Cemaes (2019-09-14)

So, what do you do on a rest day during a walking holiday?  You walk some more.

We had a leisurely morning before heading into the village for a look see, when things opened up at 10 am.  By just after 11 am we had exhausted sight seeing on the Main Street and went down to the harbour to see the famous (in Cemaes) tidal bell, which is rung at high tide by the action of the waves.

Tidal Bell

Next we walked out on the breakwater to see people fishing and to get a closer view of a restored lifeboat in the harbour.  It is hard to believe that 15 men would row out to sea in this little boat to rescue others whose ship was in trouble.

Cemaes Lifeboat

The cafe in the local museum was our chosen lunch place and we enjoyed a soup / sandwich with a cup of tea, and a chat with some locals.

After lunch we did a twenty minute walk (along the road) back to the Church of St. Patrick that we had visited on that stormy day as we approached Cemaes.  Today the church was open, and a wedding had just finished, so we were able to go in and take a look.  When the church was restored, the man who paid for the restoration had turned to Islam, so had some Islamic-looking features incorporated into the church - note  the blue tiles in the photo below.  Also in the church is a stone about a foot square and 4 foot high that was supposedly brought there from Ireland by St. Patrick....if he was carrying rocks that big across the Irish Sea in a little boat, it is no wonder he was shipwrecked.

Church of St Patrick

Since we had three nights in Cemaes, we have tried three places for dinner.  The first night was at The Stag (the most northerly pub in Wales), the second night was at Wooburn Hills, and tonight we ate at Gadlys Hotel.  We enjoyed our meals at all three places, but the Gadlys was certainly the best of the three.

The Stag

We finished our rest day having walked 11 km with 600 ft. of elevation gain.  Some rest day!

Tomorrow we will be back on the coastal path again, with a weather forecast of rain and diminishing wind.  Let’s hope that we are pleasantly surprised.