Beach Hopping on the North of The Llyn

Hi there everyone 😀

During our visit to the lodge in July we’d done a fair few good walks in the mountains … and it was time for a day of beach hopping along the Northern coast of the Llyn Peninsular.

We started out at Porth Towyn … which is not very far from us at all. We were intrigued by the sign we saw as we approached the path down to the beach … which said there was filming for a TV cookery series underway …

From a distance Martin knew who it was straight away. I hadn’t a clue. Apparently it was Chris ‘Flamebaster’ Roberts …

We walked down to the beach, something we don’t do often here. Most times we’ve been it’s been blowing a hooley …

We had a walk to the other end of the bay …

… and then back again …

Martin was desperate to get some photos with ‘Flamebaster’ in the background …

In the end I just said hello as we walked past and asked him what they were cooking. We ended up having a good chat and Martin got his photo …

From Towyn we drove the narrow lanes and rocky track to Port Ysgaden … somewhere we visit often. The beach is great for seaglass … when the tide is out … which it wasn’t on this visit …

It’s still a lovely little walk across the cliff tops to Porth Ysglaig, with its old fisherman’s huts on the side of the cliff …

We always walk out to the point just beyond the biggest hut, where the views are just amazing … out to sea, back across to Porth Towyn and back at the fishermen’s huts …

We then always walk back to the gable wall of the old customs’ house, another great spot for sitting and taking in the views …

As it was such a lovely day and we’d been managing a lot better with our walking … and ability to climb a hill … we decided to make our first visit to Porth Iago. This is somewhere we’ve seen a lot on line but have never been  … as getting to it looked like hard work.

It’s also a beach where you have to drive through a farm to access it … and you pay to park at the farm. We had driven to the farm once, late in the day, but decided we didn’t want to pay to park that late on … especially as we probably wouldn’t have walked down to the beach.

This time we were far more enthusiastic. We paid at the farm and followed the track down to the coast. The beach looked stunning … exactly as we’d seen it in photos …

It did look like a bit of a trek down … and then back up … but we were up for it. We picked what looked like the easiest route and headed down …

It was just beautiful and we spent a good hour or so just taking it all in …

… having a paddle …

… and lunch …

This next photo shows the paths up and down … we opted for the less steep path on the left …

It really was something special and I’m sure we will be back for the full beach experience … with all the accompanying paraphernalia … at some point.

We had one last beach on the cards before heading for home … Porth Oer, also known as Whistling Sands.

It’s a steep walk down … which is why it’s not a favourite …

… but it does have a very nice National Trust cafe at the bottom, which was where we were headed. It was time for a cuppa and a scone. The beach was pretty busy and we just sat and chilled in the sunshine taking it all in …

We finished our day with the trudge back up the hill to head for home …

There are so many fabulous beaches around the Llyn. They all most definitely have their own personalities and are good for different things. It’s not very often we have a ‘beach day’ but we’d loved it … especially bumping into ‘Flamebaster’ and getting to explore Porth Iago ☀️🏖️☀️🏖️

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Walk with us :: Criccieth … End to End

Hi there everyone 😀

I remember the first ever time we visited Criccieth … it was not the best experience. In fact we couldn’t see ourselves visiting again … never mind it becoming a firm favourite 🙈

It was a good few years ago and we called in on a very wet and miserable day on our way home … long before we bought the lodge. We parked up on the front … overlooking a bleak and grey sea and it just felt so glum.

Now we see it so very differently. There is lots of colour … there is plenty to see and do and it is now one of our favourite places to visit … for lots of different reasons.

After visiting for four years you’d think we’d have seen all that it has to offer … but during our July visit we managed to find a footpath we hadn’t explored before. 

We had two good walks on two separate visits, but I’m joining the two together … for an end to end coastal walk that we will definitely do again.

We started at the car park at the far end of the western beach. We love this side of town with its brightly coloured houses and promenade by the sea …

It’s easy to get down onto the beach … which is quite pebbly, but makes for a nice walk …

… before coming back up the slope at the castle end of the beach …

The agapanthus in the little seating area always look spectacular in the summer and it’s a great place to eat fish and chips in an evening …

We then wander along the road, up the hill, passing The Castle fish and chip shop, before getting to the post box by Cadwaladers … the ice cream parlour. The toppers are always fabulous and this time we were treated to this fabulous mermaid …

The road takes us down to the other side of the castle and, what tends to be the busier beach …

… where we walk out onto the breakwater …

… and sometimes find a spot with a view for a pitstop …

We then carry on along the promenade, passing more agapanthus …

It’s a lovely walk along the prom to Dylan’s and this time we decided to explore the footpath running alongside the railway … which starts at the back of Dylan’s.

The path skirts the footgolf course and gives a completely different view of the castle …

On our first walk along this footpath … once we reached the crossing over the railway … we headed onto the beach and made our way back along the sand …

The next time we decided to cross the railway line and see if we could walk as far as Black Rock Sands …

To start with the footpath hugs the side of the railway line …

There were so many, very early, plump ripe blackberries … we just helped ourselves …

The views across to the mountains were spectacular …

… as was the view back to Criccieth …

We even got to see a train …

Eventually the path crosses back over the railway line and splits in two. One way takes you around the land side of Black Rock and the other towards the beach. As the land side looked like a bit of an upward drag we opted for the beach side …

We soon realised that the tide was not out far enough for us to actually make it to the beach … but a scramble up the rock and there were some great views to be had towards Black Rock beach …

… out to sea …

… and back towards Criccieth …

It was a really lovely spot and would have been perfect for picnicking … but that wasn’t on the cards for us this time.

Whilst the tide wasn’t out far enough to walk round to Black Rock beach … it was out far enough for a lovely walk back to Criccieth along the sand … sadly it wasn’t quite paddling weather, but maybe next time as that would be just lovely …

Eventually we were back at Dylan’s … where we found a sheltered spot for some light refreshment …

It had really been a lovely walk. We will definitely do it again … hopefully when the tide is just a little lower so we can get just that bit further 😀

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