Lleyn Peninsula Coastal Path, Part 2

From Llangwnadl to Rhiw

From Carrog Farm we walked on quiet lanes to rejoin the Coastal Path. We saw on our map that we would pass a megalithic standing stone. We did, and we saw it in the field, but the path to it had been most definitively blocked off - with the footpath sign knocked down, even.

A few miles later we were once again walking through gorse on our way back down to the coast.

We reached it near Porthor, or Whistling Sands. It's said that on the sand your feet will make a squeaking sound, but we couldn't hear it. There was another couple on the beach, an unusual sight for us on this walk.

Here's the view back to the beach, after we climbed up the hill at the far end:

The path after this was very pleasant and easy under foot. When the hill Mynydd Anelog came into view, however, I was apprehensive that we might have to walk around the rather steep side above the water.

But when we sat for a snack we were happy to see a path going up the hill that we could get to easily. It's hard to spot in this photo, but it goes up to the right of the wall that you can see. What you don't see in this picture is that we first had to go down to the water level!

Several hours later we were going down the other side of Mynydd Anelog. It had turned into a stunningly beautiful afternoon. We were nearing the tip of the peninsula, but we cut the corner a bit and didn't get to the furthest point. The water in the photo below is on the south coast.

There were many new lambs, sometimes fields full of mothers and their lambs. This one must have been only a day old, as it still was on wobbly legs.

The views continued to be outstanding. We came to a farm lane, and then found ourselves on our map. We turned westwards, toward the tip of the peninsula.

Finally, in the late afternoon, we saw the object of the pilgrims' pilgrimages: Ynys Enlli, or Bardsey Island.

An hour later, after we had made the turn and started walking along the south coast, we could see Aberdaron ahead of us. The path, though still a path above the coast, seemed quite different from the paths of the past few days.

It was after 6:00 and starting to get dark, but Aberdaron wasn't far away, and the moon rising just above it was beautiful.

We dropped down to the boulders that you can see at the back of the closer beach in the photo above, and tried scrambling across them. It turned out to be difficult, so we went up to the bank behind.

Then after we finally got to the end of the boulders, close to Aberdaron, we came to a river that we couldn't cross. We had to climb back up the hill and clamber over a gate to get to a road down into town. We immediately found our Ship Hotel and went in. There was a note to us saying that we were in Room 4, and that Alun would be back soon - but he turned up right away. He's a great fellow, and his cheerfulness provided a merry ending to yet another excellent day!

We were excited the next morning when we looked out of our room window to see Y Gegin Fawr (the Big Kitchen) right across the street. This was a communal kitchen where pilgrims would have a meal before embarking for the trip to Bardsey. It's now a café, but it was still closed for the winter.

We spent the morning enjoying Aberdaron, an appealing village. In the photo below you see the Ship Hotel on the left, the hotel where we ate dinner just behind it, the friendly shop where we bought postcards and books to the right of the pink house, and Y Gegin Fawr on the right. The post office and Spar Market were to my left. The only other important building is the church, which is up the hill behind the Ship Hotel.

We spent a long time visiting the church, as we happened to go in while the vicar was there. We chatted for a good while. We had already read a lot about the church, St Hywyn's. Its original fifth century wooden building was replaced by a stone structure in 1137. Some parts of this 12th century building remain, including the west door and surrounding area. The church was extended in 1400. Inside, there are a couple of sixth century gravestones that were found nearby, with inscriptions. The one below says "VIRACIUS PBR HIC IACIT" (Viracius the priest lies here).

The church is beside the sea and thus has had problems over the centuries with its graveyard falling into the water. There's now a sea-wall to protect it. As you can see, by the time we went outside, a fog or sea-mist had rolled in.

In the afternoon we left Aberdaron for the short walk, just a few miles, to Penarfynydd Farm where we were spending the night. The thick fog stayed all day. We went through many fields and over many stiles. I took a picture of one stile which was marvellously complicated, and then of the view and choice on the other side of the stile:

We went through an area that had been a manganese mine. There were slag heaps, and Thann explored one of them, hoping to find something interesting. After a few more muddy fields we were at Penarfynydd Farm. Ursula Jones had telephoned us to say to say that they would be out, but that we should come in and make ourselves at home. We did, and she arrived not much later. She gave us tea and cakes, and we sat by the warm fire. Later she made us a good dinner, and we went to sleep to the sound of rain.