Day 4: Another day in paradise: Porthdinllaen to Pwllheli

 

Morning light at Porthdinllaen

One of the pleasures of this trip is that we get to see familiar places from an unfamiliar aspect, and at an unfamiliar time of day.  And so it was with our emergence on deck at about 5:30am, breathing in the chill morning air and admiring the houses of Porthdinllaen, which were reflecting the warm pink dawn glow. 

Soon we spotted our next passenger-colleague, Laura Hughes, the Trust's Llŷn Coastal Ranger, strolling down the hill to the beach.  Our duty this morning was to convey her to her first meeting of the day, at Aberdaron.  We passed a succession of some of the loveliest NT coastal places, such as Porth Gwylan, Porthor, Porth Llanllawen and eventually, Braich y Pwll at very end of  Llŷn.

Lowri at the helm in the Bardsey Sound

 The infamous Swnt Enlli, Bardsey Sound was thankfully as calm as I'd ever seen it as we motored through just before the end of slack water and the 'tidal gate' slammed shut.  Laura's unusual commute to work completed, we had a look around Porth y Swnt, the Trust's interpretation of Llŷn rich environment and cultural traditions before enjoying a perfect afternoon's sail - accompanied by a fresh north-easter and pods of bottlenose dolphins - past superb NT coast all the way to Porth Ceiriad, where we anchored for a late lunch.

Later, after supper at Traeth Llanbedrog, we rowed ashore for a pint in the Glyn y Weddw, where we were joined by Richard Tudor, three-times skipper in the world’s toughest yacht race, the round-the-world challenge going westward, regarded by sailors as the wrong way.  

 

Yachtsman Richard Tudor

A couple of pints and a few fascinating tales later, we rowed through choppy waters to Capercaille which was having a hard time repeatedly grounding with a sickening judders as the waves swept past.  

Eager to avoid a most unpleasant night in the swell, we motored to Pwllheli marina, finally coming along side a pontoon at 3am, after some testing night-time navigation, 20 hours after we got up at Porthdinllaen. 

Go to Day 5