Pontllyfni to Trefor 19/6/2013**

 

Monkshood by Afon Llyfni   Sea kale   Lesser spotted dogfish

We parked near the Afon Llyfni.  At the south end of Pontllyfni we turned down a lane to the coast.   The beach was predominantly pebbles of various sizes, with some lines of sand or shingle.  Low clay cliffs stood above, a fence preventing access along the grass top, so we had to find a way over pebbles the whole way to Trefor.  The alternative, the official coast path, follows the main A499 all along this stretch, away from the coast.  Seaward were rocks where oystercatchers and cormorants dominated, although we did see the odd ringed plover, rock pipit and pied wagtail.  There was a brief grassy path above the beach through Aberdesach, the only village on our route, with a bridge over the river, but beyond here the beach was very pebbly and rough walking.  We glimpsed a short-eared owl hunting over the cliff top, but there was little wildlife, despite the lack of people along this shore.  Vegetation too was limited, although there were clumps of sea kale in full flower, emitting a sweet scent from the white flowers (attracting the hoverfly Scaeva pyrastri) mixed with the cabbagy smell of the leaves.  There was also sea sandwort, sea campion, sand sedge.  Shells were limited in number but varied, including dog cockles.  Various fish were washed up from time to time, including a sea bass and many lesser spotted dogfish. There was brief sign of occasional human occupation under the camp site at Aberafon, but the beach continued generally isolated and increasingly difficult under foot.  We found a washed up tree on which to sit for lunch, the high hill beyond Trefor ahead with frequent white clouds obscuring its peak.  The beach became a little sandier with finer shingle in places until we emerged on a flat sandy beach that was a great relief, and lugworms sent up their casts.  This lasted some 700m to Trefor pier, although just before it the clay cliffs were slumping on to the beach creating a muddy foreshore that could be sticky walking.  A grassy patch on the cliff had a few common spotted orchids.  At the pier we left the beach and joined the coast path over the headland, which was acid grassland heavily grazed by sheep.  There was some great horsetail and ragged robin outside the grazed area, and some English stonecrop, heath bedstraw and thyme were flowering low enough to survive, but it was only inside a small enclosure that pignut was able to flourish.  We could look down on herring gulls nesting, with large grey chicks, on top of a sea stack, while fulmars flew by.  The path turned inland to Trefor, through bracken with bluebell and spring squill.  In the village the walls were flowery and full of ferns – it was pleasant to see how many plants had been left to grow and flower.  These included lots of maidenhair spleenwort and rustyback fern, New Zealand willowherb, fairy foxglove, ivy-leaved toadflax, Adria and trailing bellflowers.  Below the sole shop in the centre was the bus-stop for Caernarfon.  Tonight, as last, we ate at Blas (“taste”), a new restaurant only 7-weeks old.  The food was very good.

Pontllyfni beach     Aberdesach beach and cloud on Gyrn Goch     Lugworm cast & blow-hole (right)   New Zealand willowherb