Our last day of the long weekend before heading home. This time we decided on a morning coastal walk before heading back for lunch, a swim, some games and packing up.
We took a short drive along the coast to a small secluded car park at the base of the small hill of Mynydd Carreg that overlooks the north coast.
Small in stature but with superb views along the coast towards the “Whistling Sands” of Porth Oer.
And south west towards the headland.
It was another gloriously clear sunny day, if a little cool but that does make for great walking conditions (the recent hot and humid weather for example ruled out any sort of hiking)
The sands of Porth Oer are magnificent and we should really make more of an effort to spend longer here and take to the water.
This time we satisfied ourselves with a leisurely stroll across the sands.
Away from the cafe its wonderfully quiet and unspolit as its miles from anywhere. Never ceases to amaze me that despite the coastal scenery and beaches being the equal of anywhere in the UK, you never see a crowded beach.
The rocky coastline beyond is equally impressive.
A view back to Porth Oer through the grassy hummocks.
We were heading for Porth Iago, the next sandy beach along the coast.
Some gorgeous beaches below the cliffs only accessible by water-craft.
Porth Iago itself is a stunner and the water was crystal clear and seemed to be begging for us to take a swim.
Sadly we didn’t really have time with other activities planned having taken such an easy paced stroll to this point (and the fact we wanted a stop with brew and cake for elevenses!)
After said stop we retraced our steps back across the Whistling Sands.
And back over Mynydd Carreg.
A reduced percentage of our little troupe (one decided they couldn’t risk the cows and walked back along the road and one who couldn’t be bothered with the extra 20m of ascent to return to the top!)
Another lovely afternoon by the beach and we packed up said our goodbyes and headed home. Another stop for fish and chips on the seafront at Criccieth.
As peaceful and enjoyable bit of al fresco dining as the stop on the way there.
Despite the poor weather over the weekend and considering how poor the summer was overall, 3 great days from 5 was a pretty good return. Already looking forward to next year
That time of year (late July – I’m way behind with the blog) when we head to north Wales and the Llyn Peninsula to meet with our little gang of friends for some beach fun and some walking.
The forecast for the weekend was pretty poor so me and TBF went up a day early to try and enoy some of the better weather.
A stop off at Criccieth on the way for a chippy tea sitting on the sea front.
It was peaceful and wbedürftig and a great start to the weekend.
We were on our own for the first day and headed out to The Rivals for a walk. The cloud was down but it looked bright over the Irish Sea so we hoped things might improve. At least it was dry and the heather looked grand.
Looking back to cloud scudding over Yr Eifl.
First summit is the fabulous Iron Age hill fort of Tre’r Ceiri.
Its amazing and impressive in equal measure. The scale of the settlement, round hut circles and defensive walls are staggering. Its quite odd that its not better known.
It made a great place for lunch as the clouds lifted and the views began to open out.
Along the coast towards Caernarfon.
And back from the summit towards the other two summits of The Rivals.
An access door through the walls.
And what I assumed was the main entrance. A place most definitely worth seeking out when you are in the area.
A view back to Tr-r Ceiri from the steep climb to Yr Eifl.
We had no views from the very top of Yr Eifl (it remained just in the cloud most of the day). Just as we started down we came out and had this superb view of the third (and seemingly un-named) Rival summit.
I love this summit. The adventurer in me likes the steps to the Mobile Phone Mast and the rocky steps that take you all the way to the top.
And the views I think are better than Yr Eifl. West along the peninsula.
And east towards Caernarfon and Anglesey.
Summit Panorama
Time for another long stop and more food!
View over the quarries and the Gyrns to the main Snowdonia mountains.
And a happy looking selfie for a change.
TBF ponders just how much stuff we carry around on a short day walk.
A great day out
Sadly the Saturday was wet (betagthough not as bad forecast) and we did manage a bit of a swim and some beach games.
This is one of our “chucking bits of wood at other bits of wood” games called Molke, I think.
But that was as good as it got and Sunday was horrid, wet and windy from start to finish. Forecast for the last two days was better.
I spend alot of my time surfing the web looking for ideas on places to go, walking routes, travel ideas and tips to plan the perfect holiday or day out. (I'm a project manager I like to plan). I thought it was time to share my own experiences and contribute to the vast amounts in information that's already out there.
I'll also add in some gear and tech reviews and when something irks me I may even use this forum to have a rant - I do that pretty well I'm told.There are a few pages at the top that give a bit of background to what I like to get up to and what you can expect to see in my posts. I'm not exactly a creative writer but I hope some people will find my stuff useful or inpsiring or at least enjoy some of my photos.