harness when he has to set the sails. This he does with a second person present in case he gets into trouble. The authorities have now told him that the second person must also have this qualification so that they could help him if needed. I don't understand the logic of this. If the miller gets into trouble then surely the second person should call the emergency services rather than also going up the sails, leaving nobody on the ground. Anyway, the result of this is that the miller can't produce flour until he has someone else trained and this meant that I couldn't buy any flour. It didn't help when the man in the shop told me that the flour made fantastic bread and that he could eat a whole loaf in one sitting!

We were able to visit the mill and this was very interesting. It seemed a lot less complicated than Norman's mill but it was, of course, much more compact. Despite that, it had three grinding stones and it was intriguing to see how the power was transferred from the sails to the stones.

To our surprise there is also a reconstructed Bronze Age Village next to the mill and a visit to that was included in the price of a visit to the mill. There are no Bronze Age remains here but the reconstruction is based on settlements found on Anglesey. We passed the bank and ditch defences at a run, heading for the shelter of one of the two large thatched round houses. These are very impressive – a fire made the first one quite cosy and dry despite the conditions outside. The first hut had furniture, sleeping area and examples of everyday household equipment and in the second a DVD was showing that explained more about Bronze Age life the construction of the site. Well worth the visit.

We drove on to Llygwy, just outside Moelfre where we pitched at our campsite, a Caravan Club CL at Plas Llygwy farm. We hunkered down for the rest of the day.

Photos: The Bronze Age settlement with Llynnon Mill in the background; Two of the three pairs of mill stones.

Wednesday 9th May – Holyhead, Anglesey

The weather forecast was not good for today but that didn't concern us as we had done the long walk yesterday and had planned a quiet day today. Jane was able to use the laundry facilities on the site and I planned to get up to date on emails and the blog. That was the plan but Jane had problems with the technology in the form of the tumble dryer eating pound coins whilst I had problems with the Internet technology. We had been warned that the Internet connection was unreliable but I was unable to get on all day. The Internet was working on the office computer and the wi-fi connection worked to the office from Henrietta but I couldn't get onto the Internet. The receptionist has offered to allow us access to the Internet from the office computer tomorrow morning so we will be able to check emails but I won't be able to post the blog.

We took a short walk in the morning up to the nearby Early Bronze Age standing stones. The pair of tall, thin monoliths looked very elegant, especially with the background of the huge stone mass of Holyhead Mountain. Unfortunately, the mass of power lines and poles rather spoilt the view.

We tried to visit the 'Irishmen's Huts' (an ancient settlement) shown on the OS map just a little further up the road but there was no access to the site.

In the afternoon the weather deteriorated and we were glad that we had walked in the morning.

Photos: The pair of standing stones at Plas Meilw.

Tuesday 8th May – Holyhead, Anglesey

After a relaxed start, we headed the short distance into Holyhead to stock up at Tesco and then out to the coast SW of the town. This took us past a small campsite next to the activity centre but it seemed to be on a 1 in 4 hill and didn't attract us. We were actually looking for Blackthorn Farm as the Rough Guide told us that it had wi-fi and we hadn't had access to the Internet for over a week. We found it and as it was just after noon, we were able to book in and hook up on the pitch for lunch. The full price of the site is high (£20 for the pitch and £5 for electric hook-up) and we would have thought twice about staying at that price but they offered us an out-of-season price of £18 including electricity.

After lunch we drove the short distance to the RSPB car park at South Stack, which was the start point of a walk in our copy of the 'Best Walks in North Wales' (by Richard Sale, published by Frances Lincoln). The first point of interest on the walk is the Iron Age huts in the field directly opposite the car park. These were very impressive and in a remarkably good state of preservation. We then walked on to Ellin's Tower that was constructed in 1868 by the wife of the Anglesey MP. It is now an RSPB observatory and we were able to climb up to the first floor where we could see the thousands of birds nesting on the cliff and feeding in the sea beyond.

The walk took us up, past the South Stack Lighthouse to the Cliffs above North Stack before climbing to the summit of Holyhead Mountain. Here we were at the centre of an Iron Age hill fort, unusually not enclosed by banks and ditches but high stone walls only on the sides not protected by the high sea cliffs. This is a very stony area, so this makes sense and the area does not lend itself to farming. It is therefore thought that the inhabitants of those Iron Age huts (and others beside) would have only used the fort in times of threat. The fort was also used by the Romans and they constructed a beacon at the summit. The views from here, the highest point on Anglesey are excellent – we could see across most of island although Snowdonia and the Llyen Peninsula were, once again, covered in thick cloud. On a clearer day we would have been able to see the Isle of Man and Ireland. We enjoyed those views all the way back to the car park.

Photos: One of the Iron Age huts, this one has an entrance passage; The South Stack Lighthouse; The remains of a signal station, built in 1814 as part of a system to give advance notice to Liverpool of the sighting of a tea clipper or Irish packet boat.

Monday 7th May – Newborough, Anglesey

Strong wind and showers greeted us this morning and, mixed with sunshine, this was the pattern for the day. Late morning we chose a lull in the showers to take the short walk to the local church, St. Peters, next to Llys Rhosyr that we visited on Saturday. The church was locked but we took a walk around its cemetery and found gravestones of at least 20 captains dating from the mid 19^th century to the mid 20^th century. Newborough was obviously an important seafaring town. If there were that many captains, many of the other men must have been sailors. We also found the grave of David Williams (died 1935), a pilot from Llanddwyn Island and a sailor who had 'served aboard a man of war for 18 years'. It was interesting to see that surnames of Williams, Jones and Thomas accounted for the majority of people buried in the churchyard.

The afternoon was spent watching the snooker world cup and we were impressed that when this finished earlier than expected, the BBC put on an episode of Coast that covered Anglesey!

Photos: St. Peter's church with a captain's grave on the left – note the anchor and chain carved out of stone; The family tomb made of Welsh slate and listing three captains.

Sunday 6th May – Newborough, Anglesey

The reason that we chose the Awelfryn Caravan Park was that it is ideally positioned to visit Newborough Forest, Newborough Warren and Llanddwyn Island. The air temperature was quite low but there was very little wind, so it felt much warmer than yesterday. Walking straight from the campsite, we were in the forest within a few minutes. There are red squirrels in the forest but, needless to say, we didn't see any all day.

We emerged from the forest with Llanddwyn Island in front of us. However it was clear that it was very nearly high tide and we knew that the island is cut off for an hour around that time. Sure enough, when we got there the water was flowing between the island and us. Quite a number of people were waiting for the causeway to clear but some people decided to take shoes and socks off, roll up their trousers and wade across. One man did so and then carried his wife across. Jane pointed this out and said that she thought that it was a good idea – I said that I didn't!

We had a pleasant chat with another couple and it was soon shallow enough for us to walk across to the 'Lovers' Island'. St. Dwynwen was a maiden who, after resisting the advances of Prince Maelon, became a hermit on the island. An abbey was built here in the 16^th century as the island became a place of pilgrimage but only ruins now remain. We walked past these ruins to the lighthouse at the tip and then on to the small sheltered beach where we had lunch. Out of the breeze and in the sun, it was very warm here and people were actually sunbathing. Meanwhile, the mountains over the other side of the Menai Strait were covered in thick cloud that was depositing considerable amounts of rain. In fact, the rainfall over the mountains continued all morning and well into the afternoon whilst we enjoyed sunshine.

Close to the lighthouse and the old lifeboat station are four pilots' cottages. Two of these are now the warden's accommodation whilst the other two house an interesting exhibition. One is furnished as an original pilot's cottage – cosy could describe it but small it certainly is. It must have been a tough life out on that very exposed island, especially in winter.

We walked back down the other side of the island and across to the mainland , the causeway now surrounded by acres of sand as the sea had receded a great distance. There are over three miles of beach stretching east from here and I can hardly say it was busy but there were a lot of people out for a Sunday afternoon stroll. We walked for a mile along the beach before walking through the dunes and into the forest. We met many people on the walk through the forest and soon arrived back at the campsite. It was interesting to note that there was new snow on the mountains of Snowdonia whilst we had almost continuous sunshine and no rain.

Photos: Waiting for the tide; The centre of Llanddwyn Island with the ruins of the abbey and the lighthouse in the background; The pilots' houses.

Saturday 5th May – Newborough, Anglesey

Although the peacocks roosted in the tree again last night, they were much quieter this morning, only waking me once. When Jane went to pay the owner, he said that the the peacock didn't normally roost in the tree so we were very lucky!

One of the 'must see' archaeological sites that we had noted was the tomb of Barclodiad Y Gawres (The Giantess' Apronful). Although it can be viewed from the outside, it is only possible to view the interior by prior arrangement. Jane spotted that this could only be done at weekends between 12:00 and 16:00, so we decided to try to do it today. We travelled to Aberfraw, an uninspiring village although there were nice walks over the dunes and to the end of the estuary. We phoned at 11:00 and arranged to meet the guide at 12:00 at Barclodiad Y Gawres.

We parked in the car park closest to the site, paying the £2 fee at the ice cream van. The air temperature was a lower than yesterday but the big difference was the biting wind. Out of the wind and in the sun, it was quite pleasant but in that wind it was very cold. Wrapped up well, we walked out to the end of the headland where the chambered tomb is located on a hill commanding a fantastic view over the Menai Strait to the mountain ranges of Snowdonia. John the guide arrived late – the other people that had booked for 12:00 failed to turn up at the shop where John is based. Although we were the only people that had booked, other people who came to look at the site were delighted to find that they were able to get in. The reason that the tomb is locked is that there are six decorated stones in the tomb and they had been badly vandalised in the early 2000's when the tomb was left open. And the stones are well worth looking at. They are all incised with geometric patterns – spirals, chevrons and lozenges and were very clear when John lit them from the side with his torch.

The beach by the car park had areas that were protected from the wind and these were popular with families meanwhile groups of canoeists and jet skiers used the bay. We sat in the van for lunch looking out over the bay and then fell to the temptation of a genuine Anglesey ice cream.

We drove back to Newborough and found the Awelfryn Caravan Park just on the outskirts of the village. We found a pitch with a view over the Menai Strait to Caernarfon and the Snowdonia mountains, although it has to be said that the mountains were shrouded in cloud. We walked into the village stopping off at the remains of Llys Rhosyr, a 13^th century royal court of Welsh princes, including Llywelyn The Great. The village itself is not inspiring and we thought at first that the White Lion pub had shut down. However it turned out that it was the shop next door that had been boarded up and the pub was actually open. It was very small inside but the welcome was warm and we had a good chat with the landlords. The couple had owned it for two years but it was in an awful state when the took it on and they had a major job to do it up. It had been closed for a while before they bought it and before that had a very poor reputation being dirty and fights were common. They are now very much part of the village and take a very strict attitude to behaviour in the pub. The sign said 'Be nice or leave' – we passed the test and were told that we could return at any time! They hope to start serving food soon and we wished them well for the future.

Photos: View of Barclodiad Y Gawres; Two of the decorated stones of Barclodiad Y Gawres; View from the campsite over the Menai Strait with Snowdon in the background and Caernafon on the left.