Saturday 12^th July                      HOLYHEAD

Well, as forecast, today has dawned hot and sunny in northern Wales. All the papers are screaming ‘Heatwave!’ and across Wales, several train services have been suspended due to the rails buckling in the extreme heat. (It’s reached 34 degrees in the south; we are sitting at around 31.)

We were up around 7 after a reasonable night’s sleep; we both managed to drop off despite the people outside in the courtyard, and it wasn’t too hot at all. We went down for breakfast in the bistro, then came back up to get organised. A bit before ten, we headed out (wearing hats and sunscreen) to further explore Holyhead.

                                                Boat House Hotel in the morning sun.

Our first destination was the Maritime Museum on Newry Beach, just down from us. It’s run by volunteers and is a really interesting place to visit. It’s located in the old surf rescue building, and of course a lot of the displays are about the worst shipwrecks here over the last few hundred years, in and out of war time. It also informed us that the Irish Sea is the most dangerous body of water surrounding the UK. Upon reflection, perhaps it wasn’t the best thing to go and see the day before we sail to Ireland! I can only cling to the thought that the forecast for tomorrow is for more fine weather. We popped into the bistro next door for a cuppa, and asked about having tea there tonight, but they were already almost completely booked out. He did offer us a table at 8.30, but that’s too late for us! Before leaving, we looked at the WWII display in the old air raid shelter next to the museum, also very interesting. The Royal Dutch Navy was stationed here between 1940 and 46, so quite a few local girls ended up marrying Dutch servicemen.

                                                           Maritime Museum

                                                                Lots of displays inside and outside

                                                 The biggest sewing machine I've ever seen!

                                                            A lovely place for coffee

Our next stop, about a fifteen minute walk up into the town, was St Cybis church. It dates back to the 1200s, though you can see it’s been added to a lot over the centuries. The most interesting thing, though, is that the surrounding walls are the remains of a 4^th century Roman naval base. It’s a big site, and I think the only church I’ve seen that has two major levels of graveyard. The church and walls are obviously undergoing renovation, but it was still an interesting site to visit.

                                 St Cybis ( 1200s originally, though the Victorians have had at it )

                                               Old Roman fort walls overlook the modern port

                                                         Huge walls over two levels

From here, we walked up and into the town area where we were yesterday. Lex found a Kurdish barber and got a haircut while I looked around the shops, then we set out to find somewhere for lunch. None of the pubs we passed had food (that’s quite common here) but we found a little café, Reuben’s, where we had some really nice sandwiches. As the day was heating up, we headed back towards the hotel. I was a bit tempted by the icecreams on sale as we passed, but didn’t feel like queuing in the sun.

                                               All signs here are in both English and Welsh.                                                                                                       And that seagull doesn't look happy!

It's struck me how bad at sun safety the British are as a whole – hardly anyone else was wearing a hat (even a lot of small children weren’t) and I’m not sure they’ve applied sunscreen either. A lot of blokes had their shirts off and were going a nice pink shade, and I saw one woman about my age wearing shorts and a boob tube just sitting in a chair in full sun, face upturned towards it and not even any sunglasses. The temperature was over 30 by that stage, and just the thought of it was enough to make me feel faint!

                                 Some Brits do think outside the box when it comes to keeping cool.                                                                                        But hats, people, hats!!!

After we got back, it was nap time again – despite the buzzing noise of the motor for a bouncing castle outside our window, we both dropped off. It’s definitely hotter today, but our room does hopefully seem to be cooling down now.

                                       And, of course, some gulls just believe in self service!

               The Boat House Hotel (on the left) is nestled at the foot of these amazing mountains.

An update about the ELO final concert which was supposed to be on at Hyde Park this weekend – news is just breaking here that it’s cancelled. Jeff Lynne is battling a systemic infection and his doctors have told him no way he can perform, apparently. Very sad and worrying news. It looks like Glen and I saw his last ever performance.

Lex went for a walk for about a kilometre and a half on the massive breakwater here. It was built in the 1800s to protect the town and harbour, and it certainly does that. While he was out there, he took photos of a building that’s intrigued us since we’ve got here. It was the builder’s house, and like a lot of rich Victorians, he was a firm believer in a man’s home being his castle! It’s called Soldier’s Point House, and would have been quite stunning in its day. They had plans to turn it into the Maritime Museum, but sadly it was gutted by fire in 2011, and now is on the list of most ‘at risk’ Victorian houses. 

                                                               Soldier's Point House

There was a cruise ship in the harbour today; Lex took this from the breakwater as it left.

We’ve been down for tea in the bistro here, and now settling in and hoping that it cools down even more. Music has just started, so we’re wondering how long that will go on! We have to get up early to get out to the ferry, so fingers crossed…..