A Week in Wales :: ups and downs

Hello Lovelies,

are you ready for part three? I do hope you are enjoying these posts .

Last Sunday we once again woke to sunshine.....but the top of two mountains were missing..........well, lost in low cloud anyway..........

The boys were keen to head straight back to Porthor as they had enjoyed themselves so much the day before. But I knew there were lots of nice beaches to choose from and so we headed off towards Llanbedrog.

You might have noticed lots of place names in Wales have a double L in them. This makes a Kl sound.
 I'm not great at pronouncing Welsh words but I did find an audio of how you say Llanbedrog HERE

This Village is on the opposite side of the Llyn peninsula and the beach has a totally different feel.
You approach it through a leafy glade............

and the first thing you see is a tree covered headland............

then you notice the brightly coloured beach huts..............

We set up our little camp and I went for a bit of a wander. How lovely is this white cottage nestled amongst the trees, yet right on the beach.............

And next to it I found the most stunning blue Hydrangeas..............

I think the soil here must be really acidic

and purple Hebes................

and a great view back towards those beach huts..............

I also came across a very steep flight of stairs that ascended the hill, but I wasn't sure where they went and decided to see if any of the others fancied exploring with me.............

Back at camp all was not well. The day was a bit overcast and the lack of waves was disappointing to the boys after the previous days fun.

In fact the tide was going out a long way and there was a long walk to get to any water at all.............

and the dingy sprung a leak........sigh.

We collected shells, but that didn't improve things a lot............

Youngest was very keen to leave and head back to Porthor, but I liked this beach well enough and Mum had managed to join us and was happily painting, which was lovely to see..............

we could just see a strange statue on top of the headland and I though the steps must lead there so I suggested youngest and I could try and reach it..............

Then I remembered our unsuitable footwear, and tried to back track.....but he was so keen on the idea I decided we could still give it a try...........

We counted the steps as we climbed...........looking down after 100............

150............

200..............

It was a beautiful climb, the ferns, moss and fresh greens everywhere were wonderful.

But all the time I was aware that the decent would be even trickier.
The last few steps were a scramble with no hand rail......were we mad?...........

almost 300 steps later I was ever so glad to get to the top.....and WHAT A VIEW...............

Wow!

 We didn't think much to the Tin Man, but we certainly admired the wonderful view of Cardigan bay and the mountains of Snowdonia beyond...........

I zoomed in on the Art Gallery that sits behind the beach................

and those cheerful beach huts...........soon I was feeling much better..........

You can hire them for the day or a week...info HERE

The sun was shining and you know  how I love high places with a great view.........

We decided to explore a bit further.......hoping to find a path down that avoided those stairs.........

The heather was looking it's best...............

and we could hear people on the speed boats laughing............

It was a lovely walk, but youngest's footwear was concerning me......we passed lots of folk in sturdy walking boots who looked at us oddly.....that added to my nervousness.
He's the only member of the family who gets on with flip-flops, he loves them and never wore anything else all week. Nevertheless I knew they weren't really suitable for this terrain and I wasn't sure of the way either............

We ended up walking for about half an hour to this trig point which gave a good view of Abersoch.......

It also had a great map of all the peaks so you could see and what they are called...........

I'm pleased to say that we soon found a safe path down after that and youngest did not suffer any injuries from his flip-flip adventuring....phew.

Back on the beach nobody seemed to notice we had been gone for over an hour, but were were very glad for a sit down and a drink.

Ater we packed up Mum and I had a quick visit to that art gallery. The paintings were wonderful....and all for sale....if you could afford the hefty price tag. We were happy just to look, and admire this beautiful building..........

When we got home I took the opportunity to have a bath with a view, which is certainly a novelty for me............

Youngest brought me candles.................

Bless him.

Today he's not wearing flip-flops. He's wearing brand new school shoes and a blazer and tie for the very  first time as he starts secondary school......my baby at secondary school.....where did those years go?
Jacquie x