My latest short break

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Horus
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My latest short break

Post by Horus »

Grandad asked about our last little break in the caravan, so here is a bit of background and a few pictures. I had planned a two site visit, one near Barmouth and the other to Llanberis, both in North Wales, once everything is hitched up and ready to go it usually takes me about 2.5 hours to get there due to legal towing speed restrictions and narrow country roads and villages in some places en route. Our first stop was a small privately run site a little way past Barmouth and closer to Talybont. Apart from a couple of touring vans left there for storage and the owners other little side line of a large bell tent that was beautifully kitted out inside in a Moroccan theme and then hired out to holiday makers.
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As you have seen from previous pictures my touring van is not a super modern version, but rather a very well looked after ‘classic’ style tourer, it lacks the most modern sophistications, but I have most of the essentials if I need them such as toilet, shower and washing facilities, Hot & Cold pumped water, kitchen area with gas hob and grill, sink & drainer. It has a small fridge that can work off 12V, 240V or Gas, I have 12V and 240 V lights and power socket outlets to run my TV set, toaster, kettle, microwave cooker, electric fan etc. So although not thoroughly modern it does have most of what we need to get by with and I can either hook up to an external 240V supply or run everything off my 12V leisure battery and bottled LPG gas if ‘wild camping’. I keep it at home and I usually have some project or another on the go to improve things or to make life more comfortable, so it is more a labour of love, I could if I wished buy a brand new one, but like owning a classic car it gets lots of comments and to be honest I do not want a new one, this van owes me nothing, it has paid me back already and every trip out is a free bonus plus with it not being ‘brand new’ I am not afraid to make physical changes or additions to it like the bed and mattress cushion mod I did a few weeks ago.

Depending upon the duration I either take a full awning with me that when erected gives me a huge additional outside covered area that is fairly weatherproof. It has zip doors, windows, curtains, a breathable groundsheet and then interlocking soft neoprene mats to give the floor a cosy feel, add a table and a camping chair and you have everything you need, it could easily accommodate two double air-beds if you had visitors staying with you. I recently added an external 240V power outlet that can be used with this awning if required or cooking Al Fresco. Obviously these things take me a few hours to set up although the caravan is fairly quick and easy to do as it has a ‘motor mover’ fitted to the two road wheels and once engaged and the towing hitch disconnected from my car I can drive it about using a remote control, a bit like a child with a remote control toy. It is so accurate to use that I can stand behind my car and drive the caravan tow hitch exactly over the cars tow ball and then simply lower it to engage the two parts together with little or no effort from me. The awning however can take me a couple of hours as it is hard work pulling the beading around the groove to attach the roof section to the caravan, then being on my own I have to struggle a bit to get all the internal poles in place whilst trying to keep things upright, it is hard work but I now have it down to a fine art. For that reason I would hesitate to put it up for anything less than a full week or so. The other option I have is a sun awning which is basically a ‘fly sheet’ with braced poles. This also attaches at the top to the awning rail and is then held up by a couple of poles and guide ropes, I still usually put down the breathable ground sheet to make things more comfy, I even plant a couple of those LED lights around to stop people tripping over the ropes. To make it more private and pleasant I will put up a very lightweight windbreak, these are not your heavy canvas seaside ones and will only stay upright if properly tied down with guide ropes.
We were the only ones there so had the place to ourselves so I chose to set up in the top field that was well away from the road which was nice as Annie had more freedom to wander around outside without me worrying too much about her safety. So on this trip I opted for the sun awning and windbreak as those only take about 30 minutes to sort out, so I picked a nice spot under an Oak tree and set up our camp as it gave me a nice view across the fields.

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The beach was not far away, maybe a ½ mile stroll down through the fields. So there we were all set up by the late afternoon and we went for a short local drive to get my bearings, each side road down to the beach was excruciatingly narrow and I found myself in some very tight situations and barely able to turn the car around at the end. Most of these roads led to static caravan sites and due to controlled access for security and it was impossible to park up anywhere, so I decided that we would call it a day and in the morning we would just walk through the fields to the beach.

We settled in for the night and I broke out a bottle of Merlot and put my feet up after a long tiring day. During the night the weather broke and storm ‘Hector’ blew in, it blew in more ways than one, rain lashed the caravan and rocked us from side to side, the branches above us our heads creaked and groaned as the racket outside grew louder Annie would leap off the bed barking at the world. I settled her down and had visions of everything flying away over the fields, but I was in no frame of mind to go out in a storm to try to dismantle it all, it would just have to take its chances. I peered out in the morning to see everything strewn about, poles, ropes, tent pegs just about restraining it all from blowing away. The sun canopy was wrapped over the caravan roof and the windbreak like a streamer in the grass fortunately held down by the overturned table, despite this nothing was actually damaged or lost, an interesting start to our short break :D

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Re: My latest short break

Post by Grandad »

An eventful start then H. I like your 'Classic' caravan, it reminds me of our only experience towing a van around 1970. We hired one just like yours, the kids were small and slept on blow ups inside the awning that your describe so well :lol:
We did this on two occasions to Cornwall then rented a larger van on site in future years.
Whatever the big posh jobs have got, you seem to have yours fitted out with everything you need and, to be honest, what more do you want. :up
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Horus »

That’s it exactly Grandad, what else do I need? There is enough room for Annie and myself to sit about, have meals or watch TV and a G&T or a beer in the evenings. I can now very quickly make up the bed since I put my little modification into effect and the kitchen area is big enough for my needs. The majority of sites have complete services laid on from electricity, clean water supply, waste water disposal and chemical toilet disposal although most of the time people tend to use the usually excellent toilet and shower facilities that most sites have, there is often a place to couple up your TV co-ax cable for better TV reception and many sites have wi-fi available although this is often expensive and not so reliable. To us it is more of a base to work from and most days we are out and about, having said that it is easily comfortable enough to spend all day indoors if the weather was really bad. To be honest if I needed al the things in some modern vans such as central heating etc. I may as well just stay at home. It is nice on occasions to have to go back to being a bit more basic and make do a little, it makes you appreciate your home when you get back again even after an enjoyable holiday. ;)
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Re: My latest short break

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

WOW H it looks like you were nearly blown away!! But sometimes a bad night can lead to lots of stories to share too. The place looks pretty nice actually and weather permitting would have been more than pleasant to visit.
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Horus »

One of the places we visited on our break was Anglesey, an island just off the Northern tip of Wales. It is better known for its ferry port at Holyhead for sailings to Southern Ireland and was the refuge of the Druids the spiritual leaders of the Celts during their opposition to the Roman conquest of Britain. The Romans referred to the island by the Latin name of Mona and they did not look upon the Druids as just religious leaders but rather as cannibalistic sorcerer’s to be feared. There are many beautiful bays and beaches around the island and it is also the home to an R.A.F base at Valley where all sorts of military planes and helicopters can be seen flying sorties down the coast of Wales. I did visit the base at Valley, but the day was very overcast with a low mist so not a lot to see on the day we went there. There is a modern road that cuts across the centre of the island between Holyhead and the main crossing of the Menai Straits via the newer Britannia Bridge that carries the A55 over the original Menai Rail Bridge and not many people will be aware of the two pairs of sculpted lions that guard the approach at both ends of the rail bridge but are now sadly hidden by the later road bridge above.

There is a church located on a small island in the Straits that can be seen as you pass over the bridge, it is the church of St Tysilio, but no one knows who or why the church was built there, but its origins are Medieval. Just over the bridge is the little village with the longest name in the UK and a popular tongue twister for people to try and pronounce, it is: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch or Llanfair PG for short.
The name translates as “St Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool of Llantysilio with the red cave” quite a mouthful, but other than the name there is little else there. A part of the village name ‘Llantysilio’ means St Tysilio, so maybe the church on the island is connected with this in some way.

Near the top end of the island is a place named Amlwch, best pronounced as Am-look by a non Welsh speaker and near by is an old copper mine that goes by the name of Parys Mountain. This mine has been dated back to the Bronze Age at over 4000 years old and Roman copper ingots have been discovered here. Although there are extensive underground workings the surface has been ‘open cast’ mined due to the ore body being near the surface, this has resulted in a surreal multi coloured scarred landscape that has a beauty all of its own.
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Mad Dilys »

Beautiful, but sad. I felt quite emotional looking at the pictures, but thank you all the same Horus.
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Horus »

I know it is the result of industrial waste, but nature has weathered and softened the landscape and it has a beauty all of its own. :up
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Grandad »

Horus, thank you for an interesting history and geography lesson about your travels. :up
I must say your piece made me feel much like MD, a little sad. A little saddened because it reminds me that Wales and its people have a rich heritage that somehow has become lost and I see Wales as the poor relation within the UK.
I don't have any Welsh blood but my wife is half Welsh, her father came from a large family of brothers in 'The Valleys'.
Your mention of copper mining rings bells with me as the base metal for the tools that carved out the burial chambers in ancient Egypt and fashioned the stones for the pyramids.
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Horus »

Your mention of copper mining rings bells with me as the base metal for the tools that carved out the burial chambers in ancient Egypt and fashioned the stones for the pyramids.
And who knows, some of the copper from that Bronze Age mining may have found its way around the Med and into Egypt. :tk
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Mad Dilys »

The copper may have been transported by water to Egypt. I often think that I'm living very close to the River Taff and as water finds it's own level then I have a close connection to Luxor - continuous water.

Daft? Well, it makes me feel closer to friends and family. :up
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Horus »

Nothing wrong with that MD ;)
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Grandad »

Not daft! I'd call it romantic ;) ;)

But very often something is mentioned that sets a train of thought going in my mind. My first question to myself is 'How; many thousands of years ago; did the people of the day find that from copper ore they could melt it to produce tools and other objects. What prompted that first melt, and how did they produce enough heat?:

And how did the ancients find gold and make it into such beautiful objects as Tuts mask?
My mind boggles :lol:
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Mad Dilys »

Indeed Grandad. Tuts mask of course blows the mind, and to me the mathematics to inlay the decoration on casket which is basically a tapering cylinder finished me off. :?
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Re: My latest short break

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Very interesting photos H and quite a different landscape there.

Copper here on the Island was the most prized metal by all First Nations people now preferring to be called Aboriginals. They collected it and it was how they measured their clan wealth. The word escapes me right now as to what they called it.

My daughters grew up knowing that "Tuzaboo" as said by their Grandfather was Welsh for 'no.' He wasn't fluent but had a few words and saying he used all the time.
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Horus »

I always thought that the Welsh for No was "NA" :)
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Re: My latest short break

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Actually now that I'm thinking on it "tuzaboo" was/is probably Gaelic but none the less it meant "No you better stop doing whatever it is that you're doing" ;)
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Horus »

From my own experience of hearing people speaking Welsh that particular word does not have a Welsh sound to it, I can't think of any words that have a 'z' sound in them, but some may exist. The closest to an "oo" sound would be 'w' which phonetically make the sound "uh' as in the word 'buck'. I always think that to speak Welsh properly you need to sound like you are clearing your throat. :lol:
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Mad Dilys »

I'm surrounded by Welsh/English signs here of course so a few words I recognise.

Dim Cwn meaning no dogs.


Dim Mynediad No entry


Dim Parcio meaning ………..no parking my favourite. :lol:


I know there is a past tense of no, but not what it is and north and south may vary in lots of words.
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Grandad »

And two words that I have learned by seeing them on TV broadcasts from Wales.
Cymru and Heddlu (Wales or Welsh Police) :lol:
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Re: My latest short break

Post by Horus »

:lol: :lol: @ Grandad, I also like the word Heddlu for the police, I have this silly idea that their police cars go "Heddlu,Heddlu,Heddlu" instead of "ne, naw, ne, naw" like ours do :lol:

@MD, I agree "Dim Parcio" always makes me smile, I imagine it to be a parking space for dim people :D
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