7 Mar 2026
[Will add photos to this post soon]
I walked from the bus stop where I finished my previous walk towards the center of Penrhyndeudraeth and bought from lunch to have later from the Spar shop at the end of the High Street. From there, I headed down towards the station and along the road towards the road and rail viaduct across the Afon Dwyryd. On the left I passed the site of the old Cooke’s Explosive Works. Back in 1865, explosives were made from guncotton, starch and India rubber. It was sold to ICI in 1958 and by the 1970s was producing 90% of the nitroglycerin explosives used by the coal industry. There apparently used to be a sign outside proclaiming the number of accidents to have happened there in the last few months! I could relax today though, it’s now a nature reserve. (Unless a woodpecker discovers a forgotten stash of nitroglycerin in a tree stump).
After crossing the viaduct I turned right along a track to a farm cottage. Was greeted by a barking dog but the lady who lived in the cottage was there and I stopped to chat. She had several chickens and had temporarily put some mesh across the path to stop them wandering. After that, I climbed up a small rocky mound and looked back over towards Snowdon. The summit itself was just hidden under a cloud and there was still a bit of snow visible. I crossed the railway and then followed the path along the edge of the large salt marsh known as Glastraeth which translates as ‘geeen beach’. The village of Portmeirion can be seen from here and also, in the foreground, the island of Ynys Gifftan. It can be reached by foot at low tide and the single cottage on it has been uninhabited since the 1960s. It was in the news recently because it was for sale. I’m writing this blog on 11th April and have just discovered that it was sold subject to contract on April 9th so if you wanted to buy it, it’s probably too late!
After crossing a bridge over the Afon Glyn I reached the small village of Ynys and continued across fields to the isolated church at Llanfihangel y traethau. This translates as ‘St Michael’s of the Beaches’ and centuries ago, the land here was a tidal island but the sea retreated and the surrounding marsh land was reclaimed as farmland. I had lunch in the graveyard amongst the yew trees and then continued on.
The path continued to the edge of the marshes then south west passing a house at Glan y Morfa. Here I met Charlie and his dog Daisy. She was a rescue dog and Charlie told me that she was a Griffon, an ancient breed of hunting dog, somtimes used to hunt wild boar. She was found tied to a tree in the mountains of Spain. There is a rescue society for these dogs if you want to provide a home for one of these lovely dogs yourself.
The path crosses fields to Morfa Harlech where there is a recycling centre and then along a straight track by forest. The path cuts across more fields to a housing estate on the edge of Harlech and then follows the main road to the castle on it’s rocky outcrop. From here the path follows the road to the beach and then it was a pleasant walk on the sand to the south end of the beach at Llanfair. The last section was a punishing climb up zig-zagging steps up to the top of the cliffs where I caught my bus back to Porthmadoc.
10.15 miles