Diwrnod tri: Taith feciau Ynys Mon (2022)
Day Three: Nant Bychan to Cemaes Bay (17 miles)
After packing most of the gear, I checked on the weather forecast and it was giving a ten percent chance of light showers. The skies were grey but it was not raining when I set off at mid morning. I dropped down the hill into Moelfre and tucked into an excellent cooked breakfast at Ann's Pantry.
I'm not sure why I didn't ride straight through Moelfre, possibly I didn't check the map carefully enough but, after my early cafe stop, I went back up the hill to the road junction and turned onto the small lane that runs past the Lligwy Burial Chamber.
I did not have time to visit that ancient site and just continued on along the rolling lanes until I eventually returned back on the main A5025 road towards Llaneuddog.
By this time the rain had set in and there were dark foreboding clouds swarming in my direction from the northwest. I took a right turn down the coastal lane towards Llys Dulas and as I approached a wooded section the "ten percent chance of light showers" had become a "one hundred and ten percent racing certainty of a bucketing downpour".
I stopped at an entrance to some woods in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where I set up my tarp against a tree. There I stayed for the next three or four hours as the black clouds slowly rumbled overhead.
 |
| A spot of wild sheltering from the heavy rain. |
 |
| The quick and easily pitched plough-point tarp shelter; I used a fallen branch to prop up the back. |
Not long after I got underway again, I found myself riding a series of very steep rugged country lanes that overlooked the sea spectacularly. They were virtually off-road tracks; strewn with gravel and tufts of grass growing, in some places, Mohican-style down the centre of the tarmac.
The last of these steep climbs took me up onto a moorland heath where there were animals grazing high up above Point Lynas.
I was very glad that I had not been riding up there in the pouring rain. At first I was surprised to encounter such a moorland area in a tiny corner of Anglesey, then I remembered the Halkyn Mountain heath in the Flintshire hills that I had ridden over the previous summer.
 |
| On the heathland road above Point Lynas with the yacht at anchor in the bay below. |
My route map does not show it but, after I dropped off the moorland, I followed the road down through the exotic and expensive looking caravan parks to the cute little cove at Point Lynas.
It looked like some of the sailing enthusiasts were wrapping up their activities for the day. There was a sleek white sailing yacht moored in the middle of the small bay, warmly cocooned by the high cliffs around it. It was like a film set for The Onedin Line or Poldark, apart from some rowdy teenagers that were polishing off some tasty-looking ice creams on the road at the entrance to the beach.
I waited around to take it all in before setting off back to re-acquaint myself with the A5025 and the route to Amwlych.
The main road was not so busy and I stayed on it through Amlwych then on to the familiar Cemaes Bay. Unlike the day before, the beach was basking under a thick grey blanket but it was still a gorgeous looking spot. The gulls and children were less raucous though.
 |
| Cemaes Bay looking a lot less sunny than the day before. |
From the beach road I picked up NCN566 again which took me inland for a short distance until I arrived at my home for the night, Dolydd campsite. It was very busy. I stopped at the house but there was no answer to the mobile number and it was not clear what I was meant to do.
I went onto the camp site, through the first field and then onto the second where there was a lot more room. I started to set up my tarp but was told I couldn't do that. The second field had been booked up by the Caravan and Camping Club, which I'm not a member of.
The slogan refers to it as the friendly club but I think that is strictly reserved for folk that have paid their annual subscription. On speaking with the (English) manager it was clear he didn't want his beer drinking interrupted by some bicycle-riding prat.
He did vaguely mention that I should speak with the guy in the house, so I went back through the first field and up to the entrance. I tried the mobile number again and this time there was a reply.
The owner of the site, a local guy, could not have been more helpful and showed a genuine interest in my journey, even recommending a lunch stop at Church Bay for the next day.
When I mentioned about the heavy rain he told me that it had been fine on the other side of the island. Presumably the weather station is at the airport on the east side!
He put me on the patch of grass at the top of the field by his house, just over the garden fence, and kindly volunteered to pass an extension cable across so that I could charge my phone. An offer I accepted gratefully after three days on the road.
Dolydd is a clean campsite and for most of the year a big one, apart from the last two weeks in August when half if it is booked out to the C&CC. Cost was £10 for one cyclist and one bicycle. The owner asked me how much I'd like to pay!
Day three route: Nant Bychan to Cemaes Bay via Point Lynas and Amwlych (17 miles)
Comments
Post a Comment