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ABERDARON AND THE WEST

Croeso i y Gorllewin - Welcome to the West

Aberdaron is a white washed village, backing it's own bay, near the tip of the Llyn Peninsula. In the village centre you will find cafes, gift shops and pubs.

The rest of western Llyn is dominated by rugged cliffs and small coves. Mynydd Mawr is the very tip of Llyn, and looks out over the two mile stretch of treacherous waters to Bardsey Island. On a clear day it is possible to see Ireland from here.

Porth Oer (Whistling Sands) is one of only a couple of beaches in Europe where the sand does actually whistle (or "squeak") under your feet! The beach is owned by the National Trust and has a small cafe at the top of it. Porth Oer, like Aberdaron Beach and others on the western and north-western coast of Llyn is suitable for surfers on days when there is a strong push of swells from the Atlantic to the southwest.

In western Llyn you will find quite a few, so-called Mynydds (Mountains), when in fact there are really only small hills at this stage. However, the largest of these, Mynydd Rhiw, at the north-western end of Porth Neigwl (Hell's Mouth) is 305m high and deserves some credit for it's excellent views of, not just western Llyn, but also, the hill of Carn Fadryn and Snowdonia behind it as well as the eastern mountains of Ireland on a clear day.

From the heights of Mynydd Rhiw to the shores of Porth Ysgo, "a hundred steps down" so I am told! From this Porth Ysgo, Porth Cadlan, a beach sided on two sides by water connecting Maen Gwenonwy (a small island) to the mainland can be seen.

Western Llyn holds many secret places, too many to list here, but you can never not find a little country lane to explore in this area, which is one of the quietest and most beautiful area's of Wales and possibly Britain.