Betws-y-Coed

We had pulled Heimo up in a field behind the pub car park, something of an overflow, but as the pub was quiet it was just Heimo and a few pigs in the nearby field. We had a lovely night's sleep and headed off the next morning at around 11 having decided to forgo our usual omelette breakfast as we were too full, though Alfie was disappointed for certain. With Rachel at the wheel we moved sedately but safely in the direction of Anglesey.

We left Chelford and quickly dropped on to the M56 heading towards Wales. Rachel was driving and by now were fair zipping along at about 65mph, we were following an old motorhome with a mobility scooter attached to the back, when suddenly a large metal bracket fell off their vehicle flipped a few times on the road as we approached it, then went under Heimo with proper clunk before attacking other drivers behind us! We slowed down but thankfully nothing felt untoward and when we passed the old couple in the disintegrating motorhome Nick tried to let them know, but they were so fixated on the road and didn't notice or simply ignored him hanging out of the window gesticulating at them!

Rachel decided we needed to pull off the motorway and properly check the underside of Heimo, so we came off the motorway and passed about twenty stopping spots, mostly because Rachel felt she was going too fast to pull over by the time she spotted them! Eventually we found a dirt lay by and pulled in, Nick crawled about under Heimo and judiciously declared all was good. With renewed confidence Rachel drove on and we eventually swapped when we stopped to stock up on coffee and cakes near Prestatyn, a sad place full of retired Scousers (so Rachel said with conviction).

With Nick back on the helm and Rachel navigating (Nick gets sick just thinking about reading a map while motoring along) we quickly got back on to the A55 and made good time past Conway and on to Anglesey. We drove along the north side of the island eventually arriving at our intended destination, a car park overlooking a the bay at Lligwy. There was a small cafe at the top end of the parking area with a path down to the beach, we promptly drove to the other end and popped Heimo up on the blocks to level up a little, also providing a better view across the bay, and what a view that was!

The evening was spent walking bare foot along the beach, while Alfie chased after every other dog he saw. Later that evening Nick rustled up some chilli con carne, which was just a little too spicey for Rachel, but was washed down with a bottle of Rioja and some sparkling water, not all together obviously. By 10pm we were all tired and Alfie climbed on to the drivers seat, ignoring his bed under the table, and promptly started snoring.

We were woken up on Sunday morning by the sound of seagulls and children, Nick checked the time and realising it was only 7.30 rolled over and went back to sleep. By 9am the sun was well and truly high and the van was warming up inside. We opened a couple of roof lights to let some air in and boiled the kettle. Nick took Alfie out on the beach for a quick run around, there was no way either of us could put up with any more of his whining. Breakfast around 10 was Nick's new motorhome specialty, something he calls 'Messy Eggs' - basically an ommlette with cheese, onion and fresh pepper, flipped so it is cooked both sides - because we don't have a grill.

By the time we had washed up it was nearly 11 and Alfie was beside himself in anticipation of a good long walk. We headed off down the coastal path, enjoying the amazing views and stopping to take a few pictures. The weather was sunny and warm and there were clouds of huge flies that seemed determined to dive bomb us each time we got near to a field. The tide was most of the way out but even so it was impossible to climb down to the beach and work our way back along the rocks, so we turned around and headed back along the coastal path. When we could safely to do so we dropped down on to the beach and walked bare foot across the bay, enjoying the sand and surf.

When we got back to the cafe at the top end of the car park we decided it was time for a coffee and some cake, the cake was really excellent. Nick then pulled out a chair and rolled it right back and spent about an hour sunbathing, it was a bit too hot for Rachel and Alfie who spent the time in the shade of the van. By about 1.30 we agreed Nick's face was looking a bit pink and anyway it was time to head back. Rachel had been busy and had mapped a rather convoluted route via the centre of Snowdonia, finding a route that avoided any motorways and promised to be a test of van driving skills, with many more interesting things to see as we trundled home.

On the way out of Moelfre we called in to a Tesco Express and picked up some nice things for lunch before heading back for the bridge on to the mainland and the climb up in to the mountains. The journey was lovely, it was so warm and sunny and everything just looked beautiful, the trees were all in full leaf offering a myriad of shades of green to the backdrop of towering rocky mountains on each side of the road. The traffic wasn't too bad, but there were still plenty of people on the roads and we passed a few other motorhome owners, most of whom gave us the traditional wave.

On the way we found a lovely car park / picnic area just off the A5 and stopped to enjoy the food we bought earlier. It was such a peaceful spot we were both tempted to pull up and stay for a few hours but we needed to get on home. The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful, we took it in turns driving and managed to not get lost virtually all the way back, at least until leaving Glossop! Somehow we ended up leaving Glossop via Snake Pass heading towards Sheffield, we turned around at the earliest opportunity and eventually headed out of Glossop towards Woodhead and from there home. We arrived back about 7.30pm to a starving Dan who, despite there being food to cook, had run out of snacks and was demanding to be fed!

Lesson learned, next time we leave him at home there needs to be more snacks and less cook able food!Read more