kiwibird: At the beach in Wales

It was not all about cold and wet weather, during our week in Wales. Luckily we also had a few days of warm and sunny weather too. Although most mornings did start off cloudy and misty. Mountain weather, on a west coast.

The first beach, slightly to the south of Llanbedr, was covered with yellow sand, and very wide, when the tide was out. No stoney beach here. Also lovely and clean. And quite deserted too.

Some of us braved the water, Steve, Emma, Jackson, Isabel, Mia, Abi and me. It took a while for Emma and me to get completely wet, I must admit, but once in, it was really lovely. A trifle cold, but not unpleasant. Aaron and Raphy managed to get wet up to their ankles. Raphy is not a lover of cold water. Walter and Kylie sat on the dry sand, well away from the water.

Jackson now has a body board, and everyone had great fun trying to ride the waves, getting into practice for a visit to Australia, I think.

Isabel, Mia and Abi, all ready to tackle the waves, and cold water.

Our next two beach visits were to Shell Island, on the Morfa Dyffryn beach. Shell Island, also called Mochras Llanbedr, was formed after the River Artro was diverted by the Earl of Winchelsey in 1819. Access to the island was over a causeway, which flooded when the tide was in, so it was important to plan a visit, otherwise you had to wait for a couple of hours for the tide to turn before returning back to Llanbedr.

Shell Island was so named as there was a line of rocks on the sea side of the island, and when the tide came in, it deposited shells, of many varieties behind the rocks. A shell collectors paradise.

Shell Island was also a 'free camping' site for tents and motorhomes. No caravans allowed as it was not registered for caravans. However the only free part of the site was that you could camp anywhere, no set camping sites, as long as you were no closer than 20 metres to another camper. The island was very large so plenty of room for people who were keen to camp there.

But not a cheap place to camp in, at £7.50 per night per adult, and £3.00 per night per child, and £2 per dog per night. There were reductions for a weekly stay. Amazingly, considering the high price, the facilities were terrible, a few portacabins scattered around, plus a grubby looking permanent building at the front. I noticed that there was a bar, restaurant, and plenty of little shops, all ready to take your money. It also cost £7.50 to drive onto the island, and park at the top of the sandhills.

There were lots of people on the beach and it was great to have people around when swimming in the water. However, the downside was the large amount of litter lying in the dry sand, and in the sandhills behind the beach. The beach was privately run, as was the camping ground. They put a couple of small bins in place, and someone came along on a tractor and emptied them, but no effort was made to collect the rest of the rubbish, or groom the dry sand.

However, the sandhills were a great hit with our grandchildren, and they loved climbing them, and sliding back down again. A real luxury as most dunes are fenced off, in order to protect them.