1st trip of 2012 & Shell (suit) Island - an apology

Previous entries have not been too complimentary to Shell Island in Gwynedd. Previous experience in a tent in close proximity to Saxo-revving idiots have led to it being re-named Shell (Suit) Island. I hereby retract all previous comments and nominate it as my new personal heaven. 3 days of sun, blue sky, a perfectly functioning bus and no morons nearby have pointed out just how judgmental I can be.........

The forecast wasn't great, 3 days of heavy showers according to the BBC up to the day of leaving. Me & The Boy packed up & set off. Easy drive to Barmouth for a picnic on the beach while we waited for the tide to go out up the road. It's not called Shell Island for no reason after all, so a couple of hours killed watching the waves, wandering & eating ice-cream. Up the road, booked in & found a great spot right on the edge overlooking the sea.

Plenty of wandering about, a bbq, a little cold with quite a biting wind coming off the sea but they do say that alcohol lowers the body's core temperature so that could account for it. Anyway, Stu loved his first bottle of Strongbow, I enjoyed an odd glass of wine (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc, etc......) & we were tucked up by 9:30pm. We woke (from a fresh-air induced coma, not at all hung-over) at 10:30am. More sun, blue sky, no rain, wandering about collecting shells. It's not called Shell Island for no reason after all. Stu went off after lunch on his own for an explore around the dunes - exit stage right  I stayed behind listening to good tunes & making sure my nose got properly burnt, sun cream? North Wales? April?  3 days of rain forecast? Of course I hadn't taken any sun cream & my Nivea Sensitive Moisturiser for Men might as well been olive oil for all the good it did me. Could be worse, I could be a Blue Nose I suppose.

Stu came back with a fantastical tale about lying down in the dunes & being bitten on the finger by a sand lizard. He did indeed have a bite mark but I suspect that the lizard may have been provoked and possibly objected to being picked up. I also suspect that both parties have learnt their lesson.

Second evening was 100%. The wind dropped, stars came out, Stus home-made chilli tasted like the best thing ever & marshmallows were toasted over a perfect fire. Some things are just right & can't be properly described..........

Last morning same as really, another wander, packed up, leisurely drive home through Bala, though bizarrely bearing in mind our weather, they had had a massive dump of snow that sat 18 inches deep at the side of the road where plowed clear. Stopped off for bison burgers at Rhug Estate near Llangollen where I could have spent an absolute fortune on the organic free-range perfectly happy before killed meat on sale (Rhug Estate), and beers, and cake, and pies oh the pies.

Home again, bus needs a v good wash & clean (again) but ran like a dream. Cost of petrol was only quibble for a 240 mile round trip. If anyone has a spare £1k for an LPG conversion please don't feel embarrassed to let me have it. Talking of fuel prices, we passed many garages in Wales where the petrol was more expensive than the diesel - strange seaweed eating people the Welsh.

What next?  SoManc meet on the 29th April, possibly a T25 meeting in Chorley the Sunday after that & then the All Types shows at Bodelwydden Castle in North Wales the weekend after (All Types). It's all go, isn't it?  We'll see.........................