Wales Day 7 - 10 Llyn Peninsula and Criccieth

Tuesday 28th - Friday 31st May 2019
Tuesday 58 miles from Anglesey to Pen-y-Berth on the Llyn Peninsula
Parking Co-ordinates 52.8778, -4.47641
Wednesday 22 miles to Criccieth
Parking Co-ordinates 52.92088, -4.27899

Tuesday 28th - 🌧️⛅⛅⛅🌞🌞

We departed from Anglesey by using the Britannia Bridge again, but this time as we went we had great views of the older Menai Suspension bridge which was completed in 1826 and is now a Grade 1 listed structure.  And despite it's age it still carries large volumes of traffic every day to and from the island.

Once back on mainland Wales our journey took us back towards Porthmadog to pick up fresh supplies from Lidl, and once that task was complete we made tracks for our next destination on the Llyn Peninsula.  We thought our home for the next 4 nights would be the Pen-y-Berth campsite and although it was very busy when we arrived (school hols) our first impressions were favourable.  However, what we hadn't anticipated was the very busy A499 which, at the site entrance, is a pavement-less road and traversing along  and crossing over it was the only way to get to the coastal path!  We did give it a go, first towards Pwllheli where after about 500 yards we found that the track that should have led us to the sea front was nothing more than an overgrown unpassable bog, and then we tried in the opposite direction but  had to walk twice as far to a lane that took us to the beach.   The only trouble was that our walk really wasn't very safe or friendly because it had to be done in single file and all the while we were walking we had to endure cars, buses and lorries whizzing past our shoulders at high speed.  Therefore, once we'd made it safely back to T4rdis2 we quickly decided that a repeat performance wasn't going to happen and that we would need to move on and find a more appropriately placed site for our other 3 nights in this area.

Wednesday 29th 🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️

We woke this morning to heavy rain, and although the forecast suggested it might clear up later in the day the deluge really only paused for short periods - but why should we be surprised at that - after all, we are in Wales😂😂!  And at least we had a new lodgings to go to because as we'd driven through Criccieth yesterday we'd noticed a Camping and Caravan Club Site just outside the town and quite close to the coastal path, and luckily they were able to provide a pitch for the next 3 nights.

But we couldn't go there until 1pm so to pass a couple of hours we headed over to the other side of the Llyn peninsula to the village of Morfa Nefyn, and as we went we had our fingers crossed that the wind and rain might be slightly less fierce there!  However, when we arrived we found that the rain was just as wet 😂😂, but undeterred, we parked in the National Trust car park, donned our full wet weather gear (which hasn't seen the light of day in quite a while) and set off for our planned walk around the Porthdinllaen prominence!

Our walk took us along the beach, past the Ty Coch Inn (but it was much too early to go in) and then up onto the golf course, and from that vantage point we could see the sea and the rugged coastline on both sides of the prominence.

A little further on we passed the RNLI Lifeboat Station and we also learnt that the land we were passing over used to be the home of an Iron Age Fort back 200 BC.

I think John was just deciding if he should go for a paddle!

Today's wind and rain accompanied us for most of the way but the saying goes - 'there's no such thing as bad weather - just bad clothing' - so as we were togged up appropriately the grim weather just added an extra dimension to this wild and rugged area and made our outing quite special!  Additionally, once we were back in the warm confines of our van the hot coffee and duck egg and bacon sarnies that we scoffed felt well earned!

Then it was forwards and on to Criccieth, but our explorations there had to wait because by the time we'd parked the rain was pounding down again and we thought one soaking was quite enough for today.

Thursday 30th ☁☁☁☁☁☁☁

Today was another one that dawned overcast and dull but at least the promised wind and rain seemed to have failed to appear and it was quite mild.  Therefore, we left T4rdis2 and headed off towards Criccieth via the coastal path, and we hadn't gone far when Criccieth Castle loomed out of the gloom and acted as a beacon that ensured we were heading in the right direction.

Best fish and chips we've had in a while!

Once we'd arrived in the pretty Victorian town we were tempted to climb a little further to explore and admire the views from within the castle boundaries but the wafting smell of freshly cooked fish and chips tempted us more so we soon found ourselves sitting on the sea wall munching said delicacy while watching the waves rushing up the beach.  And not only did we indulge in a main course, we also visited Cadwaladers who have made ice-cream in the area since 1927!   They sold us two sticky toffee pudding iced indulgences and ours were delicious but we also saw kids slurping some very florescent cones and we did wonder how hyper-active they might be later in the day!


Friday 31st ☁☁☁☁☁⛅☁☁

This morning we woke with a big decision to make - and that was 'what shall we do today😂😂' ?  It could have been more coastal path walking, it could have been a bike ride (but that would have been on roads) or it could have been getting some essential tasks done like sorting out our washing mountain!  The bike ride idea was quickly abandoned because road riding didn't appeal, and coastal path walking was also struck off because in the Pwllheli direction a lot of it is beside the road.  So that only left 'tasks' but once they were done we were quite glad that we'd made that choice! 

John sorted out our garage and now we can get at everything without the need to unload lots of items to get at the one at the bottom!  And I did our washing so now there's no need for us to wear our underwear back-to-front or inside out, and as it hasn't rained today I even managed to get it all dry!

So that took care of the morning, and in the afternoon, instead of heading for the coast we headed slightly inland to see David Lloyd George's grave.  Now, I really didn't know who Lloyd George was but he implemented changes and improvements to people's lives that had far reaching consequences and ones that still have influence today.

Lloyd George's Grave

He was born in Manchester in 1863 but grew up in Caernarvonshire, and in 1890 he was elected Liberal MP for Caernarvon at the age of 27.  Later Asquith promoted him to Chancellor and it was then that he introduced The State Pension as well as other wide reaching social reforms that included raising the school living age to 14 and prohibiting the full time employment of children below the compulsory school leaving age.  He became Prime Minister between 1916 - 1922, and in 1918 the coalition won a huge majority in the first election in which all women were allowed to vote.

River Dwyfor

His grave is situated at the side of the River Dwyfor and the path that runs along side the tumbling chattering river provided us with a very pleasant place to walk and while away a couple of hours this afternoon.

Tomorrow will be another moving day - destination Barmouth!

Bye for now 😗😗

Where's that bloody Wally now???😂😂😂

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