7/4 Drive Through Anglesey & Lifesavng Museum in Holyhead, Wales

 It was a rainy day, but at least it started OK, so I decided today was my only chance to do some exploring this island of Anglesey.  It is a very large island with several towns and cities on it, located on the west coast of Wales, along the Irish Sea.  So, off I went. 

Originally, I was planning on driving entirely around the island, which takes maybe 3+ hours, depending on how often you stop to enjoy the scenery.  However, considering the cold and windy, and approaching heavy rain, I decided to drive immediately to the sea town of Holyhead.  It's an interesting little town, but I did not feel like more walking around a town.  

So, instead, I drove to the harbor and drove slowly along it, stopping a couple of times to take photos of all the boats in port.  These are the buildings used by the harbor master and life saving services for this area.  There are also showers and other facilities for private boat owners. 

 

 

I looked this cruise ship up.  It was parked on the far north end of the harbor and is the Viking Velda and is owned by Viking Cruise line and was built just a couple of years ago.   What I found interesting is that this ship has only no-kids cruises, plus there is no casino, and fares include almost all drinks and shore excursions.  Also, the cruises tend to be longer ones, such as three or four weeks long!  Expensive, to say the least, but i like the no kids and no casino policies.  Most cruise lines make a lot of money on drinks, casinos, and shore excursions to the point where a cruise can cost you twice as much as you thought it would! 

 

 

 

Planning on extra time means you can have time to stop at interesting places, such as this Maritime Museum.  It was not too hard to find a parking spot, and I also was happy to see a cafe attached to the museum.  Not only that, but it served great food instead of the usual pre-made stuff you get in museums.  Had a terrific BBQ pork sandwich on a fresh ciabatta roll!  

 

 

I tried parking down here, but decided it was easier to park in the spots along the roadway.  

 

 

The museum.   

 A few photos of the stuff on display. 

 

 

Can you see the man standing behind this sign?  He is standing next to a huge sewing machine that was made to sew heavy sails.  

 

 

 

This thing, along with its base, has to weigh at least 1,000 pounds!   

I had still planned to drive along the northern coast of the island, but after about 20 miles of heavier rain and wind, I gave up and took a faster route back to my hotel.