Skip to content
Wales Trails
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Towns & Villages
    • Anglesey
      • Red Squirrels at the Dingle Nature Reserve
      • The Red Squirrels of Anglesey
    • Beddgelert
      • Bank Holiday Beddgelet Bliss
      • Bikeride Rhyd Ddu to Beddgelert
    • Bethesda
      • Nant Ffrancon Circular Walk
      • Dyffryn Ogwen / Ogwen Valley, Nant Ffrancon
    • Betws-y-Coed
      • Bodgynydd Lake Short Walk
      • Llyn Brenig Adventure
    • Caernarfon
      • Caernarfon to Dinas – the steam train way
      • Caernarfon to Dinas Dinlle by bike
      • Garn Bentyrch & country lane adventures
      • My Insider’s Guide to Caernarfon
      • Sea Spray Caernarfon Walk
      • Walks at Moel Smytho, Snowdonia
    • Llanberis
      • Llanberis Quarry Slate Walk
    • Porthmadog
      • Cwm Prysor: walking the disused Railway line
      • Far from the maddening crowd
      • Llyn Mair Picnic and Walk
      • Rhaeadr Cynfal, Llan Ffestiniog
      • Rhaeadr Ddu, Ceunant Llennyrch – from Maentwrog
  • Activities
    • Attractions
    • Bikes
    • Walks
  • Route Maps

Wales Trails

A guide to adventures in the wilderness

Sea side stroll Bangor

Sea side stroll Bangor

10th August 2019 Claire Nightingale Comments 0 Comment

There’s a place near Bangor, North Wales that I’ve been meaning re-explore for a very long time, the Lafan Nature Reserve near Penrhyn Castle, known locally as gypsy corner.

Lafan Nature Reserve

This is a place I visited when I was in primary school, I clearly remember that I’d forgotten my wellies and had to ring mum. I also remember being very specific that I needed long socks, not ankle socks – why are kids are so random?

Recently I found myself home alone with the kids and at a bit of a loose end. My husband was away mountain biking for the day with a work buddy, so I headed out with the little guys for a mini adventure at the Lafan Nature reserve where we’d pick up the costal path.

Path away from the beach

I don’t remember anything from the school trip all those years ago, expect that my friend and I paddled out so far that we got a good telling off and sea water in our wellies.

The view back inland

Lafan Nature reserve is easy to find, simply turn towards Tal-y-Bont at the Penrhyn Castle roundabout, continue until you see a left turn and a signpost for the nature reserve.

There’s free parking and picnic tables, although one of them was so overgrown and looked a bit prickly, the other was badly burnt by carelessly placed disposable BBQs.

Prickly bench

Mum had told me that friends of hers forage for plump, salty marsh samphire down on this section of the coastline. So, we headed out with the vague idea of finding a good foraging spot and exploring this section of the path.

With our backs to the carpark we headed eastwards, turning right along the coast. After leaving the far end of the carpark it’s a short walk along the pebble beach before the path bears right, away from the coast up into a strip of trees that hugs the perimeter of the fields. There were birds, swifts or maybe house martins performing acrobatics swooping and plunging above the crop field catching their fill of little bugs.

The path is flat and open, the views towards the Carneddau and Glyders are phenomenal. It’s an easy going walk with lots of variety, a small estuary gave us the opportunity to pick some marsh samphire for our dinner – to my amazement the kids couldn’t get enough of these salty little shoots. Amongst the samphire shoots we spotted tiny little crabs scurrying about. I’m sure they didn’t like the attention from my kids.

Tiny little creatures amongst the samphire

Time was getting on so, just a mile or so shy of Abergwyngregyn we turned around and headed back to the car. We didn’t go straight back though, we overshot the car park and admired the view back towards the bridge at Porth Penrhyn. Here there are vertical eroded and weathered poles that huddle eerily by the estuary – we wondered what on earth they had been.

Mysterious poles

Having had a brilliant few hours we called into the chippy on Bangor’s beach road for a good old-fashioned chippy dinner.

This is not a specific route or walk as such, just a recommendation of a place to visit. In the future I will work out a walking route that goes this way.

Don’t forget to pin it!

Uncategorised, Walks
beaches, children, coastline, costal path, family days out, family walk, family walking, menai straits, national trust, natural resources wales, snowdonia, wildlife

Post navigation

PREVIOUS
My Insider’s Guide to Caernarfon
NEXT
Cwm Prysor: walking the disused Railway line

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • North Wales Lake Walk – Crafnant and Geirionydd lakes
  • Dyffryn Ogwen / Ogwen Valley, Nant Ffrancon
  • North Wales Waterfalls you Should Visit
  • Dolgellau Waterfall walk
  • Walks at Moel Smytho, Snowdonia

Recent Comments

  • Claire on Rhaeadr Ddu, Ceunant Llennyrch – from Maentwrog
  • Local on Rhaeadr Ddu, Ceunant Llennyrch – from Maentwrog
  • Local on Rhaeadr Ddu, Ceunant Llennyrch – from Maentwrog
  • Claire on Rhaeadr Ddu, Ceunant Llennyrch – from Maentwrog
  • Louise Garner on Rhaeadr Ddu, Ceunant Llennyrch – from Maentwrog

Archives

  • August 2021
  • May 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019

Categories

  • Activities
  • Anglesey
  • Attractions
  • Beddgelert
  • Bethesda
  • Betws-y-Coed
  • Bikes
  • Caernarfon
  • Llanberis
  • Porthmadog
  • Towns & Villages
  • Uncategorised
  • Walks
© 2023   All Rights Reserved.