Bardsey and Tudwel islands Monday, July 20, 2009

We spent the weekend at the tip on the Llyn Peninsula visiting various wonderful islands! On Saturday, Barry, Tara and I paddled into the wind to Bardsey island where we caught up with our friends the farmers, Steve, Joanne, Rachel and Ben Porter. It was a choppy, quite challenging paddle which we all enjoyed. We saw lots of birds, including a dozen or so puffins.

After a refreshing cup of tea and a chat, we headed back against the last of the flood, with the wind at our backs. The wind had dropped a bit but still gave us a bit of a push home. The current was still flooding out of Abadaron bay quite quickly with 1-2 metre waves forming a race off the headland. After one last exhilarating surf we were back in the bay and heading for fish and chips! That evening we joined Jim Krawiecki and Pete Astles on the beach as they camped overnight nearby. The rain drove us back to the van for the night and we even managed to sleep in!


On Sunday, John Dommony joined us and we headed to the Tudwel islands - the first time I've ever paddled there! We had a great day, exploring both islands, poking our noses into caves, listening to all the birds squawking and watching the seals. The was an exciting swell on the exposed sides of the islands. We even saw Bear Grylls bear bum.... but that's another story!

Last stop was Porth Ceriad for lunch and enjoyed a bit of fun catching a few waves in the warm water. What a lovely weekend!