Sunday 6 April 2025
Friday, 11 April 2025
First trip of 2025
Monday, 24 April 2023
First trip of the year
Fairbourne and Bodilan Fach Farm - 16 - 19 April 2023
We'd been itching to get away in the van, but the weather's been rubbish over the past few weeks. We planned on taking this trip a week ago, but wind, rain (and snow!) meant it was sensible to postpone. But the weather forecast improved - at least the rain and strong winds had stopped - so we decided to take a chance.
After an expensive diesel fill-up, we drove one and a half hours south from Anglesey to the village of Fairbourne. It's situated right by the beach at the southern end of the Mawddach estuary, just across rom the town of Barmouth. Fairbourne is right down at close to sea level and is protected from the sea by a series of flood barriers. But it's been decided by the Welsh Government that maintaining them is too expensive and the village can't be saved if sea levels rise (and they will) so it's likely the place will eventually be abandoned and surrendered to the sea over the coming decades. Given that, the occupants are finding it almost impossible to sell their houses and anyone who wants to buy here has to pay cash. So the area is starting to look a little run-down, although reading the various noticeboards, there does appear to be a strong 'all in it together' community spirit. The village seems to mainly be English retirees and holiday homes, handed down the generations. However, there did appear to be an active and noisy primary school, so perhaps not all is lost.....for now.
The beach is mainly large round pebbles up by the defences, with a long sandy stretch when the tide's out. Behind the village are mountains and across the sea, to the left of Barmouth, is a view of the Llyn Peninsula.
Our first stopover was on something like a French aire. It's actually the private car park of a closed hotel, but the owner's made use of the space and allows overnight stopovers, at a very reasonable cost of £5 for 24 hours, paid via the 'Pay by Phone' app. He's also installed a motorhome service point, with black waste disposal and fresh water. This is available to all but there is an honesty payment of £5, paid online via a QR code. When we arrived, there were still a few Sunday trippers parked in their cars, but still plenty of room for us to pull in on what is a very level, tarmac parking area. We were soon joined by a couple of other vans. After some lunch we walked along the raised promenade heading north. The middle section of the beach is no dogs from 1 April - 30 September, but dogs are allowed on the beach on either side of this. The tide was out and we hobbled across the large round pebbles to walk on the wet sand. There is a small ferry that sometimes runs at the end of this spit of land for the short crossing to Barmouth and it's the only way to get there from this point, unless you walk the 45 minutes back to the wooden train bridge which spans the estuary, or drive quite a few miles around. At the end of the spit there's a cafe that services walkers and those using the small steam railway that runs from the station just by the aire.
The weather wasn't great - very grey and cloudy - but at least it wasn't raining or windy. Back at the van, we chilled out before eating, then later took a walk in the other direction towards the main road and the mountains. I had a chat with the owner of one of the vans. He and his wife had been away touring the UK for about 3 weeks and were planning on continuing until the end of May. We talked about the difficulty of finding places such as this to stay overnight, without the hassle of pre-booking a campsite and wished for many more of them. Although next to a road, the aire was very quiet and we slept well.
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Good service point |
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Salty watching the little steam train from the aire |
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View down towards Fairbourne and Barmouth |
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Blue lake |
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Golf club stopover |
The next morning it was clear blue skies and bright sunshine, but the strong, north-easterly wind was wickedly chilly. I took Salty out for his morning constitution and we returned to the van with cold tears in our eyes! Our final stopover for this trip was at the CL on Bodilan Fach Farm, nestled in the Dysynni valley between mountains in the Snowdonia National Park. It only took about 20 minutes to drive there, following the coastal road before cutting inland , following ever-smaller roads and lanes into a dead-end valley. What a beautiful spot. The CL is a grass area just past the farm, next to a fast flowing river. It's pretty basic - fresh water tap and black waste dump - but that's all we needed and only £10 for the night. There's also absolutely no phone signal here, which won't suit lots of people, but is perfect for us. I'd emailed the owners a few days before and had a very welcoming reply; I tried a couple of times at the house to say hello and pay the fee, but no doubt they were busy on the mainly sheep rearing farm.
We pitched up with our side door facing south to benefit from the strong sunshine, then made up a flask, grabbed some snacks and headed out for a walk. We wandered up the lane before turning right and doubling back on ourselves along the footpath on the opposite side of the river. The route followed the line of one of the many dry-stone walls that reminded us so much of Yorkshire. Reaching a road, we stopped to read the monument at the derelict house of Mary Jones. A few minutes on, we reached St Michael's Church, which has a small exhibition dedicated to Mary Jones and her family. The story of Mary Jones and her Bible inspired the founding of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Mary Jones (16 December 1784 – 28 December 1864) was a Welsh girl who, at the age of fifteen, walked twenty-six miles barefoot across the countryside to buy a copy of the Welsh Bible from Thomas Charles because she did not have one. Thomas Charles then used her story in proposing to the Religious Tract Society that it set up a new organisation to supply Wales with Bibles. Together with the Welsh hymn writer Ann Griffiths (1776–1805), Mary Jones had become a national icon by the end of the nineteenth century, and was a significant figure in Welsh nonconformism.
We continued to follow the narrow lane heading south, soon arriving at the base of Castell y Bere. The remains of the castle stand on a large rocky outcrop in the middle of an otherwise flat and featureless valley, with high mountains on either side. Constructed by Llywelyn the Great in the 1220s, the stone castle was intended to maintain his authority over the local people and to defend the south-west part of the princedom of Gwynedd. In 1282, war with Edward I of England resulted in the death of Llywelyn's grandson, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, and Castell y Bere fell to English forces. Edward I expanded the castle further and established a small town beside it. In 1294 the Welsh leader Madog ap Llywelyn mounted a major revolt and the castle was besieged and apparently burnt. Edward did not repair it and it became ruined. It was cleared of undergrowth and the first archaeological dig completed in the 1850s.
We had a very enjoyable hour exploring the castle, finding a sunny spot out of the wind to enjoy our tea and snacks. The last leg of our return journey continued along the lane we'd driven down earlier and back to the van, for a well-earned cup of tea sat in the sunshine, with Salty sleeping contendedly by our feet. I made tonight's dinner - a simple salad with sausage and cheese toasties made in the Ridge Monkey. The sun had disappeared behind the mountain by 6pm, so after washing up we walked up the bridleway to see the sun on the distant mountains and he looked down the valley towards the sea. The path continued on, traversing the hillside and promises further great walks when we return here....and we will. Tired from a couple of days of hilly walks, we read our books before falling asleep to the sound of the river rushing behind us.
This was just a short trip, not too far from home. But we enjoyed the change of scenery and it was good to get back in the van. We'd forgotten how to do 'van life' after a long winter break and our 'To Do' list filled up with things we forgot to buy or need to do. But we'll get back into the swing of it during a visit to the Lake District (and possibly Scotland) next month. Until then...
Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Short West Coast Tour of North & Mid Wales
Tuesday 7 September 2021
We'd planned a short trip away in the van during September and it tied in nicely with two stages of the Tour of Britain passing through Wales. Stage 4 was from Aberaeron to the Great Orme in Llandudno, so I took a look at the route to find somewhere easy to park up and not too busy. The Harlech Leisure Centre allows motorhomes and campervans to park overnight in their car park for an £8 fee. There's no facilities, but it's well situated just back from the main road, under the castle and only a short walk from the long, sandy beach. So this set the start of our short four day trip along the West Coast of North and Mid-Wales.
It was a really hot day as we set off from home, with the forecast showing a couple of days of exceptionally hot, humid and sunny weather. Harlech's only about 45 miles from home - so about 1.5 hours in the van. We arrived at the Leisure Centre and parked up with a few other vans. I popped into Reception to pay; they were very welcoming and friendly and said we only had to pay the night fee of £8 and that would see us through until after the Tour had passed through tomorrow. We packed our beach stuff and walked about 15 minutes to the dunes and beach. It such a hot and sunny day so it was quite busy, but the beach is huge so there was plenty of space. One side has summer dog restrictions, so we turned left from the dunes and found a spot to drop our bag and take Salty for a paddle. We both enjoyed a sea swim and dried off before heading back to the van. There was plenty of space in the car park, so we followed the lead of other vans and got our seats out to sit in the shade - it was 34ºC inside the van! The rest of the evening was spent sat outside reading and, when I took Salty for a walk at 10.30pm, the air was still very warm. It felt just like a warm summer's evening on an aire abroad.
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It felt like we were on a French aire! |
Despite being quite close the main road, it was quiet at night and we slept well. We took a morning walk back to the beach to avoid the heat of the day. Cathy settled into her chair in the shade and I wandered over the rail track and road to grab a coffee from the cafe and wait for the Tour. I knew I had about an hour's wait, but it was a good atmosphere and I got chatting to some of the locals who'd come out to watch. The excitement mounted as the Tour and Police motorbikes started to come through, followed by a couple of the Tour safety cars. There was a breakaway of about 5 riders who were a few minutes ahead of the rest and I took some photos as they passed through, then put my camera away so I could cheer on the Peloton as they came hurtling through. One of the Deceuninck-Quick-Step riders through his musette (feed-bag) down at my feet as he cycled past, so I happily gained a souvenir! The Tour of Britain isn't quite the same as the Tour de France and is missing the Caravan that passes through in advance, but it was still a great atmosphere and, with such a hot, sunny day, it did feel like being in France!
Our park-up for tonight was an area next to the sea near the village of Borth in Ceredigion, called Ynyslas Borth. It costs £10 to stay for the night and, again, there aren't any facilities, but it's a nice quiet spot, popular with all types of motorhomes and campervans. There was someone collecting the money and the height barrier is closed at 8pm. The weather was starting to change and it was cloudy, but it still felt warm. We took a walk along the pebble beach and had a pre-supper drink overlooking the sea, using the sea wall as an impromptu bar. Again, it was a lovely quiet park-up and we fell asleep listening to the waves breaking.
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Here come's the breakaway - Allez, Allez, Allez!! |
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A souvenir of the Tour - I'm easily pleased! |
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Apero time at our pop-up beach bar! |
We had a lazy morning with another walk before driving the short distance to Aberystwyth, just a few miles south. Before we left home I'd emailed the town's rugby club, who run something similar to an aire in their car park. For £10, we had a safe parking spot (with the gates locked) and access to a loo emptying point and fresh water. I had paid in advance online and they had sent me the code for the gate lock, so we were able to let ourselves in and park up. The walk into town was through a small park and it was busy around the shops, bars and restaurants. We took Salty with us and had a wander along the promenade (the north beach is off-limits to dogs in the summer) before heading back to the van for lunch. Later we left Salty in the van and walked back in to wander around a bit more. By now the rain had started and became heavy, so we darted into a pub to shelter! We haven't been in a pub for quite a long time (a few years maybe) and so I was a bit surprised at the cost for two drinks! On the way back we ordered some food from Mama Fay's - a small Caribbean restaurant - and took it back to the van. The curried goat and rice and peas were delicious. The jerk chicken was succulent and tasty but could have been spicier, but we enjoyed it. Aberystwyth is worth a visit if you need to stop somewhere to empty the loo and top up with fresh water. However, we felt the town was a bit tired, sadly the same as many of the UK coastal towns that have suffered in recent economic times.
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The rugby club 'aire' |
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Aberystwyth pier |
Our final overnight stop was a pub parkup - the Bryn Arms in the village of Gellilydan, directly opposite the CMC Coed-y-Llwyn Club Site and just north of Llyn Trawsfynydd. They allow motorhomes and campervans to park up in their car park if you buy a meal in the pub. Although the pub's dog-friendly, we're not convinced Salty is pub-friendly, so we left him in the van! We enjoyed a good meal in the pub and had a quiet night's sleep.
Saturday 11 September 2021
The plan today was to find somewhere to stop for breakfast and lunch on the way home, which was only about an hour away. We'd have liked to have parked up by Llyn Trawsfynydd, but all their car park have height barriers, so instead I drove us to Dinas Dinlle, a free parking area by a long pebbly beach and next to Caernarfon Airport, where the Coastguard helicopter is based. We chilled out there for the rest of the day, before heading home.
This was a short trip, really just to get away for a few days and enjoy the hot weather, but also to allow me a pro-cycling tour 'fix' as we weren't able to travel to France in June to watch the Tour. We've pretty much covered this area of Wales now, so our next trips will probably be a bit further afield in the UK, although planning for a longer trip to France next year is in progress.....
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Dinas Dinlle |
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A view across to Ynys Llanddwyn close to home |