Saunton Sands as the Rain Clears

On monday, the morning rain cleared at lunch giving a dry but still cloudy afternoon rendering amazing reflections on the wet sand

Saunton Sands in Rain and Sun

On Sunday, having fed the animals that we are looking after for week (24 sheep, 3 goats, some Hens, a duck  and 2 cats), we went to nearby Braunton for tea and then for a walk on Saunton sands. It had been raining all day and there were still showers around which gave great backdrops for the Kite surfers etc. 

Beaumaris Castle and Church

We spent the last day in Beaumaris exploring the Castle and Church.

Beaumaris Castle was the last of Edward I’s massive building programme in North Wales but he never got round to finishing it as his finances were needed elsewhere in Scotland. It would have been twice the height! Technically perfect and constructed according to an ingenious ‘walls within walls’ plan, Beaumaris Castle was a 13th-century innovation and has been a World Heritage Site since 1986.

St Mary and St Nicholas Church. The handsome 14th-century church in Beaumaris was erected shortly after Edward I built the castle, to serve the castle garrison and the people of Beaumaris town. The oldest parts of the church are the nave and aisles, and the west tower, all of which date to the 14th century. The alabaster tomb of William Bulkeley (d. 1490) with his wife Elin, is impressive as are the wooden carvings on the misericords.

Beaumaris I. Cruise Around Puffin Island

Beaumaris Pier is functional rather than decorative with lots  of railings where crab fishing and Jellyfish spotting can take place . The cruise took us along the shore past the Penmon Quarry with its deserted buildings to the Penmon Lighthouse with its cottages with their tall chimneys (very reminiscent of the Happisburgh, Suffolk, buildings). We then did a circuit of Puffin Island which lived up to its name though most Puffins have already left to spend the winter on the North Atlantic. We also got close to several Grey Seals.

Parys Mountain

People have mined the metals harboured within Parys Mountain since the  Bronze Age. The mineral had spewed out of a volcano that formed this ppart of Wales and, certainly, it does feel like walking around a crater. A mass of copper ore was discovered there in the late 1760s leading to large scale mining.  It became known as the ‘Copper Kingdom’. 

The Parys Mountain Windmilll was built in 1878 by Captain Hughes in order to supplement power from an adjacent steam engine. The power was used to assist pumping water from the Parys Mountain workings, but also to power lifting machinery for both the miners and the ore in the Cairns shaft. The windmill was closed in 1904, when working at the mined ceased.