A Sunrise Adventure

And so it’s the end of rather epic Easter weekend here in the UK. Four days of sunshine, warm temperatures and no real plan for me. All I wanted to do was relax, do as little as possible and recharge the batteries.

But of course plans don’t always work and so I ended up doing too much, not sleeping enough and now I feel that I need a few more days to recover.

While out on a ride out with a group on Friday I had the sudden urge to sit on top of a mountain and watch the sunrise. No idea where it’s come from but the next day I thought about it more and decided to google where in North Wales is the best place for a spectacular sunrise. By then I also decided I wanted to watch if raise from the sea and, you might think that’s funny, given the most of the Welsh coast is on the west side of the island, but – after scrolling for a while I had two options.

The first one was the Great Orme by Llandudno which would tick two boxes – mountain and seaside. But the Great Orme is a very steep incline and I remember walking and driving up there was tough. I didn’t fancy running into trouble on a bike, it would be easy to drop it. So I opted for the second option which was Rhos on Sea.

I decided it was going to be Easter Sunday and I’ve set the alarm for 4.00 am. I have given myself permission to just go back to sleep should I not feel like getting up. Everything was ready for the morning, all my clothes laid out and I knew, if I didn’t go, I would regret it.

Tough as it was, I did get up at 4.00 am, made a flask of coffee and set off at 5.00 am. The moon was big and bright and it was exciting to be leaving the house. As I joined the A55 the sky was starting to turn lighter and the colours of the sunrise were coming through. I panicked. What if I set off too late? I’ve checked the weather and it’s said the sunrise is at 6.08 am at the location. I had plenty of time but suddenly wished I had set off earlier.

I contemplated changing my destination for something closer but my mind kept saying ‘stick to the plan’. So I have. I’ve plugged in google maps into my earphones for directions as I wasn’t sure where I’m going. I’ve set it for the visitor centre in Rhos on Sea which looked to be well placed on the beach (thanks google earth!) with plenty of space to park the bike.

When I arrived to Rhos on Sea it was quite bright and very quiet. I found a good place to park the bike, poured myself a coffee (I thanked myself for begin so organised!) and just observed the colours of the sky changing by the minute. The seagulls came out and the birds were singing so it wasn’t quiet anymore but I enjoyed their music.

Then the sun appeared. It was the most amazing sight. It moved quickly and it was fascinating to watch it, literally come out of the sea. The colours were striking, I just sat there and grinned.

The four o’clock start was so worth it!