6 night tour - high wind stopped play

Ann (my lovely wife) conceded that she was willing to go away int' bus for a week. Wore her down again, didn't I?   Cornwall was favourite but once we realised that it would cost us an arm & a couple of legs in petrol alone, a closer alternative was needed. A little research later and the Llyn Peninsula in north Wales seemed to fit the bill. Cliffs, coves and decent waves for Ann, Stu and the bodyboards. 130 miles away instead of 330. All we had to do was to substitute laver bread eating Welshies for bearded pasty munchers (that sounds a bit rude) and all would be well. Ann also expressed a desire to see the wonders of Shell (suit) Island and while I just refuse to stay there overnight ever again, we decided to find somewhere nearby & visit the Island for the day. Maybe Saxo engines sound quieter during the day & Burberry stripes simply fade into the dunes.................

Two sites were found, Ty Newyyd near Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula and Parc Isef about 8 miles south of Harlech so handy for the Island. £14 and £16 a night respectively with electric hook-up, so cheap enough. Bus was packed & all ready to go so off we went.

Found the first place easily enough. Some of the roads/lanes/tracks were a little tight but plenty of passing places.  It was a little disconcerting to get a text from Tesco Mobile welcoming us to Ireland once we got past Caernarfon but the signal died entirely later so no danger of paying international roaming charges.

Set up easy enough - see above. Ann admitted to enjoying herself - see above. Stu had taken Scrat the Rat with him so was instantly the coolest kid on site and made friends easily. The woman in the café was less impressed & wouldn't let him in with rat in pocket.

Weather was brilliant, blue skies etc with sunsets worth climbing the headland to watch. Beaches were sandy & warm, kites were flown and food & drink was abundant. Stu was enjoying himself and as most of his mates were leaving on the Sat am, we arranged to stay an extra night. Tues, Wed, Thurs & Friday am passed happily enough.

The wind started to blow Friday afternoon. It got stronger as the afternoon went on. Re-checked all pegs and all were holding fine but the wind got stronger and louder. It soon became clear that Ann (my lovely wife) was no longer enjoying herself and that it was possibly my fault we were there..............Some "discussions" took place and it became clear that:

1 - ideally we leave now

2 - it's too late to leave now isn't it

3 - leave me alone

4 - no, I said just leave me alone while I sit on the floor crying.

I'll leave it to you to decide who said what..................In the end, I disconnected the awning and pulled the bus round in front to act as a windbreak. Me & Stu got to sleep ok but poor Ann (my lovely wife) found it very difficult & only managed a couple of hours.

I woke at 8am to find a sunny dry still morning & Ann sweeping out the awning with a handbrush having packed a lot of stuff. We were due to move on that morning anyway so no problems with that. The awning had survived the night, no damage, We packed up easily and went for breakfast in the site cafe. As we were moving on to Harlech, I checked the weather forecast  for later that day. It was showing heavy rain & high wind so no prizes for guessing what we did. Better to cut our losses & run for home than risk another night like the night before after setting up in the rain.

Stopped off in Conway on the way home. There was a river festival going on, lots of stalls & fundraising, including jetski rides for £3 - proceeds to RNLI. Stu went on twice while we watched. Glad to say that the only customer we saw fall in was the adult knobhead who declined to remove his glasses as recommended and turned out to have an iPhone in his pocket. Not me, before you all jump to a reasonable conclusion.

Me & Stu might have a night away next week to end our 6 weeks off - will keep you posted.