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.