Thursday June 23rd 2022

Day 3 of our Ynys Môn (Anglesea) Walking Trip dawned with yet another blue-sky day and perhaps slightly warmer than yesterday. Dee decided to miss today’s walk as she was unable to resist the lure of the clear, turquoise sea and packed her bags ready for a day at the beach – “Oh she does like to be beside the seaside, she does like to be beside the sea”!

Therefore today’s blog is being written by apprentices Steve and David under the watchful eye of Blog-Meister Dee! We hope to keep up the high-standards of writing for her many readers.

Today we planned a walk from Penmon to Benllech. Steve drove us to the start via a series of single track roads where we came across the ruins of the church and priory at Penmon as well as having an excellent view of Penmon Lighthouse and Puffin Island (also known as ‘Ynys Seiriol’, the founder of the monastic settlement at Penmon). Dee had the unenviable task of driving back trying to avoid the single track roads and ignoring the car’s satnav which for some reason was tempting her onto the single tracks just as the sirens from Greek mythology lured sailors to their doom on the rocks!

We now leave Dee behind for the moment as she made her way to Benllech and the allure of sand, sea and ice-creams.

Today’s start led us away from the sea as we entered woodlands and fields occupied with the now-familiar sight of sheep and cows (I wonder if they are Welsh-speaking?). We had a slight disaster close to ‘Bwrdd Arthur’ (Arthur’s Table) as we mistook a general footpath sign for the Coastal Pathway Sign (they are the same colour and Steve was talking at the time!) and ended up not only doing an extra ½ mile but having to climb back up from the beach on a hill that would not have been out of place in the Himalayas!

Thankfully the rest of the walk was uneventful and eventually levelled out as it took as along Red Wharf Bay (Traeth Coch), a most wonderful stretch of red sand that apparently was used to test the first Landrovers. It was here that we bumped into a fellow walker and asked how far it was to our end point at Benllech. For a horrifying moment, Steve thought he was going to say “Fifteen Miles” but thankfully instead said “Fifteen Minutes”. It was a tad longer than that but eventually we caught up with Dee on the sands of Benllech where she was sat reading and looking refreshed from her dip in the sea unlike the 2 jolly walkers who joined her looking hot, tired but pleased to complete yet another leg of the walk. Following an enjoyable packed lunch and rest, we made our way back to the Air BnB.

It’s been great to welcome a fellow walker this week, although I think we may have broken him! He’s just limped into the room having made a cup of tea and all he talks about now is blisters!