25th August 2021
On Tuesday we moved to a new, much nicer campsite, Llwyn Griffri above Tal y Bont, a few miles north of busy Barmouth – large pitches, lots of space, and a chilled atmosphere – a chance to relax at last. And there were good opportunities for walking from the tent, in particular, a chance to visit remote Pont Scethin, an old stone bridge in a uniquely atmospheric location.
The start of the walk was excellent too, a path through shady oak woodland beside the tumbling Afon Ysgethin, a deep cut river unusual in that its bed seems to comprise entirely of boulders, such is the depth of the boulder clay hereabouts. A mile of pleasant walking bought us to a minor road, this crossed the river at Pont Fadog, another beautiful stone bridge, so surrounded by the trees that it proved a difficult subject for photography.
Shortly after Pont Fadog we came across waymarks for the Taith Ardudwy Way, a multi day route over the western slopes of the Rhinogs. These we followed up the valley, the thinning trees allowing us glimpses of Moelfre, which we hoped to climb. The track led us on up the widening valley, climbing steadily, with not a soul in sight, a very welcome change from the fleshpots of Snowdon. The views up the valley were expansive, the predominantly grassy hills of the southern Rhinogs enclosing the wide valley bottom. Rhinog Fach poked its rocky head above the grassy ridge to the north east, a distant view, but enough to whet my appetite for the wonderful landscape of the Northern Rhinogs, which we visited later that week.
The path continued onwards towards the shattered heather clad crags of Llawlech, and crossed the stream issuing from Llyn Irddyn, although the lake itself was rather secretive, hidden as it was behind a low moraine. We followed a faint path to the boulder strewn shore, where we stopped for an early lunch.
Over our lunch of oatcakes, squirty cheese and hard boiled eggs, we decided not to continue on to Llyn Bodlyn higher up the valley, instead we decided to cut across the valley to Pont Scethin. Moelfre was quietly forgotten.
The bridge lived up to my expectations. I have been here before, many years ago, but have not approached from the south, so was treated to a view of the bridge with the stony slopes of Moelfre in the background, the heather in full bloom. After a brief stop to soak up the atmosphere, we continued on, heading westwards towards the coast below the southern flank of Moelfre. The abandoned commercial plantation of conifers clinging to the slopes above looked most out of place in such wild surroundings.
Once we had passed Moelfre, we came to a junction – the Taith Ardudwy Way branches off to the north here, but we continued on towards the coast, with fine views of Pen Llyn and the high mountains of Snowdonia to the north and west. The stony track seemed to go on and on though, hard work in the sun, and we were glad to reach the tarmac of the single track road leading down into the shady woodland above Tal y Bont. A pleasant path through the woods took us back to the campsite.
A detailed account of a 3 day walk along the Taith Ardudwy Way can be found HERE – I later discovered that I had missed the author at Pont Scethin by a matter of hours!
The campsite that we stayed at deserves special mention: Llwyn Griffri seemed like a haven after enduring the crowded, cramped and noisy campsite near Abersoch. The campsite was pretty full, but the pitches were very large, well spaced out around the edge of a spacious grassy field, and the facilities were top class. The atmosphere was very relaxed, and we could at last unwind in the evenings – we even salvaged an abandoned barbecue to use as a fire pit, which we sat around whilst watching the sun go down over Pen Llyn.
More details of the campsite can be found at https://www.llwyngriffrifarm.co.uk/
Click here for our next walk – Rhinog Fawr and the Roman Steps
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