Since the easing of lockdown we had been watching the travel situation closely, monitoring which borders were open, which were closed and which countries were welcoming UK citizens. Our planned holiday, booked in January whilst C-19 was still firmly based in Asia, was to drive out to Slovenia, stopping off in Bruges to drink beer and Verona to take in an open air opera, to cycle from the mountains of Kranjska Gora to the coast of Piran. We would then route back via Switzerland to visit Beck’s brother and family and see how their renovations were progressing. All in all we had earmarked six weeks for the jaunt.

From August onward we embarked on a rollercoaster ride of regulations. At first British citizens would not be able to enter Slovenia. As the restrictions there eased, Belgium’s cases rose to such an extent that the British Government placed the country on the no go list. Then the opera in Verona was cancelled. Finally, France’s cases put them on the quarantine list. At this point we decided a multi-destination holiday in Europe probably wasn’t going to happen in the midst of a global pandemic! Fortunately Visit Good Place, the company that we had booked our Slovenia trip with, took this all in their stride, offering us a one year postponement at no extra cost. Doubly fortunately, Ben’s folks have a caravan in North Wales, at Abersoch, which was not in use in mid-September, so, like many people this year, we revised our plans from a European jaunt to a UK holiday.

We know Abersoch and the surrounding area well, exactly because we have been to the caravan so many times over the years. This actually makes for a great holiday, as we know before we go, pretty much exactly what the holiday is going to entail and it’s always reliably good. This time, however, we had a bit more time than usual (2 and a half weeks) so managed to include a few new beaches alongside the usual stops of Porth Ceiriad (for a spot of wave jumping), Aberdaron (for crab salads) and Nefyn (for the Ty Coch). New favourites included the sweeping sands of Penllech beach, a sheltered bay, ideal for both swimming and SUP-ing, and Porthor, which has probably become my new favourite beach. Ben’s brother, Lee, kindly lent us his SUP for the duration which was a new one for us and we fairly comprehensively explored the Llyn peninsula through walks, runs, SUPs and swims. The weather started off fairly naff, but vastly improved whilst we were there and the beauty of staying in family-owned accommodation (and having 6 weeks originally earmarked for our holiday) was that we could extend our stay when the weather brightened up. As well as new beaches, we also tried a few new food options, including excellent tapas and cocktails at Kin & Co and fab ice creams from Two Islands. Fish and chips from the Creel were also had and was as reliably good as always!

It may not have been Slovenia, but it was a brilliant holiday nonetheless.