Right, after this I shall say no more about it. The Lleyn is totally, totally bloody gorgeous.

[Slubberdegullion]

Have just returned from two amazing weeks.

One day of rain, just one. The rest of the time we had SUN sun, yes sun big massive hot round ball, put on glasses and a hat, smear on the factor 40, phew I need another ice cream, bugger me it's hot, my word I have a brown body and a white arse sun. IN WALES.

It is SO nice over there. A few piccies on profile. Completely beautiful. Reminds me quite a lot of Cornwall but is more exciting will big ruggedy hills.

Hardly any other buggers there either so that also added to the magic.

Beaches are excellent.
Sea is cold but bracing and really clear and blue (looks as though it could be tropical island hot, then you get the bracing suprise).
Locals are lovely.
Porth Oer cafe still doing the cheddar and chutney paninnis, DH in gastronomic beach snackerage heaven.

Oh it's just very nice indeed. We will be returning in the summer.

I really didn't realise I'd typed all that until I had posted it and it was too late to cover my shame and continue pretending to be hardass

acquainted?

aquainted?

Neither looks right!

There has never been a Chester meet up (afaik) there has been talk of talk of a meet up. There was even a date set (by me) that only I in the end very nearly went to, and then had to cancel at the last minute (on myself ).

It will happen one day...maybe...perhaps.

We could all meet up on Porth Oer beach and have a pannini together.

colditz, don't you dare even think of retracting it. It was completely from ther heart and struck a real chord. I have spent 2 weeks watching my two potter about in blissful, timless holiday mode, spending an awful lot of time doing not a lot.

It's what child hood holidays should be about (not farking kids clubs).

LOL at cancelling yourself on your own meet up .

Meet up in Abersoch sounds great. We'll be the muppets with the big blue tent who bicker all the way through trying to put it up before one of us flounces off in a cloud of blue air!

I was campsite spotting the whole time I was there. Poor DH was made to pull over on more than one occasion so I could peer over a hedge or through a gate to check out the lay of the land (and shower facilities).

Abersoch was lovely this holiday, but I hear becomes super crowded in August, so I think when we head back in a couple of months we will be looking to camp on the Nefyn side of the Lleyn.

I only agreed to get a tent if we stayed on campsites with real toilets and hot showers! I keep looking up sites on ukcamping and discounting any that have even the slightest criticism of the showers. None of that standing in a field washing your hair in a bucket for me, thank you very much.

Oh I don't know. If there is nothing to wash with then you just have to embrace the filth and crack on with a flannel for the face and teeth brushing only.

That and come home every 3 days.

I'd be in the nearest B&B .

Olihan - We always stay at Eiseddfa near Criccieth

Far enough away from Abersoch but central to everything else - and it has 4 stars from the AA too.

dh and I try to avoid Abersoch too as most of the pupils in 'village' where we both teach has second homes on The Warren and end up spotting us on the beach.

Okay - I love it too... The beaches, clean air, stunning views. I'm after recommendations for hotels/guesthouses in the region. We're in Ireland for a weekend in August and sail back on the Monday and I'd like 3 nights introducing my family to that bit of Wales. DH is from the dodgy flatlands and it was too far for holidays when he was a kid. He's never done Portmeirion or Snowdon. Had a look but can't tell whats good or bad, or wheres best to stay. Camping would appeal but not sure boot is big enough for diddly dee land and camping... Maybe could test & follow up Lucycat recommendation.

Any tips for places to stay ?

Sorry for getting back to you so late suggy.

Can't help on hotels or guest houses I'm afraid.

We stayed in a Nefyn Holidays cottage. Utterly gorgeous. In high & mid season they only do week lets, but in low season you can do long w/e breaks. Doubt that will be of much use, but if you phoned them last minute if any of the cottages are available they might consider doing a short let.

Just an idea, they are very accommodating.

moondog is your best bet with regards to hotel recommendations as she knows the joint

this really is the best place in the world, isn't it?

when the teachers' strike was on the other week, on a whim, we picked up the little fella from school at 10 past 3 and whisked the five of us to nefyn...we were there by 5 o clock on a lovely spring evening....it was absolute bliss...you know when you get that really feeling of exhilaration and happiness and can't stop smiling?!

kids on out on their bikes, lovely clifftop evening walk...i can't describe how happy i am when were doing that kind of thing...but i'm sure you know what i mean!

here's a place we sometimes stay when in the llyn...www.caeaucapelhotel.com/index.htm

its in nefyn and is a bit chintzy and old fashioned and perhaps wouldn't suit the abersoch sailing set, but its a slce of pleasantness that would fit into a nice family holiday. definitely no lattes and sun-dried tomatoes (i know i'm 15 years out of date with my examples of ponciness, but who cares?!) but that's nt always necessarily a bad thing, i don't think.

anyway, just around the corner from there is a run down ish cottage on the cliff tops...we went to view it the other week...to expensive atm, but we'll see.

can anyone give me 2 good reasons why we shouldn't move there...even just to bring the nippers up there for 2/3/4/5 years before moving back somewhere where they won't go insane as teenagers?!

umm S4C or whatever it is called (channel 4 alternative) is not so great if you don't speak Welsh

er

nope can't think of another one.

exactly.

the langage thing is the only reason we haven't really persued things tbh (it is all welsh language at schools there...and rightly so)...i'm sure the nippers would pick it up within a few months, but no doubt it would be hard for them at school...

and we wouldn't be able to help them with their homework after a while...

bit more travelling for work and for friends and rellies to visit, but apart from that...

who votes tht we should move???!

I would love my dc to be able to speak Welsh. Such a beautiful language to listen to.

Oh I have thought of one more (very very lame) minus point. The whole time I was there I could only get mobile coverage on Abersoch beach .

yeah, i'd like mine to too, but it be a hard few months for them at schooll, wouldn't it? or ysgol as they'd call it...and then as soon as they learnt, they'd take the piss mercilessly by slagging us off in welsh right in front of our faces..they'd think it was hilarious!

we'd be trapped in a lleyn idyll being infuriated by our own progeny..aaaaaaaargh!

anyway, we might go for a weekend next month then go for our traditional end of summer holiday trip...that's when the house will be virtually worthless as the global econonmy goes into meltdown and then we'd pounce!

oooh good plan

Can you do it sans car at all??? Remember a blissful childhood holiday in Aberdaron.

You can get the train to Pwllheli. I did spot some buses, or I guess you could taxi from the station.

there was even a sign advertising for bus drivers at nefyn coaches in morfa nefyn last time i went past...what a way to downshift to the country!

so there must be a good network of buses...you might even see me driving one

aberdaron's nice....the graveyard by the beach...spooky at night...

and you can go to the very tip if you drive a bit further on..i love going to the very edge of things. by the way, you can see ireland (wickow, i think) on a very clear day...incredible, eh?!

I have fabulous memories of Aberdaron. DH is welsh and we used to go to Lleyn all the time camping in the field on the cliffs overlooking Ynys Enlli. I thought we missed a trick not getting married in the beach at Aberdaron. Is there a more romantic place in the world.

They do nice welsh cakes at the cafe in Aberdaron too

[cake obsessive]

...and fabulous fresh crab in the pub