Long old drive today. Two hundred and ten miles or so. Boring motorway most of the way. Arrived at the Gazelle and have a room with a wonderful view. Menai Straits and Bangor Pier. To the right in the distance is the Menai Suspension Bridge. To the left Beaumaris.
Quite a self contained spot here. Once you’ve arrived you have the pub, the view and nothing else. It is fine. We finished dinner quite early and are now listening to Sheffield United versus the Red Imps on the wireless. Crap connectivity.
…
It must be said I am sat outside the Gazelle in a state of ecstasy. The Menai Straits have the gentlest of ripples on an otherwise flat surface. Birdsong surrounds me. Over the water Bangor Pier stands serene, still, with small flocks and individual sea birds flying across its reflection.
Bangor itself is hidden behind the hill, on top of which is the old university building. Green and red triangles mark the route to the ancient slipway in front of the hotel and there is a hollow red diamond near the landside end.
Two different coloured bands of seaweed line the pebbled shore, the lighter nearer the water. To the right, in the distance, stands Telford’s famous suspension bridge. Still in operation today we drove across it en route to our destination for the night. A row of white painted cottages lines the shore opposite.
This is a perfect place to spend time before breakfast. I had to open the front door and let myself out. As I write I have just spotted movement on the pier and zooming in with my camera I can see a light in the cafe with someone inside busying themselves with preparations for the day.
When in this part of the world we normally stay in the Black Boy Inn in Caernarfon but as we are catching the ferry to Dublin today we thought it made more sense to stop at the Gazelle which represents a shorter drive to the port. Wow what a result.
The pub itself was full of families having dinner but the restaurant section was pleasant with great views out over the water. We had a couple of drinks, ate our food and whilst the sun began to set retired upstairs to listen to the Imps beat Sheffield United on penalties in the Carabao Cup.
All in all a great start to our trip.