A Group of 27 members have recently returned from a very successful and enjoyable stay at the comfortable and friendly Bulkeley Hotel in Beaumaris. We enjoyed excellent hospitality and stunning views across the Menai Straits, while using it to explore sketching and painting opportunities around the attractive island of Anglesey.
Among the attractions for our artists were: the remote Penmon Point with its lighthouse and view of Puffin Island, the vast Newborough Sands, various attractive coastal inlets and the lunar-like opencast crater left by copper mining at Parys Mountain. Fortunately our visit coincided with a spell of good weather, with this very green island looking at its best.
Gallery visits are, of course, a must on such expeditions. This time many of us visited Oriel Ynys Mon at Llangevny, the long established Tegfryn Gallery in Menai and on our journey there or back, for some, the exciting Ffyn y Parc Gallery near Llanwrst.
In keeping with tradition, the final evening saw us assemble to view the exciting sketchbook work produced by the Group over the four days of our visit and to look forward to next year’s Paintaway which will involve a return to the popular Skelwith Bridge Hotel, just outside Ambleside in the Lake District.
Finally our thanks are due to the very helpful staff at The Bulkeley Hotel and to our member, Mike White, for kindly providing the photographs to accompany this report.