The Pen Mon Swimming Expedition

Simply incredible Welsh temperature today! The sea is a long way off from here by bike, but the conditions seemed to justify the effort involved in going for a swim in the sea.

We followed a few lambs as we left The Cottage along the hot and dusty lanes.

It was pleasant, mostly downhill riding to the Meani Straits, where we crossed the bridge onto the Island.

We opted for the short, steep climb up to Llandegfan to get off the main road and to be able to enjoy the views.

Heading eastwards, we wove through plenty of old roads and small lanes, which took us past the Buckely memorial.

The sun beat down and stopping was only possible in the shade!

Past Beaumaris, the road meets the coastline. The tide was high and the whole thing was simply beautiful. 

We had uninterrupted views up and down the Menai Straits and across to the mountains. 

The final section to the far end of the island, was actually quite a long way and mostly uphill, but it was worth it to roll the final section down to the end of the road at Puffin Island. Stunning.

Unusally, there was hardly anyone about. When we arrived there was a couple on the beach, but they didn't stay long.

We had the place to ourselves and a real holiday vibe!

The sea was warmer than anticipated, but nowhere as warm as it looked! It was wonderful to get in for a swim though.

We'd come prepared with blanket, towels and picnic, so spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun, without need to rush off.

As we were about to leave, we bumped into a couple that I knew from Pen Mon, then had another physically distanced chat over the garden gate with another friend.

We stayed on the coast road for the return ride, which was flat, smooth and fast, with more great views of the water.

Clare had a brainwave at Beaumaris and we stopped to phone Dylan's in Menai Bridge to order a take away pizza! We went flat out for the rest of the coast road, zooming past Plas Rhinafa, where we got engaged.

The pizza was ready for us and we wolfed it down with a Ginger Beer sitting by the slipway. The day was turning out to be quite social one as we then saw another couple of friend who is a Menai Bridge resident as we all a couple I used to work with just after. We stayed and chatted until we remembered that we still had to bike home - across the bridge and up the hillside! It was tough going at 63km. We managed to get the bikes locked up, have a shower then both collapsed straight into bed just after 9. Deliriously happy. A brilliant day indeed.