Half-Term Capers Pt.2

The second part of our trip was a run from Croston down to Llanddulas in North Wales. Our destination was Bron-Y-Wendon Touring Park between Rhyl and Llandudno. We reckon Bron-Y-Wendon must be Welsh for ‘Wet & Windy’

We took the country lanes rather than the long way round via the motorway, and apart from getting shaken vigorously by the many potholes, we didn’t encounter too many problems – we are getting used to driving Vince at last 🙂 We had a little city driving practice as we had to go through Liverpool and under the Mersey to cross to the Wirral as we wanted to have a look at New Brighton on the recommendation of one of Ken’s instructor friends. We managed to find some free parking by the Marina and went for a quick wander. It was bitterly cold however so we diverted into Morrison’s for a takeaway steak slice and spicy potato wedges which we ate parked up on the promenade, toasty warm in Vince and watching passers-by getting blown over on the beach! We’ll definitely pop back for another visit but we’ll wait for warmer weather.

You may have noticed that twice recently I’ve mentioned that we’re getting more comfortable driving Vince – I shouldn’t have tempted fate… As we exited the North Wales Expressway the satnav decided to pop off its mounting, and while Gill was fumbling for it on the floor we missed our turn. No problem, we thought, it’ll re-route us back to where we went wrong. It did, but via a really narrow road which had parked cars on either side. Gill had to get out at one point to make sure we weren’t going to leave some of Vince’s paint behind. We got through thank goodness but not without a bit of swearing and cursing – and that was just from Gill 😉

At the caravan park we were guided to a pitch with sea views and water and electricity. There was no drainage so we made a note to drain the tank at the service point on the way out before heading home. We were on a slight left to right slope, even after using our leveller chocks; this resulted in what looked like a leak from the fresh water tank. It didn’t run for long so we are hoping it was just because the tank was full and leaking from the breather tube because of the slope. One to check out on our return home we think, hopefully it’s not frost damage from the previous caravan park.

The following day the weather was so foul that we just stayed in Vince reading and drinking tea for most of the day – lovely! The rain stopped long enough in the afternoon for us to get out for a wander; there really isn’t much to see or do in Llanddulas other than a stroll round the church looking at the ancient gravestones (so many with Davies, Jones or Evans as the family name!) Graveyards seem to be becoming a bit of a theme on our journeys… We returned to the van as the weather closed in again but in another break in the rain we headed off for a drink in the cosy Valentine Inn and swung by the local chippie to take our evening meal back to the van.

In the morning of our final day the weather could not have been more different.  It was clear, sunny, and out of the wind it was actually quite warm! We packed up quickly, disconnected the services and drove round to dump the waste water at the disposal point. Our plan was to avoid the boring A41 which we’d travelled a few weeks before and take a more scenic route through the Welsh mountains. We didn’t regret it, the views were gorgeous in the sunshine and there was very little traffic. If you’re in the area we can thoroughly recommend the Rhug Farm Shop – there’s plenty of parking and they stock a huge range of produce including local beers, meat and organic vegetables. We couldn’t resist a Scrumpy Pie to take home for tea.

We gave Vince a good scrub inside and out when we got home, and as things stand we have no further trips planned before we head to France, but we have learned a huge amount on the trips we’ve done. No doubt there are mistakes still to be made but we think we’ve got the basics sorted. Don’t be too surprised if we update with the odd night away here and there but our weekends are now likely to be spent ordering last-minute bits & pieces and worrying about all the things we’ve forgotten. THE BIKES! WE HAVEN’T COLLECTED THE BIKES YET…