This was going to be a long and tough day. When I examined the public transport situation I saw I needed to use Pwllheli as a place to link the two villages together. I therefore drove to Aberdaron and parked up in the National Trust car park. Aberdaron is almost at the tip of the Lleyn peninsular and sits in a very rural location. It was still dark as I waited to catch the #17 to Pwllheli at a cost of £2.60, then hopped on the #18 to Abersoch (only 15mins).
The forecast was not good, high winds were expected, which would be coming almost head-on for most of the day. When I got off the bus at Abersoch, the weather was ok, a fine sunny but chilly morning. The recent heavy rain had flooded part of the golf course at Abersoch, as I noted when I walked 0ver the course. The views out to sea were dominated by the twin islands of St. Tudwal’s Island East and West, about a mile offshore. St Tudwal’s West is the island which contains the lighthouse.
By the time I had arrived at Porth Neigwl or Hell’s Mouth, the high winds and rain squalls had arrived. This was the second time I had been to Porth Niegwl, back in 1975, as a Geology undergraduate at Liverpool University. Then, we were studying the geological engineering problems of the boulder clays that made up the coastal cliffs at Porth Niegwl.
I did not stay long on the beach as an inland detour across muddy and flooded fields was imposed on me. To make matters worse, poor signage made battling through the rain squalls quite unpleasant. A return to a bit of road walking was most welcome as I rounded the National Trust building at Plas yn Rhiw. The height gained on this section ultimately lead to a great vantage point, the summit of Mynydd Penarfynydd at a height of 177m.
It was possible to see Bardsey Island as well as my objective Aberdaron. The final 3 to 4 miles into Aberdaron was poorly signposted. I actually stayed on a path which hugged the coast until about a mile from Aberdaron, when I then cut in land and joined the road. It was quite a relief to get out of the wind and a change of clothes when I arrived back at the car.
I managed 20 miles in 6.5hrs
Distance today = 20 miles
Total distance = 1156 miles
Walking the Coast of Great Britain 