The Ham Nomads

15 May 2014. <GB-WLS> Anglesey —

Moving by 9:30. Today we are sampling the delights of Anglesey!

Castell Biwmaris — the moat

First, down to Beaumaris Castle (Castell Biwmares), intended to be the jewel in the crown of Edward I's 12th century ring of castles round Snowdonia, but never completed. The most complete section of the inner ward, the Northern Gatehouse, was intended to have two upper floors and battlements, but only ever got up to the first upper floor. The buildings within the Main (Southern) Gatehouse, planned to match the other, only got as far as 8-foot high mounds of foundation work. But on the outside it is magnificent — a water-filled moat surrounds the whole, and there was a dock on the southern side which could handle large boats at high tide. An almost perfectly symmetrical design, with two full sets of walls — an inner and an outer ward. We spent over an hour wandering the site.

Then, for a bit of fun, we decided to drop in on Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch — the name just fits across the front of the railway station, and there is a huge retail outlet beside the station emblazoned proudly with the name! Road signs just point to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll — larger signs would become road hazards in themselves!

Next we went a few miles on to Bryn Celli Ddu, a prehistoric site dating back 5,000 years. There was originally a stone circle here, but fairly soon it was covered when a burial chamber was built over the top of it. After the archaeology was carried out, the burial chamber was reconstructed, and this is what we can visit today.

It was a lovely day, so we decided to continue on to Ynys Llanddwyn. We turned off at Newborough (Niwbwrch) and drove down towards the beach. The drive was an experience in itself — the first part a very narrow village lane, with the huge rubbish collection truck coming at us in the other direction, then a winding lane through the Newborough Forest (Coedwig Niwbwrch), coming out at a large carpark just behind the beach. There were at least 40 cars and vans in the carpark, and an ice-cream vendor was doing a good trade! (Did I mention it was a lovely day?)

Sat in the van and had a late lunch before deciding to walk along the beach and across to the island — which is only an island at high tide! The beach is a wide — very wide at low tide — expanse of fine white sand. Out on the island are the ruins of St Dwynwen's Church, a group of pilots' cottages, and two lighthouses. St Dwynwen is Wales' patron saint of lovers, so this can be a rather romantic spot, A perfect day. The walk from the carpark to the lighthouses and back is about 3 miles, and took us about 2½ hours. A most enjoyable afternoon.

We adjourned to a forest carpark at Malltraeth Park, further towards Holyhead, where we've settled in for dinner and, once the dog-walkers and equestrians call it a night, sleep. Total distance driven today — 27 miles. You get a heck of a lot in small packages around here!

Distance driven — today, 27 miles ( 44 km ); to date, 1,151 miles ( 1,853 km )