Day 1 – Didn’t we have a ‘loverrly’ time, the day we went to Bangor!?
Four cars set off from Notts/Derbys on a dreary Monday morning but arrived in a bright and (very) breezy Llandduno a few hours later. Fun was had capturing shots on, and of the famous pier and also the beach, but soon our stomachs cried out for sustenance and most of us enjoyed a lovely tea shop with huge slabs of cake and/or savoury delicacies.

From there we soldiered on to Bangor and after an early pre-booked check in and curry dinner it was off to Bangor Pier…in the very damp drizzle. Too wet and the bar beckoned so most of us returned to The Slate hotel and hit the sack early. Next day’s forecast was promising and 3 of us even set early alarms to meet in the car park at 5.15am to capture the famous ‘Lone Tree’ in Llanberis at dawn. Martin, Adrian and Kevin were surprised to find another photographer at the location  (literally at the edge of the car park) who had beaten us to the spot by leaving Lancashire at 3am! But whilst the dawn wasn’t wondrous it certainly provided us with some great shots.

Day 2 – Anglesey – to the East…and West!
The plan for day 2 was, after breakfast, to cross the Menai Straits and travel anticlockwise up the East coast of the island of Anglesey and return down the middle later in the day. Most of us enjoyed and endured a stodgy but filling breakfast before loading up 3 cars and heading off under cloudy and sunny skies.

The cars met up at St Seirol’s Church and Monastry and we wandered around this church and graveyard, abbey ruins and empty dovecote finding interesting ways of capturing the relics, crosses, gravestones and even each other. Then we had to pay the toll man the princely sum of £3.50 per car to allow the cars to cross a small bridge and drive to Penmon Point with its Trwyn Du Lighthouse, cottages and snackshack, surrounded by a pebble beach and rock formations. The tide was on its way in, but the lighthouse was well revealed and despite being very windy this seemed to be blowing the clouds away to reveal signs of blue sky and sunshine.

Well, after the obligatory coffee and cake stop in the snackshack, and check in on where to go next, we departed for Amlwch (having discarded the Dulas Bay shipwreck due to the rising tide) but this split the group up, with some choosing a fine pub to have lunch and photography of beached boats at Red Dwarf Bay. Meanwhile Amlwch had provided lunch and a photo opportunity in its industrial harbour for some of the group who also went hunting for further locations (unsuccessfully). Through the power of the team’s WhatsApp  group we all met up a little later at a lovely cove called Caemes, where the sun was really treating us to some warmth while the wind tried to simultaneously cool us down!

And with this fine weather it was decided to sprint across to South Stack (some via Llynnon Mill; the only working windmill in Anglesey which whilst closed still offered a photo shoot location) on the North West peninsula of the island. Famous for its migratory bird population and the South Stack Lighthouse, this an RSPB Reserve which was glorious in the sun we were experiencing. Sadly the birds had flown or been blown away, and any idea of a sky full of detail was extinguished but it was still an attractive area to shoot at. Nobody braved the 400 steps to footbridge leading to the island (it was late afternoon of a long day!) but nonetheless some cracking images were captured of the lighthouse, Ellins Tower and the coastal environment.

Day 2 – As the sun sets…
Well, actually, there wasn’t really a sunset at the end of a sunny and windy day 2, but we couldn’t resist seeing the Menai Bridge at dusk. So, on the way back from South Stack we all stopped at the Victoria pub before heading for a layby on the A5 out of the town which overlooks the iconic bridge.  Illuminated at night it really reflects well in the river and probably everyone got a similar shot of the bridge, river and mountains behind it.

Day 2 ended in the bar at the hotel…unsurprisingly! Most of us turned in quite early looking forward to what day 3 would throw at us.

Day 3 – Going where The Prisoner was shot! (the TV series of course)
No-one felt the dawn forecast was promising enough to rise too early, so after a breakfast of more healthy eating (yoghurts, granola and even some fresh fruit) we set off towards Port Merion, nearly an hour’s drive to the west. Famous for the filming (shooting) of the 1960’s TV series ‘The Prisoner’,  Port Merion is an ‘Italiante Village’ built into the cliffside of the estuary of the River Dwyryd. It provided a myriad of architectural photography and shooting of unusual objects. We spent a long half day there, enjoying a packed lunch from Tesco, before dragging Kevin away to look at some stream trains.

When we arrived at Tanybwlch Rail Station it was a mad rush as the next (and hourly) steam train could be heard trudging up the steep slope to its next stop. Finding a location without too much clutter, getting the right settings and avoiding photographing each other in the shot was quickly achieved as the steam engine entered the station and treated us to a steam plumage! Five minutes later it was gone and we settled down in the tea room for the next arrival. Better prepared this time we were thrilled to see the engine was called ‘Linda’ which of course triggered some photos of our Linda posing next to the engine. And then it was gone and time to move on to Caernarfon for evening shots of the castle…well, not quite everyone as Dave, Martin and Linda drove to Porth Madoc for more shots at a different station (Dave really does enjoy his trains!).

Day 3 – Caernarfon Castle at Sunset!
Two cars arrived in Caernarfon whilst the Gilbert Crew deviated via Porth Madoc (more trains) and after the disappointment of not being able to walk across the footbridge over the river (closed due 1 week’s maintenance!) most of the party enjoyed the view across the estuary and waited for the sunset.

Well, not even a hospitable drink and meal in the Anglesey Arms could generate a super sunset, but we made the best of it and the Gilbert Crew shot the view towards the magnificent castle rather than away from it. Possibly the best angle of the castle was from a railway bridge back in the town fortuitously found by Kevin and Adrian before everyone retired back to the hotel and an early night.

Day 4 – What’s left to do on Anglesey?
An 8am breakfast (still a poor sunrise forecast) seemed to challenge the hotel as supplies were running low (only a couple of yoghurts and limited fruit today!). But we set off and picked up snacks and lunch from Tesco,and aimed for the south west corner of the island. Llandwyn Island and Newborough Forest were today’s big aims. The former is home to the iconic Twr Mawr lighthouse (see fotovue’s cover of Photographing North Wales by Simon Kitchin) and the latter is home to natural and rare Red Squirrels.

Across the windswept beach and over the headland was a significant walk and the weather was mild and windy but at least dry. On the headland we were greeted by welsh ponies roaming happily, historic ruins and a lighthouse which did need a lick of paint. Some attractive cottages were actually being painted at the time, and with a polite request, a short window of opportunity was created to capture their character (and avoid the overall-ed volnteers).

Virtually everyone shot their own version of the iconic Twr Mawr lighthouse before heading for a spot in Newborsugh Forest to scout for Red Squirrels. And they say ‘Fortune favours the brave’ because we were treated to a visit by a couple of these rare creatures. And Kevin was most surprised and pleased when a group of female volunteer decorators joined us for lunch AND enquired if any of us had lost a filter on the headland earlier. Needless to say Kevin was very grateful to find it was one of his magnetic filters left behind by the cottages – what are the chances!??

We were hoping to also find the ‘Church in the Sea’ but the high tide changed our mind, and then the weather changed and ‘rain stopped play for the day’. Time to return to the hotel and stay in for a cosy meal at the digs and swapping of stories from the day before retiring on our last night.

Day 5 – Time to go home…or just one last location ?
An 8am breakfast again, and again supplies were dwindling! The conversation surrounded whether to drop in somewhere on the way home. It was agreed that Ogwen Falls and Cwm Idwal seemed an ideal combination of not taking us too far away from the faster roads home and still provide us with two last opportunities for beautiful locations; bearing in mind we hadn’t seen a waterfall yet!

Sadly, the morning was a bit bleak as we left The Slate hotel, but as drove a few miles down the A5 there were better signs. The Falls were not for everyone, being a bit of scramble across rocks but the tumbling water was attractive and worth the look. Next, we all headed up the valley towards the Llyn (lake). Again, not for the unfit, but a lovely walk and the lake itself is stunning and by this time blue sky was making an appearance.

But after this final discovery we all departed at different times to drive back to the East Midlands (via the dreaded M6 which as usual delivered its share of traffic jams and sending heavy rain showers as we approached Derby!), armed with packed SD cards, good memories, too much tea/coffee and cake consumed but all looking forwards to the next trip…watch this space as they say!