A ‘proper’ holiday in North Wales isn’t really complete until you’ve spent at least one full day lounging on the Beach, no matter what the Weather throws at you. Once more we were blessed with glorious weather during our two week stay on Anglesey so in a repeat performance from last year we did our ‘beach day’ on Newborough Beach.
After the 10 minute drive (it took us longer to pack our picnic) we arrived at the car park just before 10am. The weather was fantastic with blue skies, sun scorching the marram grass sheaths sculptures and a slight breeze to keep it bearable and we were glad we’d plastered on some sunscreen as even that early you could feel the Suns UV starting to burn.
The walk across the Newborough warren and Dunes was great with a small herd horses that are used to manage the dunes (eat stuff and keep it under control) near the first gate, usually they’re scattered throughout the dunes and you only see a few at once.
We saw a lot of brown Butterflies (were still not good at identifying them), Frittileries, Small Tortoiseshells, 6 Spot Burnetts and their stripy caterpillas and the odd White as well as busy Bees and Rabbits darting under ground as we approached.
As seemed to be this years theme we spotted another new beetle, like a very large ladybird but without spots which we later identified as a Poplar Leaf Beetle (Chrysomela populi)
Although the tide was coming in we managed the short cut across the Sand to the main beach close to Aber Menai point where we managed to find some soft sand and made ‘camp’ for the day.
The heat continued to rise and we spend a great day lounging on the sand, Wendy went for a dip but I decided it was just to cold to go all the way in so for once wasn’t the crazy one. The weather was perfect for sea fishing in the bay and there were lots of small fishing boats either drifting with the incoming (and outgoing) tide or at anchor, probably searching for Bass. The beach was almost deserted, we only saw four other people in the four hours we were there and it was great.
Our ’picnic on the beach’ was a bought selection from the local supermarket; rice stuffed vine leaves, sweat potato falafels, BBQ chicken sliders (like little burgers) and a black pudding scotch egg, not entirely healthy but it tasted great as we sat and watched the sea come slowly closer and the odd cloud drift across the bright blue sky.
After continuing to do nothing more strenuous than read a few more chapters of our books for a few hours we returned the same way seeing even more Butterflies, Bees and a couple more Poplar Leaf Beetles. With slightly tender backs and shoulders where we over did the exposure to the sun a little we headed back to the cottage for dinner and a beer, ending the days leisurely adventure.
