18th April 2024

Hell’s Mouth (Porth Neigwl) to Abersoch

So I jumped back in today and joined Steve on the coastal path – the final bit we needed to do on the Llyn Peninsula – hoping beyond hope that I’d made the right decision. That is the trickiness though – you just don’t know until you get there. And we were joined for the majority of it by our buddy, David Rose. This meant we could park David’s car in the Hell’s Mouth car park and be able to use ours when we returned to Abersoch where we’re staying. With the sun shining and blue skies we keenly set off in our walking shorts, ready for the adventure ahead.

I can safely report that it wasn’t disappointing, in fact it was the BEST day of coastal walking I’ve done in such a long time. It completely restored my faith … and my confidence. This time I remembered to bring my walking pole so for the odd bits of mud and downhill slopes we encountered it made such a difference. On the whole though, the ground was so much drier, hardly a slip hazard in sight – bliss.

The route was a series of stunning beaches, views a-plenty. Some significant climbs it has to be said and a small amount of narrow paths on cliff edge but as long as it’s not slippery I can cope with that. And the two men were always there to give me a hand! There were large parts where we could walk three abreast and chat about life and politics … oh, and about animal poo!!

We stopped about half way for our picnic lunch – David is having a good influence on Steve in terms of stopping for sustenance. We spotted a great bench that was clearly for someone who had long legs … David and I just had to dangle ours! We were joined by several sheep and lambs who seemed fascinated by our egg sandwiches and made us feel guilty with their piercing stares. When Steve dropped a piece of banana there was practically an avalanche of them. Who would have thought? And as we walked away a couple of them followed us – clearly getting bored with their diet of grass.

As I walked today, I was reflecting on a little book I’m reading, given to be my lovely chum Anne – it’s entitled ‘Mindful thoughts for Walkers.’ I was following their advice about being mindful, getting into a rhythm and breathing, listening to sounds, being aware of the smells, just appreciating the nature around us and being present. So therapeutic. It’s a great little book based on Buddhist philosophy.

About a mile out of Absersoch we parted company with David as he was walking on to Llanbedrog (we had already covered that section). Steve and I walked the last bit along the beach which is always a beautiful way to finish.

And rounded it all off with coffee and yummy cake back in the village before setting off in our car to collect David and return him to his parked car. Eventually we all end up back in our accommodation, now showered and revived … the men are snoozing while I reflect on the day for our blog.

I can wholeheartedly say that today’s walk was “FAB-U-LOUS” – 8.5 miles of loveliness. I think that’s me back in … for now!