I’d never heard of Yr Eifl before our recent holiday to Anglesey. It was only as I stood on Newborough Beach looking over to the hills on the Llyn Peninsula that I knew I had to visit.
A couple of days later I discovered the range of hills that comprise the three summits of Yr Eifl make a great half day walk. We only climbed two of them, missing out Garnfor (Mynydd Gwaith). I’d been put off by its granite quarry and telecoms tower; of course I regretted this decision part way through the walk.
Yr Eifl
Our walk started from the car park on the road leading to the Welsh Language Centre at Nant Gwrtheyrn.
The track, initially alongside moorland, to the summit of Yr Eifl was obvious. This was fortunate as I’d taken a cavalier approach to route finding and hadn’t bought a map with me; not something I’d recommend. In my defence the day was clear, the walk straightforward and I had a screenshot of the route on my phone.
At 564m Yr Eifl is the highest of the three hills; technically a few metres short of a mountain. That said, it became progressively rockier as we climbed and that’s always a mountain sign for me.
The best thing about Yr Eifl? The solitude. We’d driven through Snowdonia a couple of days previously and it was incredibly busy. Drive a few miles south and you’re alone again.
In fact, we only met four other people on our walk. The first two were descending Yr Eifl. They’d set out to climb Tre’r Ceiri but somehow ended up on Garnfor instead. Not sure how but I’d guess they were also without a map!
We had no problems finding our summit. It’s hard to miss the trig point when there’s a large metal number four on top of it. Google doesn’t have an explanation for this but I found a comment suggesting it was a local blacksmith declaring his love for his partner (H 4 A). A sweet story; I wonder if it’s true?
Aside from the trig point there’s plenty to see with Cardigan Bay to the south, Caernarfon Bay to the north and the mountains of Snowdonia just a hop, skip and jump away.
We descended off the summit in a westerly direction, picking our way across the rocks. The path wasn’t always clear but fortunately our next hill, Tre’r Ceiri, was easy to see.
Tre’r Ceiri
Tre’r Ceiri is one of the best preserved Iron Age hill forts in Britain. An impressive feat given its exposed location. The fort is surrounded by stone ramparts, inside are the ruins of around 150 houses. At its peak, during the Roman occupation, up to 400 people lived here.
There are, evidently, information boards. I looked in vain for them. How did we manage to miss them?
We ate our lunch perched on the edge of one of the hut circles. Thousands of people had probably sat there before us. Indeed, one of them had left a banana skin. My pet hate.
After lunch, and with added banana skin, we explored the fort before heading back downhill. There was an assortment of paths criss-crossing the heather but with good visibility it was easy to follow one heading in approximately the right direction.
Nant Gwrtheyrn
Back at the car park my eyes alighted on the sign advertising a cafe at the Welsh Language Centre. Only a few minutes away.
A word of warning. Unless you are in dire need of more exercise do not walk from the car park. It’s a steep downhill trek so you know what that means!
Sensibly, we drove and after cake and coffee found some extra energy to walk to the beach. A fine beach with lots of stone skimming opportunities. Followed by a drive in second gear up an incredibly steep road!
I can’t wait until my toddler is old enough for walks like this! #mondayescapes
sounds like a great day out and walk, shame about the banana skin, but well done on picking it up, love a cafe at the end of a good walk, glad you took the car to it though.
popping over from #MondayEscapes
I *miss* mountain walks (or nearly mountain walks). We only ever did them on holiday, but I haven;t climbed a mountain in years now. I really must start chivying the family up hills. Disappointing not to have found out about the 4, but actually perhaps it’s more fun to be able to make up stories!
The views are incredible, I bet it was so peaceful up there? Thanks sow much for linking up #MondayEscapes x
Always nice to discover somewhere off the beaten track. After having a taste of hills recently I was looking at your photos with great envy.
Beautiful! I want to do more hikes like this. Our boys are just not quiet there yet. Hopefully soon! #adventurecalling
Love this walk – it’s definitely one we’ll have a go at at some point. There’s always a sense of wonder when you’re sat in something that someone built hundreds of years ago.
#adventurecalling
That looks like a great walk and just the sort of place I’m desperate to get back to. I have to admit that, as much as I love Wales, I haven’t done Snowdonia yet as I’m worried it’ll be really busy. This looks quieter-and far more interesting! I love places that have great walks and lots of history. Thanks for the information, saving this for later. Thanks for joining us at #AdventureCalling
What a lovely walk. I have never done this range either so it’s now firmly on my list. I completely agree, although I love Snowdonia (and I really do love it!) many parts of it do get busy. So to have a much quieter walk withing striking distance would be great for us. Thanks for joining us on #adventurecalling, I hope you can again tomorrow.
Hi Christine, are any of those hill names pronounceable? The climb was well worth the views too. I like the story of the blacksmith declaring his love on top of the mountain, even if it’s not true. The good thing about knowing you have a steep walk back to the car is you know you can ‘afford’ an extra piece of cake as a reward!
xx
Yr Eifl is pronounced “Ear ayfal” (The Rivals)
Thanks for this post, we are due to head that way on Friday and I was wondering about the suitability of it for the children, definitely one on the list.
Hi Mandi, if the weather is on your side I’d have no hesitation taking children up, assuming they’re used to walking. Enjoy your trip!
We have walked the road to and from the village twice and you’re right, it’s a killer. Not walked Yr Eifl yet but plan to next time we are there. It’s a very beautiful and relatively quiet part of Wales.
I’m local to here, but today was my first walk around what’s locally called the 3 sisters, lovely walk, avoid if windy though, no shelter