Now I maintain and I maintain most strongly that the best adventures are those which have the minimum in planning, and are more a spur of the moment “point the car in a general direction” and trust to hope and good weather.
That way every thing is a bonus, and if the first destination is disappointing there is always the next one, just around the corner.
And that is how we rediscovered Bangor Pier, which dates from 1896, was restored and reopened in 1988, and in between has had some moments of high excitement.
All of which are recorded by the Friends of Bangor Pier.*
And two of those friends proved to be fascinating people who shared my love of Italy, and made “unique jewellery from sea glass from the shores of Anglesey”.**
It was just our luck that it was their turn to be looking after the shop on the pier, specializing in art from North Wales.
The rest as they say was a delightful 20 minutes of conversation, including some purchases of their work, which they carefully wrapped for us while we walked on to the end of the pier, and the nice touch was the lightbulb which came with the lampshade.
And while this was being done, we completed the tour of the pier, explored some of the other shops and of course watched as kids went fishing for crabs, none of which were harmed in the process.
I could write more about the history of the pier but that has been covered by the Friends, and so I will just reflect that the sun shone, the place grew more busy, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, as did we.
But the tide waits for no one, and on a whim we decided to push on over the Menai Bridge into Anglesey and on to Beaumaris, with its stretch of beaches, and of course its castle.
In between there was Dylan’s fish restaurant and some delightful spots to sit and watch the Sunday visitors and residents doing what you do on a sunny day.
But more of them and the history another time.
Location; Bangor, Menai and beyond
Pictures; Welsh adventures, 2021, from the collection of Andrew Simpson
*Friends of Bangor Pier, https://bangorpier.org/
**Gany Môr, ganymore846@gmail.com
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