Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), drawn by Global Adventurer.
The walk
The walk starts from the National Trust car park at Llanbedrog beach, on the south coast of Llŷn. It crosses the road and climbs through the grounds of Plas Glyn y Weddw, Wales' oldest art gallery, then takes the path through the woodland and up stone steps onto the heath of Mynydd Tir-y-Cwmwd, where the Tin Man sculpture stands above the beach. The path goes round the west side of the headland, with views over Abersoch Bay and the St Tudwal's Islands, and a track and the lanes of upper Llanbedrog bring you down to the beach road and the car park.
It is 4.3 km with 169 m of ascent; allow about 1½ hours. The grade is Easy.
The National Trust rates its own Llanbedrog trail as Moderate: it climbs by stone steps onto the heath. The cliffs and the old granite quarries below the headland have drops: keep to the paths and away from the edges. Part of the way back is on lanes and crosses the main road through the village.
The car park uses pay and display machines or the JustPark app, says the National Trust. Its trail page names a café at the art gallery and the Glyn-y-Weddw pub (not National Trust) towards the main road.
Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.
Good to know
- Plas Glyn y Weddw, Wales' oldest art gallery, was built in 1857 for the widow of the Madryn estate to keep her art collection
- Solomon Andrews bought Plas Glyn y Weddw in 1896 and built the tramway that linked Llanbedrog and Pwllheli
- The Tin Man on the headland was installed in 2002; it replaced a 1980 metal sculpture, which had replaced a wooden ship's figurehead
- Three disused granite quarries line the cliffs below the headland, and ships once loaded stone at a jetty at its sea end
Summits on the way
- Mynydd Tir-Y-Cwmwd 133 m · passed close by
Getting there
Start: Llanbedrog beach car park (National Trust) · Pay and display. 52.85497, -4.48065
Directions to the start
Places to stay nearby
Rooms in and around Pwllheli: Booking.com → Expedia → Hotels.com →
Affiliate links: if you book, Global Adventurer earns a small commission at no cost to you.
Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line is drawn along OpenStreetMap paths and the figures are worked out from it; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.
