The Lleyn Peninsula Coastal Path - A Walking and Cycling Guide
The Lleyn Peninsula Coastal Path
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CHAPTER 2 - CAERNARFON TO PENYGROES
The Coastal Path for Walkers
Distance: 8.5 miles (13.7km)
Height gain: 575ft (175m)
Caernarfon
Caernarfon lies on the site of an ancient settlement dating back to pre-Roman times, ideally sited at the southern end of the Menai Straits and at the mouth of the Afon Seiont.
The Romans established their fort, Segontium, on a small hillock overlooking the present town. It is in an excellent state of preservation and is well worth a visit. Take the Beddgelert road out of the town and the fort is soon seen on the left. When the Roman Empire fell a small settlement remained near to the Roman camp, as evidenced by the site of the parish church, dedicated to St Peblig, next to the Roman fort.
St Peblig appears to predate the Bardsey saints, being the offspring of Macsen Wledig, a Roman emperor who took a wife from these parts during the Roman occupation. His wife, Helen, gave her name to the Roman road – still referred to as Sarn Helen – which runs from Conwy right through Wales to Carmarthen.
Caernarfon is more famous for its late 13th-century castle, which dominates Castle Square, one of the series of castles built or enlarged by Edward I to pacify the Welsh. Built in the ‘curtain wall’ style, defensive town walls radiated from the castle and enclosed the area occupied today by Church Street, Market Street and High Street.
Building of the castle started sometime around 1283, when an earlier construction built by the Norman nobleman Hugh d’Arranches was enlarged and improved. By this date the pilgrims’ route to Bardsey was well established. It is amazing to think that over 700 years ago travellers stood by this very same castle ready to start their pilgrimage along the Lleyn.
Since the early 14th century the various Princes of Wales have been invested at Caernarfon, the latest being Prince Charles, invested as the 21st Prince of Wales on 1 July 1969. The other notable person connected to the town was David Lloyd George, MP for the constituency for many years. He lived near Criccieth, and so, near the end of the circuit of the peninsula, Lloyd George will feature again. His statue stands in Castle Square.
The harbour lies on the west side of the castle; the large car park was once the main loading area for a lucrative trade in slate. This was quarried just a few miles inland to the south, and exported via Caernarfon. Nowadays the only vessels here are pleasure boats and yachts, with a few working fishing boats. To the south of the castle is the terminus of the restored narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway. In 2004 it was open as far as Rhyd-ddu, and there are plans to extend the line through Beddgelert to Portmadoc.
Caernarfon’s sites of interest are all well documented, and further information can be obtained from the tourist office.
The route starts by the castle walls, close by the harbour. A footbridge, known as the Aber Bridge, leads over the mouth of the Afon Seiont to the other side of the harbour. The bridge is closed between 11pm and 7am each day. Cross the bridge, turn right (NW), and follow the little lane alongside the sea.
There are excellent views across the Menai Straits to the Anglesey coast. The straits are only about 1 mile wide here, but are well respected for there are dangerous currents and swift tidal flows that make the waters hazardous. A wide variety of seabirds may be seen over the water and scavenging in the sand and mud banks at the side of the straits.
After walking along the pleasant lane for about 1 mile Caernarfon Golf Club is seen on the left (464622). Carry straight on for about 1 mile until a large house (Cynifryn Thomas) is passed on the left. Some 300yd past this house is a footpath sign and an obvious track leading off to the left (E). Go through the gate and along the track to reach a small stone church (454607) (sketch map 2.1).
St Baglan’s Church
This ancient church is well worth a visit. It was renovated in 1993 but it is difficult to see where the congregation comes from; apart from a couple of isolated farms, there is no centre of population nearby.
There seems to be little information on St Baglan. The only reference to the church in the Caernarfon archives office is from an article in the The Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald of 31 August 1934, noting that this is one of the smallest and oldest churches in North Wales. There is evidence of a church here some 700 years ago, somewhat late for the early Bardsey pilgrims – but the church may have been built on an earlier holy site. Part of the difficulty with St Baglan is that there were two saints of the same name. One of them was the brother of Lleuddad, the second abbot of Bardsey, and if the church is named after him a pilgrims’ connection seems probable.
The church porch is a later addition, but on the land side is an oblong aperture in the wall, the lintel and sill of which are ancient coffin stones, reputedly dug up nearby. The slight taper of the line of the coffin can be seen, and it is noteworthy that each has a large Celtic cross engraved upon it. Considering all the available evidence it seems likely that the site is an ancient one, and may have been visited by the early Bardsey pilgrims.
Carry on past the church over a little stream to reach a triple set of gates with stiles to the right and left. Pass over the left-hand stile. Carry on in the same direction along the edge of the field, following the hedge line. Soon two gates are reached; ignore the one to the right and keep straight on.
Carry on in the same line to a further gate with a footpath sign. A house can now be seen with barns to the right. Do not pass through the gate, but follow the track to the left up a small rise to a stile. Passing over the stile there are further waymarks and poles with white rings which mark the correct line, which passes behind the house and drops to a stile giving access to a small lane. Once on the lane turn left.
A T-junction is reached after 300yd (465605). Turn right along the narrow lane, which swings sharply to the left. The lane soon starts to veer to the right and then straightens. A large house, Dyffryn, is seen on the right; as the road starts to rise a good lookout should be kept on the right for a gate with a stone stile, which can be somewhat overgrown. A telegraph pole in the field provides a helpful clue. Clamber over the stone stile and follow the fence line SW across the field to a gate. Pass through and keep in the same direction to another gate by a house, Freeholder (467602). Walk past the house and down the access lane to a road. Turn right along the road.
Soon Caer Efail is seen on the right, with its large gates. A few yards past the gates the road bends to the right, and at this point there is a stile on the left. Go over the stile and walk along the hedge line SE over a further stile to arrive at a gate and road. Turn right along the road. Stay on this road which drops to the bridge over the Afon Gwyrfai to climb towards the little village of Saron.
Soon Saron is reached and a row of houses appears on the right. On the left-hand side of the road is a phone box (465591), and just before this a footpath sign and a clear track lead off to the left (E) (sketch map 2.2). Go through the gate to the end of a short green lane and then through a further double gate. Bear slightly left and follow the wall until a wall across the line forces a change of direction. Turn right to reach a solitary oak tree. At the oak tree keep left into a small enclosure with two gates. Pass through the right-hand gate.
An inviting track goes off to the right across the field, but this is not the right of way. Instead walk alongside the wall and ditch on a faint track to reach a stile. Step over the ditch, and after climbing the stile stay in the same direction keeping to the middle of the meadow to reach the hedge line on the hillside above. There is a stile in the hedge but it is not easy to see until close to it, and it may be necessary to search around. It is about 100yd from the right-hand (S) side of the field. Over the stile go directly up the steeper meadow, trending slightly left (ESE) to a gate. Through the gate keep right by a wall. In 100yd a stile crosses the wall. Over the stile bear left to where houses, a gate and a stile can plainly be seen; cross over this stile onto a road (474586). Turn left (E).
Walk along the lane for 120yd, and where the lane starts to rise over a bridge a narrower lane forks off to the left. Follow this narrower lane, signposted to a cycleway ‘Lon Eifion’, past houses and the parish church to a disused railway track (476586). This is the village of Llanwnda, the first on the list of stopping places for Bardsey pilgrims.
St Gwyndaf Hen’s Church
Gwyndaf Hen plays an important role in the families of saints connected with the Lleyn. He had links to King Arthur but was the son of Emyr Llydaw, a minor royal from Brittany. Emyr Llydaw, together with Einion, the supposed ‘king’ of the Lleyn at the time, are said to have established a small monastery on Bardsey. This would conflict with the commonly held view that St Cadfan was the first to develop Bardsey as a holy place.
Einion is remembered in the church at Llanengan, on the south coast of the Lleyn near Abersoch. Einion was a direct descendent of Cunedda Wledig, who founded the kingdom of Gwynedd after the fall of the Roman empire in the early 5th century.
The present church was completed in 1848, but is on the site of a much earlier shrine. This church may mark the pilgrims’ stopping place en route to Bardsey.
A ‘Coastal’ Route?
A look at the OS map shows that this point is some 3 miles inland from the sea, which may seem rather strange for a ‘coastal’ walk, but it is on the route taken by the pilgrims. Some may express surprise that a walk purporting to follow the Lleyn coast did not pass through the resort of Dinas Dinlle (435566). Dinas Dinlle is the nearest reasonable beach to Caernarfon, and marks the point where the peninsula turns to face the open sea rather than the Menai Straits.
Although it is possible to get from Caernarfon to Dinas Dinlle on rights of way, there is a complete lack of such paths to the south of the resort. A circular walk at the end of this chapter explores the area around Dinas Dinlle. Those who do this circular will see that it is unlikely that pilgrims would have stayed hard by the coast. There is ample opportunity to view the mudflats and swamps which would have made travel in the 6th century even harder than it is today, and so the pilgrims kept some way inland.
The disused railway signed as ‘Lon Eifion’ has been converted into a walking and cycling route. The track runs from Caernarfon to Bryncir on the southern side of the Lleyn. The Lleyn coastal path does not stay with it for long because it cuts inland, but for the next 3.5 miles the walking is easy and the navigation even easier!
Walk to the railway track where the main route turns right (S). Soon the busy A499 road is reached. Take care in crossing to reach the relative tranquillity of the track on the opposite side. At this point is the Goat Inn, the first place on the walk where refreshment and food can be obtained. Continue along the old railway track for just under 3 miles to reach the outskirts of the large village of Penygroes. The coastal walk turns off the old rail track just prior to the village (see photo-diagram – Approaching Penygroes) and the continuation is described in the next chapter. Those wanting to visit the village should continue along the track until a footbridge over the bypass gives access to the village.
Penygroes
Despite its size Penygroes is not a tourist centre, and accommodation is not as easy to find as you might expect. There are very few bed-and-breakfast establishments. Two buildings sport the sign ‘Hotel’, but these are in fact only pubs. There is a reasonable variety of shops, pubs and a post office.
The Coastal Path for Cyclists
Distance: 9.1 miles (14.6km)
Height gain: 600ft (183m)
Start at the same point as the walkers by Caernarfon Castle, and cross the Aber Bridge. Cycle along the coast road, passing the golf club on the left. Just over 1 mile after the golf club the sign to St Baglan’s church is seen. The walkers set off across the fields at this point. The church is only 200yd along the track and is worth a visit on foot (see above).
To continue the ride, keep on the lane by the sea. There are excellent views across Foryd Bay towards the higher hills of the Lleyn, Gyrn Ddu (1712ft) and Yr Eifl (1850ft). Soon a sharp turn to the left (E) takes the road inland (453597). Carry on ignoring a minor turn on the left to reach a T-junction (sketch map 2.2). Turn right and follow the road to reach the telephone box at Saron (464591). This is the point at which the walkers cut off once again across the fields.
From the phone box at Saron cycle straight on (SW) and take the first turn left at a crossroads. Follow this to a Y-junction by a country school, and take the left-hand branch of the ‘Y’ to reach the point where the walkers emerge onto the lane at the edge of Llawnda village (475586). Where the lane starts to rise over a bridge a narrower lane forks off to the left. Follow the narrower lane, which is signposted to a cycleway known as ‘Lon Eifion’, and pass the church of St Gwyndaf to reach an old railway track. This has been specifically designed as a cycle route (part of the National Cycle Network and a section of Route 8, which links Holyhead and Cardiff). The track is well signed, and there are cycle lanes where it crosses the main A499 road. It is now an easy ride south on a good hardcore and tarmac surface to reach the village of Penygroes.
Alternative for Cyclists
For those who prefer off-road routes it is possible to join the Lon Eifion cycleway in Caernarfon itself. This provides a pleasant and traffic-free environment for 6 miles to Penygroes. The drawback is that the coastal views across the Menai Straits are missed.
The start of the cycleway is 250yd SW of Caernarfon Castle. From the river by the castle do not cross the Aber Bridge but cycle across the car park by the quayside to reach a small industrial area. The start of the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway can be seen on the left (St Helens Road) and the start of the cycleway is on the left, just past the station.
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