Up, Up and Away!

Today at last the dry, albeit slightly hazy conditions were good enough for Peter to have his flying lesson. We were up early to get everything done before setting off for the two and a half hour dive up to the flying club on Anglesey. (I haven't gone through the dash-cam footage yet.) Much further north than we've been before though we did have a holiday with friends in North Wales when Vytas was a baby. I wasn't sure what to expect in the way of scenery but had thought there would be a bit more in the way of mountains but of course the road followed the flatter lands around Snowdonia. For most of the way it was a good dual carriageway but with an awful lot of roundabouts. 21 to be precise, 18 of them in a comparatively short stretch.

 

We found the airfield without difficulty and while Peter went up for an hour of flying, dual controls obviously and not take off or landing I walked from the airfield over to the Anglesey Showground where an antiques fair was being held. But I didn't feel it was worth paying £5 to look around the stalls since we are in the decluttering stage rather than the acquisition stage of our lives. There was one chap with a stand outside and I chatted to him for a bit. He was being charged £50 while the stallholders inside the building had to pay £200. That sounds like a lot to me.   

From the showground I had a good view of the other side of the mountains on the Llyn that look like islands when we look out from here. 

Once I'd walked back to the airfield, had half a cup of coffee and played a game of scrabble on my Kindle in the car (I could have had tea or coffee in the clubhouse) Peter was back on the ground and we were ready for the next stop on our trip.

This was to Trearddur Bay about 15 miles further up the coast, a place that a friend had recommended to us. It was a rocky bay with a lovely sandy beach. There were lots of people walking on the beach and a football match going on next to the beach so it was a real shame that the public toilets were locked up. Maybe due to vandalism but an essential facility. The rather smart restaurant had a sign up saying their toilets were only for their customers. We bought fish and chips, from a chip shop not the restaurant which we ate sitting above the beach. They were absolutely delicious but I really shouldn't have eaten them as I'm not used to so much greasy food. Thank goodness for Gaviscon.

Afterwards we had a walk along the soft sand. That's something I miss here as the dry top part of the beach was covered with hundreds of tons of shingle twenty years ago as part of the village's flood defences.

There must be plenty of fish in the rockpools because first I saw a heron and then a snowy egret out fishing. (I got some lovely shots of the egret so expect more later in the week.)

At one end of the beach there was an area of preserved peat and tree stumps that looked to be about the same age as the submerged forest here in Borth.

By the time we got home we both felt quite tired. I think this has cured my wanderlust for a while as the time in the car was about my limit especially as Peter doesn't like to stop when he's driving and he doesn't like being driven by me either. It was lovely to be back home and to be able to stand and watch the calming view of the sea. Speedy was very glad to see us as it was waaay past feeding time, at least half an hour and now that he's older he does like company in the afternoon ie a lap to sit on.