Camping Chaos..!!

I'd been looking forward to this little trip for so long. I really like outdoor life and enjoy camping for its simplicity and freedom. Last Summer was so wet and grey that it was easy to make excuses not to go, consequently to my regret I didn't spend one..not one, night out under canvas...shameful. So I'd set a date in my diary with friends Giles and Jos, which happened to coincide with the Summer Solstice, and hopefully pleasant conditions....
Besides the sea and sand, there are millions of pebbles on the beach at Porth Neigwl, delightful!

There always seems so much to take. Even though we were camping together, we each took our own tent. After all it is nice to be with friends...but not to wake up face to face! But we did share the cramped car and stopped at Caernarfon to do a communal shop..which provoked the inevitable first bits of friction. Tough decisions over the decadence of bottled water against tap..organic garlic...free range eggs! Thankfully compromises were forthcoming and we now drove the last part of the journey with improving weather and anticipation. We arrived to find plenty of space to pitch and no sign of the hoards of hippies I'd half expected. This was in no small doubt, due to the weather forecast, which so far was proving accurate. The wind was stiff from the South West and there was very low cloud bringing a steady but light drizzly rain. Not to be outdone, we went for a long walk on the beach, where the wind was lighter and there was magically no rain!
Walking back along the beach to the camp site, anything above a hundred feet is in the cloud..

We got lucky in the evening and cooked a great big pan of chilli over the BBQ coals. Then the rain returned.and as though a punishment, just as I made a comment "it seems to be getting brighter" the tent got lashed by the heaviest downpour yet! So we drank beer and told tall tales of savage times when camping..little did we know! By about 3am I was outside my tent holding onto it for dear life! I realised I couldn't do this indefinitely and how stupid I must look, so a quick fix was to pull the car up close. I later re-pitched. A tent further up the site was shredded, its occupants dumped the remains in a bin and went home. Giles's old tent took a hammering, broken zip and split side. Jos lost thee guy lines. There was no let up in the blowing gale all morning and to his credit Jos made the best full BBQ breakfast and all without burning down the hedge where there was the only shelter from the wind. At least the rain had stopped.
Gale force winds whip up the sea and give a hint to the Porth Neigwl's English name, Hell's Mouth

There were some mumblings of going home and signs of mutiny, so I quickly put in place a plan of distraction. We lashed down as best we could and left our tents to their fate. Drove firstly to Aberdaron right at the end of the peninsula. Here we had late morning coffee at Y Gegin Fawr, a delightful cafe with quite a history, accompanied by a blackbird fledgling and dusted regularly by sand blown from the beach. Further up the Llyn is Porthdinllaen. Arguably this lovely little hamlet overlooking the beach at Morfa Nefyn is famous for its pub, Ty Coch, and a fine place it is too. My problem now was getting my non driving duo back to the car!! Anyway the best thing was that the wind was easing and the sun was well and truly out.
Crashing waves at the head of Porth Dinllaen, halted in their march on Yr Eifl on the horizon.

At last our perseverance was rewarded by the kind of evening that can only be truly appreciated by someone who has been to this place. Campsite now almost empty we sorted out the necessaries for tonight's BBQ. Now we could sit at the edge overlooking the bay enjoying the late sun, watching Buzzards hunting over the cliffs. Rooks returning from a day in the fields. Gannets still dive bombing helpless fish further away and a Heron watching carefully over a rockpool left by the ebb. As we tended our food a grey cloud and unmistakable curtain of rain swept across the bay. We'd had our bad weather, now instead this shower tracked south and entertained us with a huge rainbow that spanned the horizon for what seemed like hours. As we finished eating later, we watched and marvelled at Venus rising in the east above Cilan. Though I was still awake, I think I'd entered the calmness that I know can be found here. Perhaps the storm was a good way of finding it. I fell asleep to the gentle sound of small waves tripping up on the beach below.
Barely a few hours previously the sea was white..now a sunbathers delight!

There's nothing that compares with a great nights sleep in a tent. I tried my best to savour the moment and linger, but the early sun was roasting me out of bed. Not that I had anything to complain about..this was perfect. Later Giles walked with me along the subsided old road, where nature has taken hold very quickly. From the cracks in the fenced off section Teasel grows and stands proud above the broken tarmac. There's an old stone cottage surrounded by unkempt garden of honeysuckle and fuschia which adds to the spellbinding charm of this whole wild place. We walked down the steep foxglove and bracken lined slopes to look out over Porth Neigwl from what we call Winkle Pond. A small inlet where a couple of crab and lobster boats fish from. We just found a cool rounded boulder each to sit on and just drink in the the whole scene. Totally emmeresed, but not for long enough,
Tranquillity found at "Winkle Pond"

Before long we were packing up and driving back to Manchester, the only good thing was that the well earned sun came along too!
Undamaged by the gale force winds, Common Spotted Orchids add beauty to this special place.