We live in England, part of The British Isles
As nature decrees, there are several smaller islands in the surrounding waters. Over the years we have had some lovely holidays on several of them. Amongst our favourites is The Isle of Anglesey, It is situated off the coast of North Wales and is less than a two hour drive from our home.
Access to the island is by way of two bridges, The Menai Suspension Bridge, built and designed by Thomas Telford and opened in 1826,
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| The Menai Suspension Bridge |
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| The Britannia Bridge. |
The Britannia Bridge was built by Robert Stevenson. It was originally a tubular steel bridge of wrought iron, It was used for carrying rail traffic, but following a fire in1970, it was rebuilt as a two tier, steel truss arch bridge, carrying both rail and road traffic.
The stretch of water between the mainland and the Island is known as The Menai Straits, It is a most treacherous waterway, because of differing tides at the two ends, and many have lost their lives trying to traverse it.
Each time we visit the Island we stay at a different place, there is an abundance of eateries serving seafood straight from the sea. The beaches are delightful and safe to bathe from.
One of the Gastro Pubs on Red Wharf Bay, where Prince William and Catherine The Duchess of Cambridge often dined, when William was based on the Island, serving in the Royal Air Force.
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| The interior of the pub, we usually sat at the table in the left hand corner, which, we were reliably informed, was also a favourite table for Prince William and Catherine, I was most excited about this but unfortunately we didn't have the pleasure of meeting them ! |
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| Classic British favourite Fish and chips and mushy peas. |
This is the exterior of The Ship Inn, it really is in a lovely setting so, wherever we are staying we always manage to visit for lunch.
Beaumaris
The main town in the Isle of Anglesey is Beaumaris, it has a splendid castle regarded as a great unfinished masterpiece. It was built as one of the iron ring of North Wales castles, by the English monarch, Edward the 1st to stamp his authority on the Welsh. But it was never finished, money and supplies ran out before the fortifications reached their full height.
Such a lovely setting, the mountains of Snowdonia are across the water on the mainland. Wherever you are on The Isle of Anglesey, you're never far away from the sea or beautiful scenery inland.
I could write forever and a day about my favourite Island, and feel so blessed to have a special place to visit, almost on our doorstep.
My thanks to the iconic Denise for devising ABCW and also to the impressive Roger for his intellectual insight in the administration of ABCW.
Best wishes to all, Di..xx
Christian tradition starting from the 8th Century states that Saint Luke was the first icon painter. He was a disciple of St Paul and accompanied him on his travels. Saint Luke lived in a cave for a while during a period of asceticism. Originally he was a physician and was widely educated, particularly in research work and Greek studies.
St Luke was the only evangelist to provide certain information about the conception, infancy and childhood of Jesus. These events were described in the Bible by St Luke alone, including The Annunciation, (the announcement by The Archangel Gabriel that Mary had been chosen to be the mother of Christ). This links to the letter Z where I wrote about Zachariah when The Angel Gabriel appearing before him to tell him his barren wife Elizabeth would bear a child who would be called John (John the Baptist). Elizabeth was the cousin of The Virgin Mary. St Luke wrote about this in his gospel. 
