75. Aberdaron to Tudweiliog

To complete this walk I needed to use public transport at the start and end of the walk. I therefore drove to and parked in Pwllheli and caught the 07:05 #17 bus to Aberdaron. It was just getting light when I climbed the hill out of Aberdaron. The weather forecast was not promising,  it had said that it would remain dry – fat chance and with it continuing to rain off and on for the whole walk!

Dawn in Aberdaron

I was conscious of walking against the clock to ensure I caught 1 of 2 buses back to Pwhelli, otherwise I would have been in for a long wait otherwise.

I had occassional views across to Bardsey Island. I could make out the lighthouse. I reflected on my last visit to the island in 2012. I have a link to a trip Report I wrote, about my visit to the island. Its on the Scottish Hills forum at :-

http://www.scottishhills.com/html/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=13185

Although this walk was only 18 miles, it seemed alot longer. That could be because the terrain was very hilly going over both Mynydd Mawr and Mynydd Anelog in the first 8 miles, with numerous ups/downs. With the ground being very wet and heavy, my strength began to sag after about 14 miles.

Looking across to Bardsey Island

I passed Whispering Sands, but with the rain and wind I doubt I would have heard much anyway. I had been aiming for the 13:40 bus from Tudweiliog to Pwllheli, but it gradually dawned on me that as fatigue started to set in I would take a prolonged rest and catch the later one.

Looking back at Mynydd Mawr

Tudweiliog is actually sited about a kilometre inland from the WCP and I had to walk up a couple of muddy fields to get to the village. The pub had long since gone from the village, but I was lucky that the village shop was still open. I filled up on chocolate, flapjacks and Welsh cakes. The bus stop is just outside of the store/post office, but there was no cover or any shelter close by. As the rain came again I leant back against the shop wall and tucked into my Welsh cakes.

Whispering Sands

I caught the 14:45 #8 back to Pwllheli at a cost of £2.50. It was dark when we arrived back in Pwllheli. Overhaul this had been a tough walk, perhaps the toughest of the WCP so far. It had taken 6hrs to cover the 18 miles which was surprising.

 

Distance today = 18 miles
Total distance =  1136 miles

 

 

74. Tudweiliog to Trefor

Porth Dinllaen

I drove to the small village of Trefor, located just off the A499 and parked in the free beach car park. I then walked the short distance back into the village.

Not many buses go directly to Tudweiliog from Trefor, but there is one, the #14 which left at 06:44 and cost the grand sum of £1.90; not bad for a 30 minute bus ride.

Maigret

There is really nothing much at  Tudweiliog, only a post office/store which is where the bus stops. I had about a kilometer to cross over very muddy fields to rejoin the WCP. I soon regretted wearing my North Face Hedgehog trainers, as I knew I was going to get wet feet from the off.

I made excellent progress and eventually passed over Nefyn Golf course, before the path headed out towards the promontory at Porth Dinllaen and a small collection of houses and pub.  I dropped down to the beach by the Ty Coch Inn and walked along the beach to Morfa Nefyn where I climbed back up onto the path. The view to the distant hills of Yr Eifl and its subsidiary top was a marker, as it was between these two hills I would need to pass later that day. Meanwhile the sun was out and I continued to make good progress to Nefyn.

Strange glass wind break at Porth y Nant

Due to the absence of a coastal path and road without path or verge, the path skirted inland to pass over the old quarry workings at Bodeilias, before dropping down to the main road and continuing to the small hamlet of Pistyll. At Pistyll, I passed alongside a small chapel with a graveyard. I popped my head over the wall and immediately noticed a grave with the name Rupert Davies. It clicked that this was the same Rupert Davies, the actor, who was famous for the popular Tv series “Maigret”, which I vaguely remember watching as a young child in the mid-1960’s.

Looking back at Yr Eifl

The path climbed again to other quarry workings where I was able to spot my next objective, the old mining community at Port y Nant. I was dismayed to see that I was going to have to drop down the 100m I had just ascended and re-ascend the 340m up towards the Bwlch y Eifl after Porth y Nant. A good tarmac road descends down to Porth y Nant which houses a large car park, cafe, houses, exhibitions and other buildings related to its  mining history. The bad news for me was that not only had I to ascend the steep road to begin the climb over Bwlch y Eifl, but the forecasted heavy rain and winds from storm Abigail was about to hit. By the time I reached the top car park, I was drenched through. The WCP path up and over Bwlch y Eifl was shrouded in mist and clag. Fortunately, the path is a very good one and I was soon descending on the far side out of the mist towards Trefor. I must admit it would have been nice to check out the view from the Bwlch y Eifl, but not today.

I had one minor mishap on my descent, by tripping headfirst into a gorse bush – Its painful believe me!

I was soaking from head to foot when I came back to the car after 5.75hrs and 18 miles.

Distance today = 18 miles
Total distance =   1118 miles

73. Trefor to Caernarfon

This was to be the first leg of  my journey around the Lleyn Peninsular section of the WCP. I drove early to Caernarfon and parked on the Aber foreshore (free) just opposite the castle. There is a footbridge that links the foreshore to the castle, but be aware that it closes overnight and opens at 07:00. I had decided to start my walk from Trefor which meant getting a bus . I walked to the nearby bus station and caught the 7:30 #12 to Trefor – only £2.40.

Yr Eifl

I think I should advise anybody walking this section to be prepared for an awful lot of walking on tarmac, in fact probably about 95% of it. By the time I reached Trefor, the sun was just coming up, catching the towering hill of Yr Eifl. It was a short walk to the A499, where I would spend most of the morning. Parts of the footpath are in fact the ‘old’ A499, which runs alongside the current A499, this meant having a super wide footpath. However, the main road is never far away, and the sea about half-a mile. The road is straight and flat, so you can make good time.

The ‘Footpath’

The first small village I came to was Clynnog-Fawr, here the new road by-passes the village but the WCP carries on down the main high street, offering some respite from the traffic noise. I came across Ffynnon Beuno (St.Beunos Well) which contained in a grade 2 listed enclosure, the water looked a bit ‘manky’ though with green algae abundant.

St Beunos Well

Back on the A499 and some 4 miles later, the WCP heads off down a road to the left towards Dinas Dinlle. Nothing seemed open as I passed through this quite little ‘resort’. As the path approaches Caernarfon airport, the WCP takes a sharp right. I however, had other ideas. I had decided to continue up  the beach and alongside the airfield. I met and spoke at length to a chap walking his dogs. At the tip of the promontory is Fort Belan, now a private residence. I had intended to walk past the Fort and join up with a public footpath which stops abruptly in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, by the time I reached the Fort, sea fog had suddenly blown inshore and it was difficult to navigate. I passed a couple of “private” signs as I cut across to try and find the public footpath. Under the cover of the sea fog I was not challenged, in fact, I have read that rambling groups regularly walk around this promontory. After passing a few World War 2 buildings I found the footpath sign, which advised that land beyond the footpath was private. I rejoined the WCP after about a mile. The next 5 miles was spent walking along country roads, which were not really very interesting.

Caernarfon Castle

I passed through Saron and continued down a road that took me back to the coast. This road would become the Aber Foreshore road, where I had parked. By the time I reached Caerfnarfon the sea mist had cleared. The walk took 5.75hrs.

 

Distance today = 17 miles
Total distance =   1100 miles