The serious news of increased coronavirus infections drives home the need to take care of personal hygiene and space. We have experienced shops, cafes, pubs and communal facilities at campsites during this trip and it’s clear that the standards differ widely.
As this virus is a silent spreader there’s little that can be done except to try to stay distanced during conversations. This can be very hard as some people just don’t think or remember. When walking on a narrow cliff path you do get a sense of COVID hesitation upon meeting others coming towards you.
It’s the differing standards at campsites though that is a surprise. Some have hand gel but others don’t. Some enforce 2m and others don’t. This is how Eric the Quartermaster does it.
Contact details are taken in some places such as this café and now masks are worn in shops here in Wales.
As I write, the UK government are about to announce further restrictions to try to slow the spread of infections in the second wave. I’m sure that the warm weekend weather and fear of new restrictions was the reason for so many people here. The campsite owners are saying how busy it has been for September. It doesn’t feel busy though.
I like Hymer campervans. Actually these really fall into the motorhome category. So when there were two classics sitting together on Eric the Quartermaster’s ‘no hookup’ field as we drove on, I had to go and say hello. Well I did after we had established ourselves.
The discussion centred on the base vehicle which was a Mercedes in both cases. I think that this is unusual and the owners said that it is fantastic in terms of reliability.
One guy was surprised to hear how much planned maintenance I do to our Landy and said that his Hymer just has an oil and filter change. It was ironic therefore to see a recovery truck there the following night. They were to have left that evening but couldn’t get the engine started. As I had my pyjamas on I didn’t go out to gloat. 😁
We did chat with a guy who rather surprisingly runs a ‘claims’ business. He had one or two unbelievable stories. Coming into the claims business from the installation side, providing ‘domestic energy efficiency improvements’, he found himself following-up installations of loft and wall insulation and solar panels. The householders had become suspicious of the claimed benefits.
A typical scam was (is?) when installing loft insulation, to load the rolls into the roof space but not to un-roll and install. Instead the rogues make a few noises for a while and then declare “job done”. The poor householder who has said “I never go up there”, never goes up there but does sometimes notice that the house is no warmer.
Now he works on mortgages where the repayment has been incorrectly calculated at the bank and others where the commission paid was higher than it should have been. In his opinion, these mistakes are deliberate and the courts seem to agree.
The final day saw us walk from Morfa Nevyn to the Ty Coch by way of a pub lunch and the beach. We had a final swim in reasonably warm water.
I’d like to make special reference to these amazing Dock & Bay towels which pack down to nothing, yet still dry you and then themselves, very quickly.
The pub was still doing a good trade but it must be hard in these times when they close in bad weather. Not today though but it is the final day of summer I think.
Getting to know the Llŷn Peninsula has been a surprise and delight. It is very easy to move around by vehicle and a single base would be perfectly sensible. From the correct location walking too can include the north and south coasts. It isn’t far from one side to another.
The myriad of small coves and cliffs is what makes it so nice. If you want motorboats and jet skis then go to Abersoch, otherwise it’s secluded beaches, fishing from rocks and very easy hilly walking combined with fantastic views. It is windy though, nearly all the time. 😁
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