Tag Archives: Rhosneigr

Ancient Anglesey – Barclodiad y Gawres

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Continuing our explorations of ancient sites around the Isle of Anglesey, earlier this year we paid a return visit to Barclodiad y Gawres. Not far from our regular haunt in Rhosneigr, on the road to Aberffraw, this ancient tomb is one I’ve visited before – but it’s well worth another, better documented trip.

Barclodiad y Gawres means “The Giantess’s Apronful” in English. There are carparks nearby to reach the site, followed by a short walk along a pretty spectacular coastal path, with great views across the beaches towards Rhosneigr. The monument is visible from the road, and eventually you’ll reach it standing atop a hill.

The entrance is gated, though it is opened up to the public at certain times. You can see inside the tomb regardless, and discern some of the stones within. I’ve not been directly inside yet, but it’s certainly something I’d like to do. Some of the stones contained inside feature patterns made by the ancients – which would be a fantastic thing to see.

The location makes this site an atmospheric viewing. With Porth Trecastell on the far side, it’s surrounded by some wonderful scenery that really makes this a wonderful, magical place. Barclodiad y Gawres is an intriguing place and worth repeated visits – the Jones archeological team shall return.

For more info, visit Cadw.

Two Bare Feet Longboard

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OK, so I admit: I don’t really need another longboard.  I already have Sector 9 and Mindless longboards.  But I found this Two Bare Feet set up for a crazy price and I couldn’t resist.

I first came across the brand in a surf shop in Rhosneigr, Anglesey.  They looked pretty cool and I looked them up online.  In particluar, I was interested to try out this type of shape, with the drop through trucks too.

This is a 42″ 821 complete longboard, and it’s ridiculously cheap to buy from the Two Bare Feet online store.  In fact, the low price made me cautious and it was a while before I clicked “purchase”.

I had to wait to get some spare cash together anyway, and in the end I figured the risk was minimal.

Glad I decided to buy: for a budget board, I’ve been very impressed so far.

As I stated, I really wanted to try out this “twin tip” shape deck and it’s turned out to be a lot of fun.  Although I had been curious about learning tricks on this shape deck, so far I’m not convinced that’s a good move (though that’s my problem, nothing to do with the board).  It has been good fun for cruising around on though.

I’ve never skated drop through trucks before, and I like the lower ride they provide.  I found these trucks a bit unresponsive at first however; this problem seems to be improving as they wear in a little.

The board comes with great, big, fat wheels that are nice and soft; they roll very comfortably with the ABEC 5 bearings supplied.

Graphics wise, it’s simple and clean with a slight retro 70’s style that I like a lot.  You can select different graphics and colours (including wheel colours) on the online shop.

The board arrived fully gripped (nice job).  Unfortunately the only major downer was that it was shrink wrapped, which takes ages to remove satisfactorily if you’re obsessive like me.  Still, the whole delivery and transaction was totally painless.  Well done, Two Bare Feet.

This has proven a great addition to my longboard collection, we’ll see how it performs longevity wise.  For now, I would say that this is an ideal skateboard for a more experienced rider to own as a back-up or for a different riding experience.  The real beauty of the 821 complete though, is as a budget price entry level board for a beginner who fancies trying out longboard riding.

Technical Specifications:

  • Length: 42″
  • Width: 9.5″
  • Canadian maple deck
  • 70mm x 51mm wheels
  • ABEC 5 bearings
  • Supplied set up and complete

Two Bare Feet are a British company offering lots of different board riding equipment.  You can visit their website here.