We walked part of the Llyn Peninsula segment of the Welsh CP, in the country’s NW corner. Previously reported Day 1 was a combination of roadways, villages, abandoned quarry, fields and wilds. The next 2 days, increasingly as we headed south, were primarily fields and wilds.
Day 1 was advertised as a 9 mile walk, although with missing that one turn we ended up at 7.8 miles and an hour early. The last few miles did have some strenuous bits to make up for the shorter distance. Days 2 and 3 were 13 and 9 mile days that ended up – with no path-straying – at 14.4 and 11.5 miles. Whoever demarcates the mileage must not actually do the walk, but pulls mileages from a map. Day 2 ended up being, at around mile 12, as a forced march into the wind, arriving at our accommodation as the sun set.
But – there were many delights along the way.
The first mile or 2 out of Nant Gwytheryn were beautiful coastal bluffs with heathers and coastal oak scrubs, much like the oak scrubs you’d see in the Florida panhandle. Oh, and sheep grazing around and about stone fences.
Crossing over another pass we eventually came to another St Beuno’s church. We had lunch sitting on a tomb at the west doors.
Onward through active farm fields to a delightful wooded lane and down into the eastern edge of Nefyn as we entered the beach-only segments.
With seven or so miles behind us – a bit more than 1/2 way – we came to a narrow peninsula featuring both a golf course and the 3rd best beach bar in the world, the Ty Coch Inn, from which we could see the day’s start point. Sadly, we could only stay a short while. After our libations we dodged a couple of golfing parties to continue on.
The coastal path is a beautiful, invigorating experience. The water on cloudy days is a pale sage green and on sunny days a lovely deep aquamarine.
After day 2 my legs were pretty unhappy. There’d been quite a bit of pavement walking the preceding 2 days, so it was kind of cranky. It kept me up much of the night and I thought I’d have to bail on day 3, but a night of inactivity and light walking early on day 3 and all was well.
Day 3 was gloriously sunny and nearly 10 degrees warmer than the previous 2, plus the breezes/wind were lighter and from the south – no headwind! Hiking in t-shirts! The entire path was earthen and through fields, with old homesteads and smoke houses along the ways, plus the ubiquitous sheep, rocky cliffs and stone fences.
Not to mention the occasional sandy cove and beach.
The 3rd day ended at Whistling Sands beach, so named due to the distinctive squeaking sound the irregularly shapes sand makes when walked on.
Our ride was scheduled to pick us up shortly after we arrived at Whistling Sands so – sadly – we didn’t have time for a cuppa or a pint at the beach pub. We did have time to read some of the literature about the area. It seems that a mine was started nearby to mine red jasper to supply a red colored stone for building exteriors. A port was developed by where the pub now stands. Apparently the mine never really took off as a business venture, and the port didn’t either. A little ways away at Aberdaron Beach we saw multiple red and green jasper stones and rocks in the surf, among many others types of rock. I even found a small stone that looks like tiger’s eye.
Semi-precious rocks and stones, the sounds of waves breaking on stony shores, a seal colony settling in for the night, ubiquitous herring gulls in the air and on the water, wind in our hair and ending the day tasting of salt from the sea breezes. Pretty perfect.
Snippets and Musings 
It really looks pretty perfect, although I don’t think I’d make it the whole way–those are three long days in a row! But the photos are beautiful!