Uwchmynydd and the Bardsey Sound
The very end of the Llŷn, looking across a mile of fierce tidal water to Bardsey. The pilgrim route to the island finished here and it still feels like the end of something.
- Distance
- 2.8 mi / 4.5 km
- Time
- 1 hr 40
- Ascent
- 150 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
The route climbs Mynydd Mawr from the car park and loop round the headland above the sound, returning past the old coastguard hut. Short, but the ground is rough and exposed.
Worth knowing
- The sound runs hard. What looks like a calm strait is one of the most difficult tidal races in Wales.
- Choughs breed on these cliffs and are usually visible: red bill, red legs, and a call like a squeaky gate.
- Ffynnon Fair, the holy well, sits below the cliffs and is reached by a genuinely dangerous scramble. Look from above.
What you’ll see
Bardsey across the sound, choughs and seals, and the whole peninsula behind you.
Background
Bardsey, Ynys Enlli, was a monastic island and a major medieval pilgrimage site. Three pilgrimages here were reckoned equal to one to Rome.