We spent the morning at Portmeirion. The weather was absolutely glorious and the views are superb. I have decided that the big birthday I have coming up in a couple of years merits a party and it was so lovely at Portmeirion that I am going to have it there.
Fully loaded up on coffee and cake, we set out from Tal-y-bont around 2pm. The path goes along the beach which is wide and flat. A bit shingly at the top but soft sand near the water’s edge.
The weather remained superb and we ambled along happily. Although it was warm for the time of year, we felt the need for clothes, so it was something of a surprise when we came to Morfa Dyffryn to be confronted with quite a few people who did not think that clothes were necessary as they soaked up the sun on the dunes. It seemed a little tasteless to take photos on this stretch, so I have nothing to show you! We marched on swiftly, eyes front.
We rounded a little rocky outcrop to come to the much narrower beach at Llandanwg. My great-uncle and his wife had a house just near the beach, but I could not remember which one it was.
There is a very ancient church there, dedicated to St Tanwg, although it may already have been in existence when he arrived. It is probably one of the oldest Christian sites in the whole of Britain, from the early fifth century, although the current building is c. 13-15th centuries. There is no electricity and the interior is completely unadorned, just the beautiful flagstone floor, some wooden pews, and plain white-washed walls. It felt very peaceful with the echo of more than fifteen hundred years of prayer.
The path continues along the beach below Harlech Castle and this is where it got slightly trickier. When Harlech was built by Edward I it was at the water’s edge. Now, there is a good mile of dunes to negotiate and it is not always easy to find the way. Eventually, we arrived at the road below the castle to be confronted with a couple of hundred feet of practically vertical steps up to the town.
There was another superb sunset and we managed 12.9 miles, despite having started late. Another gold day.
