Blue Sky

Field Notes: 5/20/25

Bangor, UK

Blue Sky Cafe & Taproom

It's not something you see much here. I think it contributes to the yearning for space. Space in a grass roof hut around open fires for millenia became space in an open ceiling hall around a stone fireplace. Now I'm sitting in something much like a norse hall. A bit more modern to be sure, but a hall nonetheless. Skylights dot the pine-framed ceiling. Raw wooden beams stretch the width of a room rather big for such a small town.

Bangor is not a place many people find themselves. With it's back to the beautiful Snowdonia Mountain range, it's the boney left shoulder of Wales. Nothing but a bit of Ireland and the lowlands of Anglesey to protect it from the ferocious Atlantic winds. You don't find this part of North Wales by accident. There's no A-road to/from here. If I see you in Bangor, you meant to be here. 

It's also not a place where you'll find much blue sky. I lean across the wooden table and ask my friend what summer is like. He says, it's two weeks and 70 fahrenheit (sorry, 21 celsius). According to him the rest of the year is some varied version of rain and wind. When the sun comes out you immediately declothe and lay in the garden even though you're freezing balls/bollocks. 

Maybe that's why they named it that. I remember the first time I walked into Blue Sky. It was a cold day in February. I walk off the high street, through a mural patched tunnel, past a downstairs cafe, and up to a great hall. The fire is raging over the din of living. I take my layers off and lay them over the back of my chair. I blow hot air into my hands, the fire begins to warm my back. My flat white comes and I cup it with both hands. I take a sip. 

London has good coffee. On a cold day in North Wales, there's a little shop off the high street in Bangor where there's Blue Sky all year. It has great coffee.

-RH