Superb day on the BMW F900 XR – out and about in North Wales


Superb day on the BMW F900 XR – out and about in North Wales

The change in the weather in the last week was welcome and I intended to make the most of it. On the previous day my wife and I had headed off (in the car) to Ambleside in the Lake District, but this trip saw me heading in the opposite direction into North Wales and onto Anglesey.

Readers of this blog (or the rainycity blog) will know that over the years the Isle of Anglesey has been a place we have visited and stayed on many times. We’ve had some great times there and it’s a place we are always happy to return to.

Route to the Emerald Isles

Travelling via Anglesey is also the route we take when driving or biking to Ireland. The port of Holyhead is only about 220 miles and two hours from home so is really convenient.

If the thought of travelling in and around Ireland appeals to you, there is plenty of information and posts on this blog and the rainycity blog. Words and pictures from the most recent bike trip are here the most recent car trip is at this link.

Short visit

This trip was just a short visit to Anglesey. On this occasion my stop on Anglesey was really just a dot on a map for me to join up. But if we get some decent weather next month I may well be back that way,book a ferry and head across the Irish Sea.  Or there again maybe I might head to Scotland or maybe down towards Pembrokeshire, or maybe …who knows?

Sometimes I think it’s pretty hard to think of something that beats travel. Is there anything else that you can buy that makes you richer?

Plan for the day

I didn’t have much of a fixed plan other than to leave home early and head for Anglesey. After an early coffee I was away for 07:00am and after some time on Anglesey I travelled via the Llanberis Pass, Betws-y-Coed, Corwen, Llangollen then back into Cheshire arriving home for about 16:30.

It was a fine day, weather wise and most of the 250 miles were enjoyable.

Penmon Point

I was on Anglesey for about 09:00 and after a short stop in Beaumaris I decided to head over to Penmon Point on the eastern peninsular of the island. I knew from previous visits that a decent coffee could be had at the Pilot House Cafe and which is only about five miles from Beaumaris. The last part of the route being down a toll road (just £1.00 for motorbikes).

The black and white Trwyn Du Lighthouse (also known as Penmon Lighthouse) is one of the five operational lighthouses around Anglesey and probably the most photographed. With no particular plan and with plenty of time I decided I’d take a few pictures with the drone (more information about the drone is here) before heading across the way for coffee.

Does my drone sound like a dog whistle?

Switching on the drone controller emits a shrill noise, as does switching on the drone. There is then a third noise as the controller and drone make contact via  Bluetooth.

What I hadn’t realised until this occasion was that the noise is attractive to dogs … at least the two dogs who seemed to live nearby and were (I think) Border Collies from a local farm.

The dogs were immediately drawn to the high pitched sound and were more than keen to get a look at the drone and if they had the opportunity perhaps even a ‘taste’. I hurriedly got the drone airborne but had to wait a few moments for the ‘home point’ to update. During this time it remained close but tantalizingly out of reach for the dogs. Once the home point was updated and whilst flying the drone the two dogs sat all too knowingly close to my bike waiting for its return.

Improvised landing

Rather than land on the ground and present the drone to the dogs I improvised a place to land by opening the top box on the back of my bike and landing on top of the camera bags in there – as it came into land the dogs were immediately active but as soon as it landed and the whir of the rotors had stopped the dogs returned to sitting down – probably with the dog equivalent of a shoulder shrug.

You can see a couple of pictures of the dogs below and there are plenty of drone pictures in the main picture gallery. Click on any image to open a picture gallery than can be clicked or scrolled through.

Coffee, pictures and back on the road

After packing the drone away I headed to the Pilot House Cafe for what turned out to be a decent cup of coffee and slice of cake (chocolate and cherry) whilst enjoying the sunshine. Once refreshed it was back to the bike, some more drone pictures, and more of the same close attention from the two dogs (thank goodness they were friendly).

When I had finished at Penmon Point I took the road back through Beaumaris then onward and over the Brittania Bridge and onto the excellent Llanberis Pass in Snowdonia. The weather was pretty much ideal for biking and although the Pass is only about five miles long the surprising lack of traffic made it extra enjoyable.

Toll Gate Caffi

After the Llanberris Pass I headed for Betws-y-Coed, Corwen, Llangollen and made the Toll Gate Caffi located on the A5 between Corwen and Llangollen my last stop.

Good coffee and a couple of slices of toast and I was refreshed and ready for home. There are a few pictures from the Toll Gate below.

Click on any of the images will open a picture gallery than can be clicked or scrolled through.

A good day and plenty of pictures

All in all it had been a really enjoyable day – weather was good, roads were pretty quiet and the bike was just lovely to ride – who could ask for more. There are plenty of pictures in the main picture gallery below,

Clicking on any image will open the picture gallery than can then be clicked or scrolled through.