Y Taith Pererin Llyn
Y Taith Pererin Llyn
It’s a long way from Wenvoe to North Wales, and a frustrating journey if you are in a hurry, but if you have plenty of time, and the weather is good, it is a lovely drive. Such was it one very cold autumn morning, with a hard frost that had whitened the hillsides, and the sun lighting up the autumn colours, showing mid-Wales in all its glory.
The North Wales Pilgrims’ Way (Taith Pererin) is a 134 miles long-distance path, starting in Holywell and finishing at the monastery of St Cadfan on the island of Bardsey. It had some significance in medieval times, and two pilgrimages to Bardsey were considered as good as one to Rome. The section on the Llŷn follows the ancient pilgrims’ route, and that was our goal.
We started at Clynnog, where there is a huge church dedicated to St Beuno in a tiny village, and a spring or well nearby. People with epilepsy were brought to the well and immersed in it, and then had to spend the night on the cold floor of the church. If they were in fit condition the following morning, they then continued along the coast to Aberdaron, and thence by boat to Bardsey.
We inspected the well, but decided to omit the immersion, on the grounds that we were still quite healthy. We walked from Clynnog to Trefor, hoping to get a cup of good coffee, but this was a bit optimistic, so we had to make do with a machine coffee from a Spar shop. We continued over the mountain of Yr Eifl, which had been a centre for quarrying in the days when granite was highly valued. We walked up an old incline, which would have been used to bring the stone down from the quarries, and had a marvellous view of the Llŷn coast, and across the sea to Anglesey. We then came down to the settlement of Nant Gwrtheyrn, which is an isolated community consisting of three farms and the quarrymen’s cottages. The farms are now deserted, but the cottages have been converted into modern accommodation for the Welsh Language Centre, where people can stay during language courses, or they are rented out for bed and breakfast.
It was a beautiful evening, and we watched the sun setting over the sea. The Nant is a remarkable place, and one of the most peaceful places I have ever been to. I shall have to return one day.
Next day we continued along the coast, pausing at the Tŷ Coch Inn at Porth Dinllaen, well known for its location right on the beach. In fact, there was a long queue for lunch, so we had a pint and walked out to the Coast Watch lookout and chatted to the lady volunteers there, who were keeping a watchful eye on the sea, but who seemed to welcome some company. Further on, there were seals relaxing on
the rocks, and one in the water who looked at us suspiciously and disappeared, only to reappear much closer to us, in order to have a better look.
We stayed that night in the Lion at Tudweiliog, a very comfortable pub with excellent food. Next day we walked a long day along the cliffs, and chatted to a woman going in for a swim. She claimed it was fine once you were in the sea, but we decided to take her word for it. We passed the Whistling Sands, where the sand really does whistle when you shuffle your feet in it, and continued to Aberdaron, having to cheat a bit towards the end and take a short cut, because the light was going fast. The cliff path is no place to be in the dark.
We stayed in a small hotel in Aberdaron, with a marvellous view over the beach, and asked the ferryman if we could go to Bardsey the next day, but unfortunately the weather broke that evening after three perfect days, and the sea was so rough next day that we had no wish to be in a small boat at all. It was a disappointment not to be able to complete our pilgrimage, but this was a superb walk, about 40 miles in two and a half days, and we have good reason to go back one day.