What I don’t know is why I’d never heard of the Llyn Peninsula before. Jutting out into the Irish Sea to the west of Snowdonia, this is a spectacularly beautiful and unspoilt corner of Wales and we’ve just returned home after spending a blissful, sun-soaked week there. Here’s a taste of what we did, what we discovered and why I would love to buy a bolt hole of our own there one day…
Our base for the week on the Llyn Peninsula was Boom Cottage in Morfa Nefyn. Decorated in a fresh and simple coastal style the cottage had mountain views and was an easy walk away from three fabulous beaches. Our favourite was Porthdinllaen because of its crystal blue water, white sand, bobbling boats and the fantastic Ty Coch Inn, which serves drinks and freshly cooked good food right on the beach. What more could anyone actually ask for on a balmy summer’s day? Incidentally Ty Coch Inn was voted second best beach bar in the world.
Included with the cottage was our very own blue and white striped beach hut on Nefyn beach, which we gathered around in the evenings for a simple barbecue and to watch the sun go down. There was something magical about the quality of the light here at this time of the day – no doubt helped by a glass or two of chilled white wine. Utter bliss.
5 local Llyn Peninsula finds we love…
1 Trefriw Woollen Mill (listed in our directory here)
makes traditional Welsh tapestry rugs and bedspreads from raw wool. I was desperate to buy one before leaving Wales, so we stopped off here on our journey home. I love the blue and white bedspread I opted for.
2 Llyn Seafoods
A vibrant and True Taste of Wales Award-winning local fish shop and deli. Just the sort of place I was hoping to find. After a day on the beach I love to cook super-fresh locally caught fish.
3 Plas Bodegroes
Restaurant with rooms is a heavenly place to spend an evening or more. Food is amazing, the garden and house beautiful without being at all stuffy or formal.
4 Oriel Tonnau gallery, Pwllheli.
A really interesting gallery with some well-chosen artists’ work on display. I was particularly taken with the prints by artist Malcolm Gwyon (below)
5 West End Stores in Pwllheli.
I couldn’t help thinking of the Two Ronnies ‘Fork Handles’ sketch when I set foot in this old-fashioned hardware store. Downstairs is an aladdin’s cave of brushes, buckets, bell jars and 1001 things in between. Upstairs, there’s Emma Bridgewater pottery, traditional white creamware jugs and the ‘Welsh Word’ range of ceramics by Keith Brymer Jones. Established in 1856, the shop has been in the family for three generations. Could easily have spent hours here!
Our ‘We Love Llŷn’ smartphone app(free to download), website and magazine all give a comprehensive guide of all there is to do on Pen Llŷn. The app has the best Whats on guide for Pen Llŷn, and has history pop ups, a coastal path guide, activities, places to visit and places to stay, along with shop, café and restaurant listings, and whats more you can contact these businesses direct, access their website and social media and our map can then show you the distance to them from where you are! So the app contains everything anyone will need to create and plan their next adventure on the Llŷn. The website mirrors the app and the ‘We Love Llŷn’ lifestyle magazine cross markets the app and website and also holds similar essential information such as an events guide, places to visit, places to stay etc, but also has more specific features such as pieces on local people, local history and culture, recipes, walks and activities, cool cafés, restaurant reviews, local news and stories, homes and interiors, interviews, style guides, days out and more! We also have guest columnists, familiar faces, well known in the area in their chosen interests or professions.
The magazine is proving to be a fresh and exciting promotional tool for the peninsula and encourages people to get out and about exploring other villages and towns.
So to find out all there is to know – go to We Love Llŷn!