Yr Eifl and Tre'r Ceiri

After settling in at the cottage and enjoying a stroll into town, Sue and I packed a flask and a buttie and set off along the Pwllheli road.

At 564 metres, Yr Eifl is the highest point on the Lleyn Peninsula. It's a short excursion, suitable for a winter's day with a late start.

We parked in the spacious car park at SH 353 440, virtually empty today but perhaps busy in summer.

A stony track led easily towards the top of Bwlch yr Eifl, before which we headed up by a wall to some disused buildings (where we surprised a couple) and on up steps to a transmitter mast. Turning left at the perimeter fence, we soon found an excellent path carved out of the rocky crest of the hill. This brought us up to a cairn at 444 metres that commanded a fine view over the Peninsula, across to Anglesey, and inland to snow-capped Snowdonia, where the mountains sat below a deep blue sky.

Our own local weather was more problematical. After lunching in a disused building carpeted with sheep poo, we set off into the cloud that had been skirmishing with Yr Eifl all day. A storm arrived to test our newly proofed waterproofs. The sleety rain was thick and cold. Even the crows were cowed into silence. But not the aircraft of the RAF, training for missions in far off lands.

On the summit we found a chap with a camera, looking for a café. He headed down. The cloud had cleared just as we arrived, giving us more fine views. A stroll over rocky terrain led us to the magnificent Tre'r Ceiri (Town of the Giants). This is an Iron Age hill fort built on a long, narrow summit at around 485 metres. It covers 2.5 hectares (big) and is encircled by a massive dry stone wall rampart that's about 3 metres high. The fort houses about 150 round stone huts. It pre-dates the Roman invasion of Wales in AD 78 and it was used throughout the Roman occupation, eventually being abandoned in C4 AD.

There was sunshine and shade up there today, and with more showers approaching it was hard to get a good picture. Today's image was taken from the fort, but however closely I look at it I can't see the huge waterspout that was featured on today's local news, and was pictured within a very similar view.

A pleasant heathery path took us over the rocky outcrop of Caergribin (more fine views) and back to the car after 8 km, 500 metres of ascent, and 3 hours of exertion.

In the car park, our friend with the camera confirmed that he had found the café. I wonder whether he saw the waterspout.

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