Wales Coastal Path Porthdinllaen to Porth Oer
By Dave Roberts 
Wales Coastal Path Porthdinllaen to Porth Oer
Further Details
Route Summary:
A varied section of the Llyn coast with an interesting mix of coastline to explore.
Start and Finish: Porthdinllaen to Porth Oer
Distance: 25.5 km
Ascent: 559 m
Time: allow 8 hours
Timings are approximate and depend on the individual. Calculate the time using Naismith’s Rule and factor in your own pace.
Facilities:
Pub at Porthdinllaen, shop and pub offf path in Tudweiliog, Beach Cafe at Porth Oer
Public Transport:
The Bws Llyn is only £1, and can be used to get from the start/end of this route as far as Nefyn or Abersoch.
Traveline for UK Public Transport
Hazards:
Some navigation on sections where the path isn’t clear and improvements such as steps are yet to be built.
Remember that we cannot outline every single hazard on a walk – it’s up to you to be safe and competent. Read up on Keeping Safe on the Wales Coast Path, Navigation and the Gear and Equipment you’ll need.
Wales Coast Path Guidebooks:
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Llyn Peninsula: Wales Coast Path Official Guide (Bangor to Porthmadog)
Recommended Wales Coast Path Maps:
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Wales Coastal Path Porthdinllaen to Porth Oer Ordnance Survey Map and GPX File Download
Download file for GPS
Wales Coastal Path Porthdinllaen to Porth Oer
The section of Wales Coast Path from Porthdinllaen on to Porth Oer (or Whistling Sands or Porthoer – just don’t get into an argument online about which one if you actually have something useful to do with your time) follows a varied rocky coastline with numerous coves and beaches to explore. While most of these coves have minor roads and maybe a house or two, they never grew like those in Pembrokeshire and so you won’t find a pub in any of them! We’ll let you decide if that’s a good or bad thing. While there’s a café at the end of the section at the beach we dare not speak it’s name, the only other pub or café is at Tudweiliog and a good diversion from the path.
Porthdinllaen to Porth Towyn / Tudweiliog
The first section starts from the National Trust Car park at Porthdinllaen , which is served by the Bws Llyn to make getting here easy so long as you’re based on the bus route. It heads around the peninsula, with the beach and Ty Coch Inn best visited at the end of the previous section, on to Trwyn Pen Dinllaen before skirting the golf course towards Borth Wen. The path dips down to cross the cove at Aber Geirch and continues along a steady low coastline towards the beach at Porth Towyn.
Porth Towyn / Tudweiliog to Traeth Penllech / Llangwnnadl
Porth Towyn can be visited if wished, but the coastal path continues high past numerous named coves that come thick and fast along this section. Porth Ysglaig and Porth Lydan bring you on to the headland, with the unusual sight of a low level trig point. Low it may be, but there’s still an excellent view from here. Around the headland with the unusual sight of a single gable end of a ruined cottage and the coast path brings you to the former port of Porth Ysgaden. This used to be a lifeline to the rural communities in the past, depending on the trade ships that stopped here for goods such as coal and sugar as it was just too remote to reach overland. This end of North Wales is still a number of hours from England, and it used to be twice that as recent as the 1980s before the A55 Expressway was built.
The coast here is higher and ruggeder than the first section, with the rocky coves of Porth Gwylan and Porth Ychain providing a couple of opportunities to get close to the sea on their shingle beaches.
Traeth Penllech / Llangwnnadl to Porthoer
The final section is a tale of three beaches. Traeth Penllech comes into view, with it’s eroded stacks protruding like rotten teeth from the sandy beach. The beach makes an interesting walk, but the path soon climbs up again and continues around the headland to the fishing cove at Porth Colmon. We’ll be honest, and a good pub here would be more than welcome! The next few kilometres is along a tougher coast between Penrhyn Colmon and Porth Iago, which includes some newer sections of path that are not as easy to follow. Care needs to be taken past Porth Wdlin on this new section of path, with an eagle eye needed to spot the way-marker posts.
The second beach of the three we mentioned, is one of the gems of the Wales Coast Path; Porth Iago. Reasonably remote, with a private toll road the only way to reach this other than via the coastal path. Walking via the toll road actually costs 50p, so according to your efforts you’re already 50p to the good. Poth Iago is a beautiful sandy beach, deep in a rocky cove and hemmed in on both sides. The photo in the gallery below does not do it justice! Make a note to return here another day, as you’ve still got a few kilometres to go before you can rest.
The map for the next section is busy with names of caves and coves, but you probably won’t see Ogof Lliant-glas and Ogof Newry from the path. Rounding Trwyn Glas brings you to Porth y Wrach – Bay or the Bay/Cove of the Witch – before finally arriving at the beach we dare not speak it’s name. It derives the English name of Whistling Sands (whoops – that’s setting off the keyboard warriors as we speak) as the sand apparently ‘whistles’ when you step on it. This is due to the perfectly spherical shape of the sand particles which cause air to whistle as it’s expelled, but the conditions need to be perfect for this to happen. There’s a beach cafe at the far end of the beach, with a road to the NT Car park leading from the cafe.
Dave Roberts
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