“Hello. How are you?” “Alright. How’s it going?” These are the usual greetings one might expect when visiting a new place. However, community reporter Paul McAuley’s visit to a seaside town not far from where he lives in Liverpool offered a rather different welcome, courtesy of the local wildlife.
Paul began explaining his visit and said: “Usually, when I visit a new place, at the top of my to-do list is to explore my surroundings, get my bearings and establish an ounce of familiarity with the area – including finding a group meeting point if it ever be needed. But when I arrived in Beaumaris over the weekend, I knew exactly what I needed to do – and that was to quell the rumbling roars coming from my belly.
“Who would have thought that sitting in the passenger seat, mastering a perfectly curated playlist of Dua Lipa, Sabrina Carpenter, and Glee covers, for the hour-and-a-half journey, would work up such an appetite?”
Fortunately, the scenic town was bustling with food stalls, ready to dish out some of the crispiest fried fish and golden chips. Paul managed to secure a generous portion for just under £5 and savoured every penny’s worth, reports Liverpool Echo.
Paul continued: “My friend Haydn couldn’t say the same. Within minutes of opening his cardboard box, a flock of seagulls seized the opportunity and took what they reckoned was theirs.
“Maybe it was karma for his choice to add an extra portion of mushy peas and a sickening amount of vinegar to his order.”
“I must admit – this wasn’t the welcome we were expecting, but it was one that made us feel right at home. If Liverpool seagulls are XL gullies, then these predators were hand-reared by Daenerys Targaryen and dispatched straight from Wiki of Westeros.”
However, the greeting from the town’s seagulls was the only hiccup – if you could even call it that – during his visit to the Isle of Anglesey. The seagulls’ aggression was in stark contrast to the locals, who couldn’t have been more welcoming.
Paul added: “It’s the sort of place where you instantly feel at ease, a community where everyone is familiar with each other, even though the locals could recognise we weren’t regulars in light of our rookie seagull blunder.
“After the incident, we headed to the Beaumaris Pier to indulge in the few remaining chips. The tourist hotspot was filled with chuckling youngsters egging each other on to see who could catch the biggest crab as they lined their nets with bait.
“Beyond the pier we could see a number of families patiently waiting their turn to board boats and head out to Puffin Island. We eventually became part of this group, but not before admiring the spectacular views and relishing in the open air.”
He concluded: “The Seacoast Safari was the perfect way to observe the wildlife in their natural habitat, without fearing a similar confrontation with any angry gulls. Along the hour-long excursion, we spotted black guillemots, razorbills, cormorants, grey seals and of course puffins.
“I would be selling Beaumaris incredibly short if I were to say I had completed it within the few hours we spent there. There was so much more on offer, notably the Beaumaris Castle. The historic landmark is often dubbed the ‘greatest’, and if that’s not an excuse for me to head back, then I don’t know what is. Until next time, Beaumaris.”