A slightly longer wild weekend break

With the last day of my annual leave I decided on a long weekend staying at one of my favourite air bnbs at Conwy on the North Wales coast. I arrived on a Friday night and every time I step off the bus and directly into the cottage I am instantly relaxed and can't wait for a coastal hike with plenty of unexpected wildlife encounters. We decided on a having a long walk at a new place I have never visited on Anglesey.

 The walk was from Beaumeris town to Penmon light house it was about a 5 mile walk along the coast and below I have a few photographs taken on my brothers camera I took some and he took the rest. Either way encounters or not the scenery delivered and the sun came out with blue skys and a calm breeze a winter day turned into a very springy day.

 I also wanted to find an area to wild camp for a few evenings as in the Summer as some nights a special natural event happens on this part of the coast and if I can predict when it happens it would be epic. I think I foundthe perfect spot undisturbed with a view of the beach and sea incase the event happens or doesnt I can see from a distance.

Bioluminescent Plankton

After arriving at the stony beach we found a spot to sit with the bank at our back and Puffin island and the light in view it felt very postcardy and must of been photograph a million times in the past, while taking a sneaky toilet break I spotted a very confident little bird in some sea water filled pools on some rocky edges by the sea. It seem undisturbed and seemed to just want to be feed I am always amazed when you find a bird that takes you years to see then you walk upon one like this and you get the best views and photographs you could have got.

I was so confused by how confiding this Purple Sandpiper was but after looking back at the photographs I noticed that one of its feet were nobbly with no toes so being at a disavantage its lost its fear and must keep feeding even when potential predators are around.

On the walk back we spotted a flock of Brent Geese with a few Curlew flying then grazing on local fields

Flocks of Knot and Sanderling were in good numbers as the high tide reached its peak

A Velvet scoter was also a nice surprise pushed in by the wind

 

Not to long till I go back as its the place I love and always surprises me epecially 

when you go to some of the quieter palces not often visited except by only a few.

Thanks for reading

Mike

Strengthening my connection with Nature through water

In my last blog I was having trouble with my new raft camping/floating hide idea and thanks to some old bits of heavy metal I have made some achors so I can lower into the water to keep each side of my raft into the mud so I wont float off in the night and now that I have a 2 door tent that I can access the front, back and sides of the tent for emergencys and mooring up in wild spots. With my raft ready to go for wild camps I have decided to use more over the winter more as theres more darkness, clearer skys and the countryside comes more alive under a winter sky on land and in water.

Hearing the tick tick of the Robin as the light falls and rises especially as the temperature falls

My only issue was that I may have to insulate abit more with a thicker sleeping bag and tent carpet to as the problem with camping on water is your losing heat from above as well as below but I'll get more into that another time. One of the things I decided I wanted to do more of was spend more time in water wild swimming or wild dipping if its especially cold and this year I have just done that from rivers, lakes and the sea.

 

It was so refreshing and life affirming to see Swans swimming by while in the water under the water through huge shoals of sand eels in clear blue seas that you would not believe was in the UK.

Having an hour and a flask of tea in a quiet bay on the Menai straits

Paddle boarding the river always ended with a dip in more secluded locations to cool down my body after being out on some really hot days watching large Barbel speeding about on the gravel river bed.

 

 

Under the water the Minnows seem to be in good number meaning healthy river providing food for the abundant Kingfishers that have done well from low rainfall meaning barely any floods in the breeding season. One thing I did notice was the Minnows seem to have developed the same appetite as the skin-nibbling, toothless carp that to be used in fish based pedicures which got banned to due health issues.

 

I have just received a couple of books to read & review which I'll post soon and as I have a long weekend off every month till February 2022 will mean I can get out and reconnect with the thing I love for the next 4 months so I'll be posting more when I get the chance to. The one thing that never changes for me is the feeling of being outdoors wearing my comfy outdoors clothing heading off camping with everything I need to survive in one back pack by the coast.

 

Thanks for reading

Mike

Stay wild and be free

A new normal for Nature

So as lockdown ended I returned to my favorite passion on the river on my journey with my kayak on my back I found mess and disturbance in wild places where people normally never tread from campfires with rubbish to new biking paths ripped through bluebell forests. 

As the lockdown madness ends hopefully people will leave my local wild places and return to places further afield. The river was quite busy with old and young swimming and sunbathing in the river and on the banks so the nesting water birds are being very secretive.  I always have a rest on the end of my kayaking trip and park up on a sandbank to soak up some sun have a rest and see what birdlife shows up. I've been watching a pair of Little-ringed plovers hopefully breeding and nesting on the low sandbank but with disturnbance to be high on the sunny days and on the wet day's risk of flooding I don't see much but we shall see and I will update in the future.

 Hanky panky on the sand bank

 I had a few wild swims in the river on the hotter days on my walks home from work made the pressures of working in retail melt away in the clear flowing rivers where Mayflies and Dragons dance on the surface and the fish swim below the surface waiting for an easy meal.

 One place that has been keeping me sane is the peak district and we heard and saw a our first Cheshire Cuckoo of the year in a quiet valley away from all the people enjoying being released from there homes and local patches. I never want to leave the secluded valley on the sunny days as the mossy ledges make the perfect sunbathing spots and with water flowing close by its easy enough to cool off after a long walk or a quick nap.

 Next time: Sorrow once more and my need for the sea....

 With regards

Mike

Cottage with a wood burner and Marine watch

At the beginning of November, I had a last-minute trip for 2019 to spend some time back on Anglesey as this year I have really fallen in love with the island and next year I hope to explore more of Wales as well as revisit Anglesey as the wild camping this year gave some beautiful moments in Nature. Rather than wild camp, we decided to book 2 Airbnbs one at Amlwch for 3 nights and one at Newborough for 2 nights. At our Almwch cottage which was located right next to the coastal path and one of my possible living locations with some amazing views and close to some really good marine mammal spotting locations at high tide the creatures are pushed a few meters from viewing areas thanks to the deep water. We were up before the sun rose to get as much light watching the sea especially as the wind was fresh and the days are shorter.

 The paths were quite muddy but as always with these trips, I prepare for everything and thanks to our new walking boots our feet were well protected. While laying against a rock and watching the sea the seals caught fish and kept us entertained for many hours.

Seals and Porpoises were great things to see but the one time a mother and calve popped up my lens blurred and I just missed my best shot of a Porpoise.

On our second part of the holiday, we decided to get the bus from Amlwch to Menai bridge for a cup of tea I made before leaving the cottage for the last time and some chocolate digestives we sat by the straits near the Britannia bridge and watched the sunrise higher in the sky let the 9am rush pass by before getting our next bus to Llangefni where we bought some.  breakfast and supplies for the day.
We ended up walking from Llangefni to Maltraeth to Newborough via one of the Red Squirrel forest areas, one thing I had not noticed before was a rope over the road from the larger Newborough forest to the smaller area of forest opposite allowing squirrels and maybe pine martens a safe route across avoiding the road.
View of the hills/mountains of North Wales

On our only full day at Newborough we headed through the forest along the sun-soaked yet empty beach to the Island and I ended up getting impatient waiting for the tide to go out I walked through the shallow water soaking my shoes through but it proved to be worth it. We walked to the further point with the highest unused lighthouse and less than a half a mile away we spotted a large pod of Dolphins I was hoping Rissos but they ended up being Bottlenoses and the closest I have seen through my camera for a while. One had a very unique cut in its fin but seemed very straight and long unlike the other members of the pod but as you can see below they were very active.

A great week and the last week away till April 2020 as I have got lots of things to do over the winter.
A lovely Autumn kayak was a lovely first trip out once I returned home this year I hope to kayak in the snow which would be amazing on this river.

Enjoy the beginning of Winter and hopefully plenty of frost and snow to come....

Regards

Mike