Day 25: Dinas Dinlle to Trefor
get somewhere
There are hikes you want to do. And there are hikes that will take you to the ones you want to do. In 2023, I couldn’t wait to hike the AT through Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. But I had to walk some boring miles in Pennsylvania and New York to get there. Plus some unexpectedly wonderful miles in New Jersey and Connecticut.
None of our Welsh Coast Route miles have been as torturous as my worst days on the New York AT. Not even close. But when you get used to “That was awesome!!,” days described as “Well, that was nice” can seem like a disappointment. Almost.
Yesterday’s and today’s walks took us out of the Menai Strait and towards the Llyn Peninsula. But the trails were flat and mostly paved. And views of the ocean were often blocked by seawalls, stone walls and building walls.
Some Coast Path hikers combine yesterday’s and today’s itineraries into one long 18-mile day. Others rent a bicycle. Kate read a blog yesterday where women called a taxi after a few miles. They had had enough.
Eighteen miles of pavement seemed like more than our feet could handle, so we split it over two days. On our taxi ride to our B&B after today’s hike, we caught a glimpse of the really good things to come tomorrow.
I couldn’t see around that mountain anyway. We would have to pass. It should be epic.
The Llyn Peninsula
Yesterday we left the Menai Strait. Today we begin our walk along the Llyn Peninsula. And yes, I know that the y in Llyn has a circumflex accent which affects how I mispronounce it, but the editing software on this website writes Welsh worse than I speak it.
The Llyn Peninsula extends about 30 miles into the Irish Sea, but is only about 8 miles wide. We will walk a hundred miles around the Llyn coast over the next week. But we could have turned left from our starting point in Dinas Dinlle this morning and been in Porthmadog, where we will finish our walk, by lunchtime.
A walk along the road
When we started, a sign on the pavement said SLOW. Understood. With only eight miles of flat terrain, there was no need to rush.
But it was difficult to go slowly. About 95% of our route was on sidewalks, narrow roads or bike paths. Furthermore, after leaving Dinas Dinlle beach we barely saw the sea until we reached Trefor.
After walking along the narrow, fenced lane from Dinas Dinlle, we turned onto the busy A499 highway. Fortunately, the walking path (sidewalk) was separated from car, bus and truck traffic by a small strip of grass. We could still feel the trucks as they roared by, but it didn’t feel like we would lose a limb if the driver received an interesting text message.
Some sections of the trail were out of sight of the road, but never out of earshot. We followed the A499 until the last kilometer.
Our side of the road had a sidewalk, which was a blessing. The other side had better views of the coast. I snuck out several times to look over or through the tall hedges and stone walls just to remember why we chose this path.
Treasures along the way
Although today’s hike was more of a “walk to get to the hike,” it had some sweet moments. The sidewalks were blessedly shaded and most of the trees had new leaves, were blooming, or had bright flowers. The horse chestnut flowers were particularly impressive.
In fact, even the 8-foot-high stone walls that bordered the farms we passed were blooming, with wildflowers and vines growing through the stone. And some of the houses had wonderful gardens that would have been great for taking a break, if only we had been invited inside.
We were greeted at a convenience store by its new owners, a young immigrant couple who said they had just moved here from London. They let us sit outside, in the shade of the gas pump awning, while we drank our cold sparkling waters and ate lunch. And we remember our college days with its REO Speedwagon soundtrack. Memories.
We also stopped to look at lambs, foals and some adorable baby goats.
Saint Beuno
We also discovered that our path coincided with the North Wales Pilgrimage Route. If we make this journey three times, we will get the same spiritual benefit as walking from here to Jerusalem once. And with a much lower risk of being murdered.
St Beuno, a 6th century missionary, established Christian churches in this part of Wales, many of which still bear his name. Near the village of Clynnog Fawr, we detoured far enough off the A499 to visit a 15th-century church built on the site of one of Bruno’s original missions. The current building (circa 1480 AD) replaced one looted and destroyed by the Vikings 400 years earlier.
The door was open, so we walked in to explore and marvel at the architecture, furniture, and worship space. I loved the old tilt benches, designed to ease the transition from sitting to kneeling, I guess.
On our way out of town we also stopped to see the Beuno Healing Well, which is said to cure epilepsy if combined with a night on the hard, cold floor of the church. However, it may not be as helpful with giardia, from the looks of its current condition and proximity to a crowded pasture.
Trevor
After approximately seven miles we reached the turnoff for the old mining, port and beach town of Trefor. The trail hugged the edge of town and took us along a winding, fenced path to the port, where we would meet our taxi.
Early for our rendezvous, we checked out the tidal harbor and then found shelter from the wind behind a wave-cut beach for lunch.
As we ate, we looked west toward a huge cliff. Tomorrow we will need to find a path over or around that 2000 foot high outcropping.
That seems like the hike we want. A very large climb with views of the sea.
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