Monday 15th April 2024

Tudweiliog to Penllech Beach

We’re back where we belong – on our beloved Coast Path and on the gorgeous Llyn Peninsula in North Wales. The sky was blue today and the coastline was spectacular, the sea dramatic with the wild winds. So atmospheric that I wish I could say it was a wonderful walk … however it just wasn’t, it was grim. It was only 5 miles but each mile was either a muddy farm field or a boggy cliff path – from beginning to end we were up to our ankles in squelchy mud.

It all started off in promising fashion – we drove to Penllech and found a parking spot down near the beach. We started with a two mile uphill climb to the bus stop on the main road and there we had ourselves a little picnic while waiting for the bus. The timing was perfect, the bus arrived exactly on time and I congratulated Steve on his logistical planning as we confidently rode along, admiring what appeared to be a nice easy terrain for today’s ramble. The only difficult bit so far was pronouncing ‘Tudweiliog’ to the bus driver in our awkward tongue rolling attempt at the Welsh accent … but he kindly said we did well.

As soon as we hit the coastal path we were squelching, the farm fields were SO wet, quite unbelievable. We trudged on, amongst the sheep and young lambs, thinking things could only get better once we reached the cliff paths. Sadly it didn’t, the grassy areas were a mass of bogs and there was no way of avoiding wading through thick, sticky gunk.

Having said all that, there were definitely some gorgeous parts to the day:

We could tolerate the strong winds and even the occasional downpour but the state of the ground just made it a miserable exercise – not our usual exhilarating hike … this was an endurance test. And I’d stupidly left my walking poles in the car again (after having said I would never walk without them again)!! Maybe if I’d had them it would have been better – although Steve found no pleasure in today either.

I just seem to have become a wobbly, whiney walker – not that I whine externally (because I hate the thought of this thing beating me) but inside I’m whining big time. My confidence has taken a knock from recent muddy walks and slips (another slip added to the list today) so sadly I’m going to hang up my hat for a while, hoping to return when the paths are drier or there’s a nice stretch of promenade. Steve will soldier on and keep the blog going.

On a cheerier note, we’ve settled into our super smart accommodation in Abersoch and have been joined by the lovely David Rose who is here to walk some of the Peninsula too. Looking forward to a few days here – the men will be walking while I have some leisure-time … bring it on.