STEVE MELIA finds ancient histor y, empt y beaches and conspicuous wealth on a walk around the nor thernmost peninsula of Wales
For many years I have been walking across Britain and parts of Europe using public transport as my means of getting to and from my rambling destination. The main advantage is you don’t have to finish where you started, which is particularly useful for coastal paths.
In some places, a rail journey to the start is part of the attraction. That’s definitely true of the Llyn Peninsula, in north west Wales. On the outward journey I took the Cambrian Line from Birmingham New Street, through mid-Wales, down the River Dovey and along the Gwynedd coast. The views would compare to any I have seen around Britain or Europe.
The Met Office was forecasting weeks of unbroken sunshine when I arrived in Barmouth with my wife. Barmouth is a traditional small seaside town with amusements for children and long queues for fish and chips. We spent a week swimming in the sea, walking inland and admiring the glorious sunsets over its beach, before I continued to Pwllheli, to start my walk around the Llyn Peninsula.
Since my childhood holidays on Llyn, an influx of wealth has altered some parts more than others. In Pwllheli I met my old school friend Geoff, who has been going there for over 50 years, drawn back by its long, quiet beach and because: “Pwllheli is a functioning town. It has schools, businesses and shops for local people, unlike Abersoch.”
Geoff joined me for the first stretch, to Llanbedrog, where we had tea in the glittering new cafe attached to the art gallery.
From Llanbedrog, the coast curves and the path climbs towards the Iron Man sculpture, on a rocky outcrop looking back along the coast we had just walked. The path was bordered with rhododendrons, an invasive non-native species, but a beautiful sight in flower.
Round the next corner, Abersoch and The Warren beach came into view. Abersoch boasts a power boatyard, high-fashion beachwear shops, classy restaurants and a gastro-pub, where a harassed-looking waitress said she could spare me a table for an hour.
On the fields and farms surrounding Abersoch caravan sites were spreading, with more planned. Thankfully, the National Trust owns much of the land on the next stretch. After Plas yn Rhiw, their 17th -century manor house, the coast they manage is peppered with archaeological remains. It is lightly grazed by ponies and covered by wild flowers of all colours. A pair of choughs was circling overhead when I passed the only two people I saw there.
Aberdaron
