Back on 'the tour' today after a brief 'rest' from the weather. Having initially planned to do a three or four-day continuous trip, we made a good decision to return to base and then drive back out to restart in the sunshine. This time with camping kit and my new solar panel on the back.
Given the days either side, it's hard to believe that there was thunder and lightning all day long on Sunday, accompanied by some serious downpours at The Cottage. We were very happy with our decision to stay indoors (and our legs were glad of the rest too!).
Monday morning was a completely different scene as we cycled away from the village of Rhyd-y-Clafdy, a few miles west of Pwllheli. Inland, all was still, clear and gloriously warm. Within the first half an hour of riding, we had two close encounters with buzzards that we disturbed on the roadside - one nearly flew right into Clare!
Out towards the north coast, things were looking a little hazy and the fields were literally steaming as the sun evaporated yesterdays rain.
Feeling in an exploratory mood, we took a turn down towards the coast and were delighted to stumble across the tiny natural harbor of Porth Colmon.
It was the perfect lunch stop. The water was flat calm, with just the odd fishing boat launching and landing. In the distance, we could see a packed out busy beach, but somehow we'd found a secluded spot to rest.
It was tempting to just stay put, watching the birds fly by and a seal splashing around in the bay.
On onwards we peddled along the country roads. All of this section of the tour was on raods, so we had to keep an eye and ear out for traffic, but generally, the roads seemed to be little used. The only Bank Holiday traffic jams we encountered involved waiting for the cows to go in for milking.
Pulling in at the coastal village of Aberdaron was interesting. The place was packed! We had to weave in and out of the people, nevermind the cars. We took refuge outside the church, which had a very well placed bench that provided views and quiet space amidst the chaos. People were lined up side by side on the beach for as far as the eye could see. We stayed long enough to enjoy an ice cream and then set off further west after filling up our water bottles at the pub on the seafront. Having scanned the map for potential places to camp, we struck lucky on our first attempt.
Our 'undisclosed location' was within sight of Bardsey Island, yet out of sight of the rest of the world; we found a nice little flat spot on the cliff tops, where we decided to spend the night. Our next priority was finding an acess point where were could jump into the sea to cool down. A short scramble led us to a good ledge to launch from, where the rocks were baking hot, (but the sea still very cold!)
Feeling suitabley refreshed, we returned to the bikes and set about cooking dinner, while watching the tidal races push past the headland.
We didn't see or hear anyone until we got back to Aberdaron the next day.
We just sat, chatted and stared...
Once the sun got low, we put up the tent and finally lay down. We'd not gone as far as the other day (but still a respectable 36km) but were still very happy to get horizontal - and believe it or not, out of the sunshine!
We watched the last of the sun dissapear from our sleeping bags, before falling asleep.
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