‘The sun suddenly vanished and I turned around to see this very dramatic cloud briefly blocking out the evening sunshine. I had better luck photographing this than I did the oystercatchers that were playing hard to get but still fun to watch‘
Myself and David are regular visitors to the Llŷn Peninsula, always staying at the same place, a little hamlet called Porth Ysgo which is a short way from the more popular village of Aberdaron. You are welcome to accompany me on a brief journey around the area…
We arrived on the 6th September, ready for a break following a house move. The owners of our holiday cottage kindly thought to leave us a bottle of white wine in the fridge. Sat outside the cottage enjoying a glass we were suddenly aware of this beautiful sky.
I was never going to capture the sunset because of the trees, but this was the next best thing.
Porth Ysgo has a lovely small secluded beach; not many people visit because of the steep 153 steps down and of course the same 153 to get back to the top. It’s a lovely place for a quiet wander around, listening to the sounds of the seabirds.
Back up the steps from the beach, leaving David with his fishing rod and hoping for a bite or even a fish or two (it didn’t happen), I was on a mission to explore the remains of Nant Gadwen mine.
The photo is of the upper drumhouse, the lower one is much the same but the local cows visit it so you can imagine what is inside!
The mine was the southernmost of a small group of manganese mines near the village of Rhiw. The group, which included the Bennalt and Rhiw mines, was the largest producer of manganese ore in the UK in the early twentieth century. Nant Mine raised 45,644 tons of manganese ore prior to its closure in 1927.
The views from this spot are spectacular.
Looking across the bay at Porth Ysgo. The Welsh coast path follows the cliff-top towards the village of Aberdaron, around a four-mile walk (and four miles back). In the far distance behind the headland in the mist you can just make out Bardsey Island. A little nearer are The Gull Islands,then there is Maen Gwenonowy which is connected to the mainland by a small strip of rocks and boulders, meaning at high tide it is cut off and becomes an island.
Another place we like to visit when we’re in the area is Hell’s Mouth.
Porth Neigwl, known in English as Hell’s Mouth, is a broad bay about three miles wide, on the south coast of the Llŷn Peninsula. The bay faces south-west and lies between the headlands of Mynydd Rhiw to the west and Mynydd Cilan to the east.This beach’s dramatic name is based not just on its semicircular shape, resembling a wide open mouth. Its huge dimension comes from a south-westerly aspect that offers very little shelter to sailors.
We were walking off to the left of this picture as we had spotted and heard some oystercatchers playing in the surf. The sun suddenly vanished and I turned around to see this very dramatic cloud briefly blocking out the evening sunshine. I had better luck photographing this than I did the oystercatchers that were playing hard to get but still fun to watch.
I’ve already mentioned that Porth Ysgo is close to the village of Aberdaron. It has a lovely beach and during the evening when the visitors have gone it is a really nice place for a walk.
The islands out to sea, known as the Gull Islands, are officially called Ynys Gwylan-fawr (on the left) and Ynys Gwylan-bach (on the right).
Further along the beach are the remains of an old jetty.
This part of the beach is called Porth Simdde. The jetty was built in the nineteenth century for exporting barites (heavy crystal) ore by ship from the workings at Gwaith Pompren. It seems that the pier was never used.
On the final day of our stay, the weather was lovely; we were all packed up, ready to move to our next destination for a week in Worcestershire by the river Teme. Stuck for something to do, we decided to once again take on the 153 steps to the beach. It was deserted so we decided to try some rock balancing; well, I say we, but my efforts were useless and fell over all the time. Getting fed up and losing my patience, I decided I would be better employed getting out the camera and taking photos of the ones David had constructed.
There were not many fish caught during our week’s stay but it seems he has other talents which this picture clearly shows.
Another perfect stay in this lovely part of the world was almost over. I hope you have enjoyed reading and looking at the photos.
Words & Images – Ruth Craine, 2024
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