4 Mar 2026

My route from Criccieth near Cadwalader’s ice cream shop went along the Esplenade to a path next to the railway. I met a family group here who were walking this section of the coast. David & Katheryn from Nantwich and Kate Phil and Sue from Portsmouth. I walked with them for a short stretch then pressed ahead following the railway for about half a mile crossing the tracks a couple of times. The path then cut across fields to Graig Ddu (Black Rock) hill. Skirting the hill, the path detours inland around the touring and camping park before returning to the west end of Black Rock Sands beach (Morfa Bychan). The weather was the warmest it has been this year and I stopped to take off my jacket and tied it around my waist with the sleeves.

The next stretch was a very pleasant walk along the beach for about 1 and three-quarter miles towards the small headland called Ynys Cyngar. Black Rock Sands accesible to vehicles because the sand is so solidly packed. I saw several cars and camper vans despite it being the middle of the week in early March. Beware if you plan to take your car onto the beach yourself though! Car owners have often been caught out by the fast moving tides. The official path goes over Ynys Cyngar but since the tide was out I walked around the headland to the small beach on the other side. From here the path winds around the coast past a caravan park to Borth y Gest and then on to Porthmadoc.

At Porthmadoc the path goes over the Cob, an embankment completed in 1811 which carries the road, a railway, and now the Wales Coast Path as well, over Traeth Mawr (Large Beach). The Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway train passed me as I was crossing. At the eastern end the path passes over a headland towards Portmeirion. This is an astonishing Italianate village which was created by architect Clough Williams-Ellis. It became famous in the 1960s as the setting for a surreal drama called The Prisoner which still has a cult fan base. The protagonist, Number 6, was an intelligence agent who resigned but was drugged and awoke in ‘The Village’. He made several attempts to leave but was always thwarted and ended up back there. A balloon shaped entity would capture or kill anybody who tried to leave. I loved the program as a kid, and when my dad retired, we stayed there for a week, two doors down from Number 6’s house.

Portmeirion is a popular tourist attraction near Penrhyndeudraeth but there is a charge for entry and you can only get a tiny glimpse of the village from the path. I continued across farmland to the main road and carried on towards Penryhndeudraeth where I finished my walk at a bus stop and caught the bus back to Porthmadoc.

10.21 miles