Coast Walking (Wales): Porth Tocyn to Pwllheli***

Beach shells - mussel, Tapes aureus & rhomboides, Gibbula cinerea & umbilicalis, Chlamys varia

Azorinus chamasolen

Llanbedrog steps, great woodrush

From the hotel we set out on the track north to the southern end of the large sandy beach of Borth Fawr, walking west until a slipway allowed access to the beach. Today was largely a matter of beaches, usually shingle above sand or mixed sand and shingle, both south and north of Abersoch, at Llanbedrog and approaching Pwllheli, and all were rich in shells like Turritella, Tapes aureus with its bright yellow interior, Gari fervensis, Raphitoma purpurea, Azorinus chamasolen and a good variety of scallops and the Venus family. At the head of the first beach south of the centre of Abersoch was a narrow stretch of well-worn dune, which nevertheless had sea spurge, sea holly, burnet rose, pyramidal orchid and a little sea rocket and sea bindweed, as well as many escapes like sweet Alison and Japanese rose. Around the Abersoch headland were bugloss and long-headed poppy, and aliens like giant viper’s bugloss, opium poppy, tree mallow and escallonia. We rounded the harbour and had to take the A499 road north for nearly a kilometre before getting access to the next beach, as the tide was too high to get access earlier. The dunes above this beach were virtually limited to marram, but we were kept interested by the lines of shells for two kilometres, much of this below an extensive community of chalets and caravans. At the far end a river comes down and we took the track inland for almost a kilometre, gradually climbing, until we were high enough to cut back east along the side of the large headland of Mynydd Tir-y-cwmwd. This was typical acid heath with a thick growth of low western gorse, all three heathers, bilberry, heath bedstraw, occasional linnets and stonechats, and ravens flying by. The path rounded the headland until a line of railed steps led down through damp wooded cliff to Llanbedrog beach, through great woodrush, ferns, sweet chestnut trees and navelwort epiphytic on oak boughs. At the final peak had been erected a metal statue in the shape of a man overlooking the view. At the bottom we had our lunch and visited the “Bistro on the beach” for a coffee. Continuing north along the sands, sea rocket and sea sandwort grew frequently at the top. A small rocky headland, with colourful igneous rocks tumbling to the shore, came down to the sea, but could be negotiated by a narrow line of shingle and clambering over the lichen-covered rocks for a short way. Beyond was shingly beach all the way to Pwllheli, but the shells continued unabated, many in very good condition. Dunes above included more sea bindweed and a garden escape Gazania rigens or treasureflower. The end was the hooked spit marking the outward stretch of Pwllheli harbour, where dunes were again relatively poor in species but had haresfoot clover, yellow rattle and tree lupin. We turned back to the road north from the beach area across saltmarsh to the centre of Pwllheli, where we had time for some good ice-creams before catching the 18 bus back to Abersoch. Tonight we moved to a hotel just outside Pwllheli, Plas Bodegroes.