Pwllheli Pit-stop

I have form with Pwllheli, and in my experience the less one has to do with the place the better for all concerned. However, beggars can’t be choosers and if you’re looking for somewhere to park for the night it’s the most comfortable place in all of Cardigan Bay: the marina is modern, smart, very friendly and has all the facilities you could want. But it is in the middle of nowhere, and when you are out of nowhere you are in Pwllheli, which is worse.

My plan then was to spend a quiet night in Pwllheli before heading off to explore Abersoch and Aberdaron. Abersoch is the opposite of Falmouth in that most classes of boat I’ve raced have held championships there but I have never been. It is, of course, Cheshire-on-Sea and people come back with tales of weeks of fun, variously involving girls from Cheshire or fine dining, depending on how far back you want to go. So I was looking forward to at least a decent baguette and an ice cream and a roam around before spending the night in Aberdaron at the tip of the Lleyn Peninsula before heading up to Holyhead the next day.

But I’d had a worry that the next day was going to be grim – either a long motor against little wind or an even longer beat against lots. So when I strangely woke up at 0600 I wondered if my brain was telling me something and checked the forecast – it was the latter – so in a flash of inspired sensibleness I forewent (is that a word?) the flesh pots of the Lleyn in return for an easy passage to Anglesey.

It was the right decision – Friday was quite windy – but it was very painful motoring past all those Google reviews, and not just because it was before breakfast.

Farewell to the Lleyn. We once made the boys walk up on of those hills in January. What terrible parenting.

I’d been to Holyhead on the train before (oh the joys of being a trainspotter Dad) and the journey was dull as dull, unless you count going through the station with the longest place name in the world interesting. So it was a pleasant surprise to find that the coast of Anglesey is far from dull, being both beautiful and full of rocks you can hit. And what do rocks mean? Lighthouses. South Stack is the best, and I got to go within a few hundred yards to cheat the tide. After I had put the camera down and put both hands on the wheel, just in case.