So the intension is to go out on the bikes with Peter, Caroline, Toby & Karen. This will be Karen's 1st trip on the bike for nearly 2 years and her 1st trip on the GS, so we'll be taking it easy. Hopefully the weather will hold out for us and we can have a good trip around North Wales before getting to the Lighthouse in the afternoon.
All three rooms in the lighthouse have been reserved and Karen is getting the haunted room - The Principle Keeper's Room. Peter and Caroline are staying in the famous Lamp Room for the 1st time, so that's going to be very exciting. Toby has the Telegraph Room.
We're hoping for lovely skies during the day and storms at night, so we can all look out of the Lamp Room window with lots of beer and wine and just have a cozy night in!
We left in drizzle with only the three original biker boys, as Karen's Covid jab had kicked in and she bailed out due to illness.
Headed down the A483 and tuning off on the A5 toward Llangollen. It stopped raining by the time we got to Llangollen, although the skies were pretty black. The wind started to get up though and we are going to hit severe gusts of 50-60 mph apparently through the day. The first stop was for lunch at the Oakley Arms just outside Penrhyndudreath. We got there at 12:05 and the place was completely rammed - not a spare table in sight! We had to leave!!
So where next, ah yes, Beddgelert and a hot soup and pot of tea at Glaslyn Artisan Ice Cream & Pizza. ðĨĢðĨĢðŦðŦ☕️
The bikes are absolutely minging with mud all over the front and all over our helmets! The roads have been pretty muddy and the wind has whipped it up from the roads and dumped all over us.
We had made great time and so decided to do the tour of Snowdon, starting off riding down the west side on the A4085 toward Caernarfon. We love this road, clear views of the summit of Snowdon to our right.
Turning east to LLanberis and over the Pen-y-Pass - the wind is really starting to get up now and stopping off at the top for pictures, we were advised to put the bikes behind the wall to protect them from being blown over. Stunning views from here, although Crib Goch was well hidden in the clouds, but to the south, the views were magnificent.
Next stop would be Llandudno, so tuning east and then north onto the A5 toward Bethesda before smashing down the A55 to Llandudno. The winds are really strong now, so having to keep in a very low gear to keep the revs up and let the centrifugal do its job. ðĻðĻðĻðĻðĻðĻðĻðĻðĻðĻðĻðĻðĻðĻ
We thought it would be a great idea to ride to the top of the Great Orme, but the winds were horrendous! We could hardly stand up there and had to hold our bike whilst taking in the views and doing some photos! On reflection, this was not one of our better ideas. it was pretty treacherous all the way up and down!
We dropped the bags off initially at the Lighthouse and checked in, before heading back to town. What we didn't expect was the vortex of a westerly wind hitting the Great Orme's west shore line and buffeting the bikes all over the place on the ride down from the top. ðĻðĻðĻ
The Cottage loaf is a great place for lunch and the lamb roast was excellent! Beer a little off, but food brilliant as usual.
So, off to the Lighthouse for the night. It was hooling a gale force wind and the atmosphere in the lighthouse was fantastic. Very eerie and noisy but extremely cosy and once we'd settled in, we tucked ourselves up on the settee with blankets and set out for a great night of TV - Strictly first, followed by a film - The Exorcist, the Beginning. We thought this would be very apt in this haunted lonely lighthouse, perched on the edge of a cliff in 80 mph winds!!!
ðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðąðŧðą
That was a very special day with some scary rides, only for experienced riders - I don't think we'd have coped if we were novices! Now off to bed before another adventurous day out around Llyn tomorrow!
