| Walk: |
Yr Eifl |
| Map: |
Lleyn Peninsula East / Pen Llyn Ardal
Ddwreiniol 254 |
| Directions: |
Take the B4417 from the A499 near
Llanaelhaearn and follow this road until you come into Llithfaen
and turn right at the cross roads in the middle of the village (up
the hill) and the car park is about half a mile or so, just before
the road enters the forest and heads down to Nant Gwrtheyrn. From
Nefyn (on the B4417) turn left at the crossroads. |
| Say it!: |
Yr Eifl: ur (roll the r) ey-vul
Llithfaen: ll*ith-vine |
Yr Eifl is the highest point on the Llŷn Peninsula. There are three
peaks - Tre'r Ceiri (485m), Garn Ganol (564m) and Garn For (444m).
Tre'r Ceiri has one of the best examples of an Iron Age hill fort in
northern Europe.
Garn For has been extensively quarried and granite from here has been
used to pave streets in London and as curling stones used in the
Olympics.
The best place to start any walk on the hills of Yr Eifl is on the
road to Nant Gwrtheyrn. There is a car park, just before the road
starts to run downhill towards the National Language and Heritage
Centre.
From the car park, walk along the track you can see working its way
across the side of the hill and you will come to Bwlch Yr Eifl,
between Garn For (with it's quarry) and Garn Ganol, the highest point
on the peninsula. From here you can choose whether to do Garn For
before continuing or just to go straight and walk up Garn Ganol.
Walking up Garn For is quite tricky in a couple of places, so be
careful. Walk up around the radio mast and then continue up to the
cairn on the summit.
The walk up to Garn Ganol is in three stages, the first grassy
slopes, then rocky, lumpy ground, and finally steep loose rocky slopes
near the summit. Paths are sometimes a bit difficult to follow and you
may find you come down a different one than the one in which you
climbed up! The views are, needless to say, spectacular from the top.
From the summit you can walk back down to the car park or come the
way you came. If you wish, you can continue down to Tre'r Ceiri. The
pathway takes you through lots of heather and there are rocks under
foot so care is needed in places. Once to get to the summit of Tre'r
Ceiri you will notice that you are surrounded by the iron age hill
fort.
From Tre'r Ceiri a walk along the south-western slopes of Yr Eifl
will take you past Caergribin, a large rock outcrop. Beyond this
continue to the car park.
From the car park, you can walk straight up to the summit of Garn
Ganol (the highest peak) by taking a path which branches off to the
right at the start of the track mentioned at the start above. This
path runs around the southern side of the hill and, although it is
still steep, is less rocky than the other route until you reach the
summit. |
