The months March to November are better known to me as caravanning season, my favourite season! We have our small caravan on a seasonal pitch at my favourite place in the world, a campsite on the north west coast of Anglesey, Wales. Our caravan overlooks the sea and the campsite has its own private beach, it's paradise. Through out the season me and my mum go to the caravan as often as we can with my dad and brother joining us at weekends and in the school holidays. Occasionally my sister and her boyfriend get time off from their jobs in London and also join us and the 6 of us squeeze into the caravan and a tent in the awning, it's a good job we all get on well as it's pretty cosy to say the least! I love it though, the minimalistic side of caravanning, me and my mum often joke about how self contained it is and why do we bother to have a big house when we can happily live in a caravan half the size of the lounge!
This season has been the best one yet I think, we have wonderful 'neighbours' in the caravans surrounding us and it's a really friendly community. Next door to us is a lovely couple, who happen to own a speed boat and are keen fishers! So over the season I was lucky enough to be invited out onto the boat on numerous afternoons to go 'zoom, zoom, zoom' and try my hand at fishing. I must say the 'zoom, zoom, zoom' is super exhilarating and fun as I predicted it to be, but fishing, which I wasn't so sure I would like, I took to like a natural apparently! Much to my surprise, as soon as I'd cast my first line and the weight had hit the bottom, I had a bite! I eagerly reeled it in to find a whopping big pollock on the hook! I couldn't believe it and thought it was a stroke of beginners luck! But no, the afternoon carried on as I'd started, bite after bite, I was catching within seconds of casting my line! Most of the fish were pollock and were too small to take back and eat so were freed into the sea to live another day but in total I caught 2 big pollock and my brother 1. Then, an amazing thing happened. We decided to finish up in a spot we'd been fishing after deciding we'd caught what we could from there, so I began to slowly reel in my empty rod when all of a sudden I got the most humongous bite, I almost fell out the boat! I kept reeling even slower so as not to lose whatever was on the end of my line, then they became visible, there in the water were too bright silver fish thrashing about with each other, fighting! They were moving so fast we couldn't tell what they were but as we lowered the net in and scooped them up it immediately became clear I had caught 2 mackerel! I was over the moon with happiness and pride! Bernard (my neighbour) couldn't believe his eyes, he said never in his 20 years of fishing off that coast had he caught mackerel nor knew anyone who had! I have a magic touch he says!
When we got back to shore we had a massive joint BBQ and buffet full of the days catch and other yummy food, the sun was shining, music was playing and I was surrounded by my family, it was one of my favourite nights ever!
One of our other sets of friends on the campsite own a pair of JetSkis and after hearing about my bucket list insisted they take me out for a ride on them! So I got all kitted up in my wetsuit and wet shoes before being whizzed off at 80mph into the open ocean! I thought the speed boat was fast but the JetSki was a whole new level of speed, it felt so fast it was incredible!
One of my favourite hobbies whilst at the caravan is going onto one of the pebbled beaches and collecting pebbles to paint! I decided to do bit of an artistic display in front of our caravan pitch to brighten things up. I sat many an hour over the season painting the pebbles and have ideas to add to it next season!
This season has been the best one yet I think, we have wonderful 'neighbours' in the caravans surrounding us and it's a really friendly community. Next door to us is a lovely couple, who happen to own a speed boat and are keen fishers! So over the season I was lucky enough to be invited out onto the boat on numerous afternoons to go 'zoom, zoom, zoom' and try my hand at fishing. I must say the 'zoom, zoom, zoom' is super exhilarating and fun as I predicted it to be, but fishing, which I wasn't so sure I would like, I took to like a natural apparently! Much to my surprise, as soon as I'd cast my first line and the weight had hit the bottom, I had a bite! I eagerly reeled it in to find a whopping big pollock on the hook! I couldn't believe it and thought it was a stroke of beginners luck! But no, the afternoon carried on as I'd started, bite after bite, I was catching within seconds of casting my line! Most of the fish were pollock and were too small to take back and eat so were freed into the sea to live another day but in total I caught 2 big pollock and my brother 1. Then, an amazing thing happened. We decided to finish up in a spot we'd been fishing after deciding we'd caught what we could from there, so I began to slowly reel in my empty rod when all of a sudden I got the most humongous bite, I almost fell out the boat! I kept reeling even slower so as not to lose whatever was on the end of my line, then they became visible, there in the water were too bright silver fish thrashing about with each other, fighting! They were moving so fast we couldn't tell what they were but as we lowered the net in and scooped them up it immediately became clear I had caught 2 mackerel! I was over the moon with happiness and pride! Bernard (my neighbour) couldn't believe his eyes, he said never in his 20 years of fishing off that coast had he caught mackerel nor knew anyone who had! I have a magic touch he says!
Me my brother and sister with Bernard Launching the boat
Just after I'd caught the Mackerel
The days catch!
When we got back to shore we had a massive joint BBQ and buffet full of the days catch and other yummy food, the sun was shining, music was playing and I was surrounded by my family, it was one of my favourite nights ever!
Everyone enjoying tucking in to yummy food!
One of our other sets of friends on the campsite own a pair of JetSkis and after hearing about my bucket list insisted they take me out for a ride on them! So I got all kitted up in my wetsuit and wet shoes before being whizzed off at 80mph into the open ocean! I thought the speed boat was fast but the JetSki was a whole new level of speed, it felt so fast it was incredible!
Going off on the JetSki!
One of my favourite hobbies whilst at the caravan is going onto one of the pebbled beaches and collecting pebbles to paint! I decided to do bit of an artistic display in front of our caravan pitch to brighten things up. I sat many an hour over the season painting the pebbles and have ideas to add to it next season!
'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside'
Sea creatures and flowers!
Although the sea is freezing whatever the weather, I can't resist going in! It's so clear and fresh it just tempts me in! I wear my wetsuit of course (I don't want to get hypothermia)! My sea antics included:
Jumping off the rocks!
relaxing in a rubber ring with my dad!
bodyboarding with my goddaughter
paddling along the beach
Now the season is over, I miss it so much, my health is so much better when I am there, the fresh sea air does my lungs the world of good! I rarely need my oxygen and I just think the more outdoor lifestyle suits me! I'd much rather be in my cosy bed in our house than in the caravan during the winter storms though! I suppose it's nice to have something to look forward to and fingers crossed I'll be returning to the caravan with new lungs!
Holly
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