Egypt4u

So with the sad demise of my old moggy (she was 22 years old) it has meant that Annie and myself can just up sticks at any time and shoot off in the touring caravan for a few days at relatively short notice. We went on a short trip earlier in the year to Betws-y-coed in North Wales to a lovely spot just outside of the little village and set between two rivers, the Conway river and another that I cannot recall the name of, Annie loved it, plenty of walks. I met up with a very nice couple whilst on the site and we had our lunch together in a local pub most days, they live in Grandad’s part of the world (on the Isle of Sheppey) and were very pleasant company, we have all booked up to meet again in September for a few more days on the same site.

Earlier this month we had a few days down in the forest at a place called Delamere in Cheshire, a very peaceful site set in the forest with walks around the local meres. Another of Annie’s favourites as there are lots of squirrels and rabbits to chase after. We spent some time there at the back end of last year when we dropped on to a good spell of warm weather as we did again this time around. It is quite close to me and I can be there in under 1 hour, so it is handy for a short break.

Last week we ventured further afield and stayed at a place quite near to Harlech Castle in North Wales, a place we mentioned in another thread the week before when castles came up in the conversation. This was a longer drive as whichever route I choose involves some slow or narrow roads although many are quite scenic so it takes me around 3 hours to drive there. We stayed at a farm that is a CS site (Certified by the caravan club) and these sites are more rural and a bit more basic amenity wise, although they do have to me some minimum standards for toilets, showers, sanitation etc. and are only allowed a restricted number of pitches, usually no more than 10. The advantage of these sites is that they are usually situated in National Park areas or in some other place of natural beauty usually restricted to the public for the purpose of caravanning or camping.

We were staying at a farm in Llandanwg, a Welsh name and as such difficult to pronounce (unless you are Welsh) phonetically you would say “Thlan-dan-ug” as the ‘w’ is pronounced as a ‘u’ and the ‘Ll’ is more like a ‘Th-l’ sound. It was literally a stones throw from the beach and the adjoining fields were owned by the National Trust and led down and around the estuary of the river Artro.
In the fields stood a small rustic church of some interest of which I will write more (and include some images) at a later date. From this location we had a few nice trips out and the weather was really nice, up until the last day when I was soaked while packing everything away and hitching up the van ready to leave. We visited the lovely little village of Bedgelert (meaning literally “the grave of Gelert”) which huddles just below the confluence of the rivers Glaslyn and Colwyn and has a population of only around 500 people, again more about this later.

We visited Potmadoc with its narrow gauge railway and extremely long beach that when the tide is out it is so firm that you can drive a car on it for miles. Another highlight was to visit a visitor centre near to Aberystwyth where they have a Red Kite feeding station and every day at 3 pm hundreds of these lovely birds fly in to take advantage of the free food on offer. It is a spectacular sight to see and I will again tell you more about this later and add some images.

Quick view of my pitch and view from my sun awning, plus Annies favourite a barbecue on the go


General views looking to the mountains and back towards where we are staying


A pleasant walk through the fields to reach the estuary


The tide was usually out when we walked around the estuary so all the images show little water. Although it looked a bit muddy in places it was mainly soft sand and marsh grass, but very firm under foot.


There were plenty of boats either moored in the deep channel or resting on the sand and quite a lot of 'Lions Mane' jellyfish washed up onto the strand line.


You can see how big they are as Annie investigates a stranded Jellyfish and as usual she is straight into the water for a dip. The last two show a very happy little dog running up and down the soft sand, tongue hanging out and all four feet off the ground.

That all looks very peaceful and 'far from the madding crowds' Horus.
Love the last picture of a 'flying Annie', she must have been geeting quite a lik on

Now I notice in several pictures rows of rotted wooden stumps in the waters edge. Are they the remains of breakwaters, or mooring jetties, or foundations of huts on stilts. There seem to be quite a lot which would suggest that there was a lot of activity in the area in years gone by?

Thanks for putting all that together, I know how long it takes. I look forward to your follow ups that you mentioned when you find some time.

PS: Like the motor and the van

She was going like the clappers Grandad, it was one of those two front, two back sort of lunging gallops that dogs seem able to do when all four paws come off the ground at one point, she was certainly enjoying herself. As to the wooden piles, I think that they must be breakwaters to try and stop the erosion of the low lying land that surrounds the estuary, you can see in the 10th & 12th picture a sort of dam wall that protects the land to the left. It is by all accounts an ancient harbour and a busy one in it’s day, in written accounts of the old church I will tell you about later, it is said that during Winter storms the waves would drench the churchyard!

That is a huge jellyfish! I've never seen one that size! Great photos, Horus!

Thanks RS, it was big enough to have eaten Annie

Super photos Horus & looks a very pleasant place to camp up

As for the jelly fish I have never seen one that big before I would have run a mile

Thank you for writing up so much and with your pics, look forward to seeing more

Horus, as is my way I checked out the region that you were in, I think? Was it Llanfair and if so is that the same Llanfair of Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch. fame?
LLL, try to get your tongue around that one. Fortunately shortened to Llanfair PG I believe.
I remember it because my father in law was Welsh and had no problem saying it.

WOW!! (more once "I" get home )

Annie is just a delight - adequate words fail me.

Thanks MD she certainly is a little character and makes friends with just about anyone she meets.

@ Grandad, yes it was very near to Llanfair, but you turn off before then if comming down from Harlech. It is not the same place as Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch which is a village on the isle of Anglesey, on the left just after you cross over the Menia Straights bridge. As near as I can make out the name means something like "St Mary's church, surrounded by white Hazel trees, near the red cave and whirlpool of St Tysilio's church" quite a mouthful.

I think we have all become fond of Annie and her antics H, albeit only online. I can relate to her because our daughter has Millie, a very similar little dog. I swear those little terriers have facial expressions. In your last pictures Annie IS SMILING I see that same expression in Millie

BTW mate, you have committed to some follow ups when you get the time. The Rustic Church and Bedgelert from this trip; and it was muted that you would lead a discussion about 'pottery, china, porcelain and the like' All in good time.

As my outings are now very curtailed I am not able to contribute much in the way of picture stories.

Has anyone else got stories to tell???

Thanks Grandad, I have just told Annie that she is the forum dog
I know she is my own dog, but she really is a little smasher, feisty, lovable, friendly, generally obedient and great company to have around. She also travels very well and has her own special safety harness so she can ride on the front seat, she loves it and almost smiles when she knows we are holidaying in the caravan, I always think of her as a very happy little dog.



As to the other write ups, well I have not forgotten about them and will do another one shortly.

I do love the photo of Annie doing the flying beach routine. Great shot to have gotten her in full flight. Really interesting too that she loves the water that much she'll wade right in. I don't think I know any small dogs that really just wade right in. Big dogs yes but other than Annie most of the little ones I know avoid the water.

You've got a great location and your new vehicle looks terrific as does the trailer.

I see lots of people here who are pulling enormous trailers that are literally small houses. They need mega trucks to move 'em too but yours looks idea for local travel.

Yes the caravan is quite small as it is only a two berth, but at the moment it does myself and little Annie. It is surprising what it can fit inside, during the day there are two 6’-6” long sofa’s one on each side that act as seating areas with a small fixed cupboard that is also a small table on the top, plus another free standing larger table that can be erected inside or outside. There is a fairly large fridge that can hold enough food for a week, a two hob cooker & grill, a small kitchen sink and drainer board for washing up or food preparation. I also have a small Microwave oven plus a small electric Cooker oven which I bring out and place on the top of the fixed fridge depending on which I need, mostly I take out the microwave and leave it there as it is more versatile. I have a wardrobe that can take all my clothes for a holiday and lots of smaller storage lockers at eye level for things like towels or cleaning stuff. I have a drinks cabinet (well stocked) with wine, beer and shorts glasses and two double doored cabinets under the sink area that take all my cooking utensils, all of Annie’s stuff, plus lots of other bits and pieces. I have gas heating or electric fan heating if I need it plus battery operated and mains lights and electrical sockets, the taps are all powered so they pump out hot or cold water if turned on (they actually switch on electrically) My small bathroom has a toilet, sink and a shower although for practical purposes most sites also have shower and toilet blocks that are easily convenient so most people will use those instead and maybe the caravan loo during the night. The two lockers above the kitchen area hold enough tinned and longer lasting supplies that I could survive a month on what is in there.

The only change I have to make is the double bed at night which is quite simple to set up and takes minutes to do, I pull out set of support slats that are built into the chest of drawers and they fill the space between the two sofa’s. Then the two back panels (one from each side) are laid flat onto the slats, this creates a full size double bed, so I just add the two duvet’s (one below and one on top) and a couple of pillows and I am good to go. Annie knows the drill and will jump from one side to the other as I set stuff up which is stored in several lockers under the side sofa’s, I would say it takes me three minutes to set up or to put away in the morning. If I wanted I could just use one of the side sofa’s as a single bed as they are designed to be used that way if required, but I like a bit more space.

I have curtains and blinds fitted to all of the windows and roof ventilation and although everything is in a small space it is adequate if you are mainly out and about, I can of course put lots of extra stuff into the cars boot (trunk) and just take stuff out as I need it, such as heavy coats or boots and extra food in bags or cool boxes. If I am staying for a few days I can put up the awning as either another full enclosed room with (handy in bad weather) or leave out the two side panels and the two front door panels and I have a nice sun porch to sit under, I usually do that and leave myself a chair and a table outside during our stay. I am also considering buying a simple ‘sun canopy’ that just takes minutes to set up and gives a bit of shade on hot days or some shelter from a spot of light rain.
There are many variations of caravans here in the UK and it is all about horses for courses, my mate has a twin axle version about 28’-0” long and it has everything including the kitchen sink in it, but for now this certainly does myself and Annie when we take off for a few days.

I have a colour LCD TV, lots of films on DVD’s, my Kindle fire is loaded with books, plus films from Amazon or Netflix and I have a separate Bluetooth speaker, so I am never short of entertainment, but most times I only use them for a couple of hours in the evening as we are usually out and about during the day. As for towing it, well if you were to see some of the narrow roads we have here especially in the countryside you would wonder how we get anywhere, sometimes I just use my wing mirrors like cat’s whiskers and work on the principle of “if they go through the gap, so will the caravan”

Sounds wonderful and definitely you're camping in the lap of luxury. The feeling of getting out the home and away for a few days is sooooooo refreshing and rejuvenating too.

One of the best individual items I've seen is instead of an awning coming down - an awning with side and front netting come down (not sure how it is assembled) but it creates an outer room and the netting keeps the bugs out. The picnic tables and chairs are inside the netting, keeps the KIDS in a confined space but mostly provides shade and keeps bugs away meaning you can leave food out without having birds/bugs/animals coming for it.

Course that is also countered with the small net over tops you can simply put over food and stuff too.

Definitely looks totally 100% ideal H! You're going to have lots and lots and lots of adventures And having a selection of DVDS plus a loaded Kindle definitely helps to while away the hours.