05 GAZE OUT FROM SUMMIT TO SEA

Yr Eifl, Gwynedd | 4.5 miles | 3 hours | Challenging

Climb high above the verdant valleys of the Llŷn Peninsula to the crown of Yr Eifl, a peak rich with history offering alluring views across the Menai Strait, says Julie Brominicks

Mountainous in spirit if not in height, Yr Eifl is a hill of vertiginous vistas and igneous granite intrusions. Its craggy summits have various names but are referred to here as Garn For, Garn Ganol, and Tre’r Ceiri, and this walk scales all three, offering walkers the chance to gaze across the vast waters of the Irish Sea, obscured now and then by reefs of pulsing clouds.

The first two peaks are a bit of a scramble. For an alternative, lower route, there’s a valley path that skirts the northern and eastern fringes of the mountains.

1 ISLAND VIEWS

Bus passengers from Pwllheli can alight at Llithfaen and walk to the car park along a quiet road with silvery views to St Tudwal’s Islands over the Llŷn Peninsula’s soft hills.

2 HEATHLAND

From the car park, take the Wales Coast Path to Bwlch. The scratchy heath brushes at your ankles, the pastel-coloured scrub scarred with streaks of matt-grey granite.

3 FOREST TO KING

Far, far below a glossy stand of pines, fringed by a charcoal-grey beach, sea-smashed and seal-haunted, is the old quarrymen’s village, now a Welsh Language Centre: Nant Gwrtheyrn, or Vortigern’s Stream. Little is known about Vortigern, the British king blamed for facilitating the Saxon invasion, but according to legend he fled to North Wales and died here in this creek, overlooked by the towering black cliffs.

4 MOUNTAIN MIST

The brackeny hills behind flash green and red through the mist, and racing clouds chase purple shadows across a brilliant sea. From Bwlch, the Snowdonia mountains soar high in the east like a mighty ocean of blue waves above a valley of mist. www.countryfile.com

5 SCRAMBLING FORTH

On the left, accentuated by a telecoms tower, is Garn For. A slithery scramble gets you up close to the granite that paved the streets of Liverpool and Manchester and was hewn into Olympic curling stones. Below, miniature waves crimp the coast, and Anglesey lies offshore beyond the glimmering Menai Strait.

For those keen to avoid the scramble, drop down towards the village of Llanaelhaearn, before rejoining the upland route at

Tre’r Ceiri.

6 BLUSTERY SUMMIT

From the track, take the marked path straight up Garn Ganol. A brisk wind whips the summit and bryophytes lurk in the many crevices underfoot. Extending west, the broad Llŷn Peninsula and both its coasts fizz in a golden light. To the east, the Snowdonia mountains are clear and bold, blue-brown and framed by granite, a drystone wall drawn across them as if by biro. From here you can see the prehistoric hill fort of Tre’r Ceiri, which was still inhabited by Celtic Britons during the

Roman occupation.

7 IRON AGE DEFENCE

Reach Tre’r Ceiri by descending Garn Ganol to follow the waymarked path across boggy ground. Cloud descends quickly here. Vaporous tendrils creep around the dark stones of the defensive walls.

Within them are the circular remains of 150 huts, abandoned by the inhabitants of Tre’r Ceiri as the climate cooled and crops became increasingly harder to grow. Vortigern, if he came here, would have found Tre’r Ceiri already abandoned and veiled in a thick, fugitive mist.

8 SCREE TO PASTURE

From Tre’r Ceiri, the path to Llithfaen shines like a silver ribbon between a pair of craggy mounds. Descending, the scree gives way to pasture and the cloud gradually lifts. At the road, turn right and make your way back to the car park or continue to Llithfaen, the village glowing gold against its backdrop of rippled hills.

6 CLIMB ABOVE THE CHESHIRE PLAIN Tegg’s Nose, Cheshire 7.5 miles | 5 hours | Moderate

Just 20 miles from Manchester city centre, the precipitous Tegg’s Nose Country Park represents an abrupt end to the Cheshire Plain, with flat fields replaced by a whole new wild landscape of steep, craggy hills, open moors and dense, impenetrable forest.

As you walk this 7.5-mile route through a rich mix of habitats, look for buzzards circling overhead, scanning the fields for carrion, and listen for the unmistakable cronking of garrulous ravens, as well as the piping trill of skylarks as they soar upwards. Between May and August, the meadows are covered with a carpet of yellow mountain pansies, interspersed with common spotted orchids and yellowy-green clusters of flowers atop lady’s mantle – all calming antidotes for a busy mind.

7 JOURNEY FROM CITY TO SEA Rame Head, Cornwall 6.8 miles | 4 hours | Moderate

This stunning section of the South West Coast Path leaves Plymouth behind for the wilds of Rame Peninsula AONB. Stroll through woodlands budding with wildflowers and along sandy bays to historic Kingsand and Cawsand, before reaching spectacular Rame Head. Revel in the wild open space of the nearing headland, dotted with wild ponies grazing the rich coastal grasses. Climb the snaking steps to St Michael’s Chapel and walk to the end of the headland, listening to the soothing buzz of busy pollinators as you go.

8 REACH THE CREST OF A HOLY MOUNT Skirrid, Monmouthshire 3.5 miles | 2.5 hours | Moderate

Holy Mountain, Sacred Hill, Ysgyryd Fawr in Welsh – ‘ysgyryd’ meaning shattered or split – or simply The Skirrid, this mini mount goes by many names, hinting at its storied and intriguing past. A short circular walk to the 486m summit offers dramatic views across the surrounding countryside with the Blorenge hill in the distance.

9 WANDER BAREFOOT ALONG SANDY SHORES Embleton Bay, Northumberland 10.8 miles | 5 hours | Moderate

The glorious golden sands of Embleton Bay are rarely crowded; even on a beautiful summer’s evening you will often have the place to yourself. Feel the ocean breeze as you stroll barefoot over ruddy-gold sands, across babbling coastal burns and through wind-shaped dunes to the dramatic ruins of 14th-century Dunstanburgh Castle, perched on the dolerite rocks of the Great Whin Sill.

10 FEEL THE OCEAN BREEZE ON SUSSEX CLIFFS Seven Sisters, East Sussex

3.7 miles | 2.5 hours | Moderate

Many consider the Seven Sisters’ enormous chalk cliffs to be even more picturesque than the celebrated White Cliffs of Dover further up the coast. Leaving the National Trust hamlet of Birling Gap behind, a splendid walking route follows the South Downs Way along the verdant clifftops, where the contrast between the tiny, nodding coastal flowers that pepper the chalk grasslands and the enormous horizon before you is stirringly stark.

11 VISIT A GIANT’S COAST Causeway Coast, Co Antrim 10.5 miles | 5–6 hours | Moderate

It would be hard to conceive of a shoreline more varied and dramatic than Antrim’s Causeway Coast. Each mile brings a change of scenery, a new natural attraction and perspective to admire. Some sites are so celebrated that they buzz with summer tourists, but few people divert on to the coastal path that links them all together. All the better for walkers, who can absorb the real atmosphere of the area, uninterrupted by human distraction.

The best section of the waymarked Causeway Coast Way starts at the thrilling Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, then traces the shoreline west past sandy beaches, secluded harbours, sheer clifftops and historic landmarks. Finish at the famous 40,000 hexagonal columns of Giant’s Causeway (below).

12 STAND BENEATH TOWERING ROCKS Traeth Mawr, Glamorgan

4.8 miles | 3 hours | Moderate

Leaving the settlement of Monknash, this South Wales route passes through the steep-sided, river-cut vale of Cwm Nash. Descending, the rhythm of the river becomes stronger, the smell of earth more potent. Gradually, the trees yield to a mass of almond-scented gorse, then the river breaks from the scrub and spills out across a series of shallow platforms flanked by huge Lego-like cliffs. On a windy day, watch the lumbering surf slump on to the shore, rumbling like thunder on its retreat to the sea.