secret island

It isn't really a secret island, and it isn't surrounded by, mists, either, but it does have red squirrels. Tony and I have just got back from a few beautiful, relaxing days on lovely Anglesey, just off the coast of Wales. On Anglesey you are never far from an ancient religious site, a vast expanse of beach, and the ever-changing colours of the sea. Perhaps I will tell you more one day about Lovers Island (which is really a peninsula, not an island), the ancient Christian site at St Siriol's Well, and the bird sanctuary at South Stack. It seems silly to talk about 'big skies', because of course the sky is big, but living in a valley makes me appreciate the vast clear skies above Anglesey.

Irish Cream Cheesecake. Honeycomb. Lavender. These are three flavours of ice cream I tried this week, and I can recommend them all. Beaumaris, right on the eastern edge of Anglesey, has so many wonderful eateries that four days was not enough, we'll have to go back for a fortnight. The lady at The Red Boat ice cream parlour tells me that they have 170 different ice cream recipes. At Simple Snacks the choice is more limited but the ice cream is superb. No, a fortnight wouldn't be long enough. How long would it take? I haven't tried the pear sorbet, the Turkish Delight, the Jelly Baby...

We didn't just sit around eating ice cream, of course. We walked for miles and miles in the fresh clean air, watching oyster catchers on the shore and seeing the sea change from blue to turquoise, and shimmering so brightly in the sun we could hardly look at it. The clouds looked as if they'd been cut out from a picture book. And the air as so fresh and clean I wanted to bring it home with me. Truly an Island of the Blessed.