Back on the Llyn Peninsula – Walks

There is more to the Llyn Peninsula than just beaches. It has some superb coastal walks and small mountains to climb. Let’s take a look…..

On our first day we set off early from home so we could make the most of a good forecast and pitch the trailer in good time. Before that hard work we took a stroll along the coast.

Breezy but a clear blue sunny day made the beaches and water look very inviting.

Gave us our first chance to meet the Professor’s girlfriend and very lovely she is too. Fitted in well with the gang and joined in all the usual fun as well as enjoying the outdoor walk side of things.

Set us up in grand style for a great week.

No visit would be complete without a trip to the far end of the peninsula and a coastal walk taking in the highest point of Mynydd Anelog (seen here in the background).

The weather was very odd, hot and sweaty in the sun but with layers of mist along the coast and here, between the mainland and the island of Bardsey.

The walk to Mynydd Anelog is typical coastal walking, namely a lot more ascent and descent than you’d like!

However with views like this, its well worth the effort (if a little hazy on this day)

Approaching the top of Mynydd Anelog.

Looking back over the headland of Mynydd Mawr to Bardsey.

And looking back towards Snowdonia where the weather looked very much more unsettled.

As we continued our walk the banks of low cloud rolled back in.

After we stopped for an ice cream (and in my case a chilled cider) that mist enveloped us and created some rather weird effects.

In the sunshine it was still really hot but when the mist rolled in it was instantly cold.

At times where the breeze was blowing it in, it was like standing in front of an air conditioning unit.

Some of our party took a longer walk and reported back that they managed to get above the cloud. Sadly we’d headed back to the beach by then. Still, an impressive walk in unusual conditions.

And of course anyone who’s been reading my blog since the start (way back in 2011) knows my love for Carn Fadryn.

This is its baby sibling.

We walk up here every time we visit and as its DB Juniors birthday around the time of our usual trip we’ve climbed it on his birthday a few times – we always refer to it as birthday hill and here is the birthday boy in question.

The heather was in full bloom and looking magnificent although this picture doesn’t really capture it.

Views opening out as we climb.

I’ve come to love and seek out those small hills that deliver expansive views (indeed me and Mark are planning a book on the subject that we will never write). I have a wide list now but Carn Fadryn is easily the pick of the bunch, for me anyway. Me and Mark debate this regularly, always coming down to choice between Carn Fadryn and Arnside Knott. Mark always chooses the latter as its his local hill he can walk from home and he knows every path and corner. Whilst I’ve grown to love it as well having climbed it many times myself, my heart will always belong to Carn Fadryn. Its even featured in a recent TGO magazine article by Jim Perrin.

With views like this its not hard to see why we love it so much. In one direction you have the distant mountains of Snowdonia.

In the other a view along the peninsula, both coastlines visible.This day we also had the clearest view of the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland that I can remember.

We spread out across the top to enjoy a leisurely brew and snacks.

Mark managed to find enough space to lie down!

We spent a good hour up here despite the strong breeze blowing. On a perfect day of clear views and brooding distant clouds its hard to tear yourself away.

That’s it from part 1 of our holidays. Part 2 coming up in the next few posts