The Seaside Resort of Rhosneigr, Anglesey

It’s mid-August now and we’re experiencing some good weather here on Anglesey. Yesterday called for the Factor 50 as the sun blazed down from a blue sky, the mountains of Snowdonia clear on the horizon. During previous nights predicted meteor showers have been elusive above a blanket of cloud. More recently we’ve seen clear and moonless skies. Before retreating to bed around 11pm, we’ve pulled blankets around us and craned our necks upwards, the stars blazing and the Milky Way clearly visible. Our camera isn’t up to the job of capturing the show. We’ve been pondering getting a new one, but the enormous choice (and high cost of the good ones) has us keep putting it off.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had our share of the wet stuff too. Before we set off we looked at the forecast and were half-loathe to come. Every day showed rain. It looked like an endless, miserable lashing down. That’s not what happened in reality, we’ve only had half a day washed out. The rest of the time’s been either sunny, overcast or raining at night (it hammered down last night, waking us up at 5am). Fairly strong winds are forecast tonight, so we’ll get the steady legs down. But overall the weather’s good and we’re really pleased we came.

From the campsite at the South Stack Lighthouse we nipped along the country lanes to Holyhead. A friend Paul moved there from Nottingham with his family earlier this year. I know Paul from many moons ago when we both worked for a multi-national energy company. Working in IT he’s able to earn a crust remotely, so can live anywhere he likes, pretty cool. Having spent decades visiting the island, they decided to make it their home and now live in an magnificently-renovated house. It’s a stone’s throw from the clear sea where he kayaks when the urge takes him. The ferry to Ireland is 5 minutes away when they want to nip over. Over a cuppa they told us about this new life before we took our leave, heading for another campsite.

Yep, we’re staying exclusively on campsites on Anglesey. There are opportunities to stay off-site, but they’re pretty limited. Free or low-cost overnight places we’ve seen YouTubers waxing lyrical about just a year or two ago now have height barriers, are fenced off completely, have sprouted ‘no overnight’ signs or have ANPR numberplate readers at the entrance. We guess the pandemic is the cause, with the ensuring rush to holiday in a van or motorhome. We could have stayed by the marina in Holyhead, but it’s right alongside a road and we’ve done our fair share of that. We can afford to stay on these farm sites and although we don’t always enjoy the noise of nippers screaming and frisbees flying past, we do enjoy the overall sense of security.

After stocking up on food and diesel at Morrisons in Holyhead we hit the A55, again, and drove back across the island to here, Rhosneigr. We’re back at the end of the RAF Valley runway (well, a little way away), but this time have avoided the low bridge. A Bodfan Campsite sign encouraged us down what looked like a cycle path (been there, done that) and into the site. Ju jumped out the van, checked us in at the house and paid, and off we trundled onto the mown fields to find a flat spot. Even in mid August there’s a huge amount of space here, it’s nowhere near full as long as you don’t need hook-up. That said, another site we wanted to use tonight is fully-booked so we can’t assume we can just rock up.

Rhosneigr’s been a tourist haunt for yonks, since the Victorians at least. The village has a convenience shop, chippy, nice pubs and lots of those big houses with huge windows facing out to sea which make you just that tiny bit jealous. It’s sited between a couple of huge sandy bays, popular with families.

Locals use classic old tractors to carry boats and jetskis to and from the shallow sea on trailers, kids kick balls and dads dig holes in the sand. All very British (although maybe not the jetskis, I don’t remember many of them in Skegness as a kid).

Neither of us are big on sun bathing so we climbed onto Shank’s Pony and walked 3 miles along the beach to the other end of RAF Valley where the training planes were landing. There’s a large parking area there where you used to be able to sleep overnight (mindful part of it flooded), but it’s now completely fenced off. Not a problem on foot, and we stood by the fence at the end of the runway watching planes approach. The sensation of even a small propeller plane heading right for you is an, ah, interesting one! I managed to resist the temptation to fling myself to the floor as they came down above, quite a buzz!

Back in town we’ve eaten out at the Sandy Mount House which had nice food but was probably a tiny bit posh for us with charred lemon and crushed peas with the fish ‘n’ chips. Wandering around looking out over the beaches we came across a statue to Admiral Sir Max Horton. Born on Anglesey, he commanded the British forces in the WW2 Battle of the Atlantic, a huge responsibility. Had he been born in continental Europe, he and his family would probably have been murdered as he was of Jewish origin. Quite a contrast.

Our plan now is to head to Newborough Forest in the morning to take part in the Parkrun. We’d have stayed at Awelfryn Campsite, in jogging distance of the start, but it’s full. So we’re driving from here in the morning instead. The parking for the forest has a height barrier overnight, so we’re hoping it’s removed in time or we won’t be able to park for the run. If we can park and the weather’s OK we’ll stay there for the day to walk the famous forest and beach, then head for another site at night. Finger’s crossed.

Cheers, Jay