An account of the walk

Walking with a purpose

Two miles beyond the westernmost tip of Llŷn/the Lleyn peninsula in North Wales lies Bardsey Island, a important place of Christian pilgrimage since the sixth century. Nearby on the mainland is the small village of Aberdaron, from where many pilgrims set off on the final leg of their journey – Bardsey's Welsh name, Ynys Enlli “island of the tides”, hints at the perils of the crossing.

Judy and I love the serene St Hywyn's Church, almost on the beach in Aberdaron, and the poetry of R. S. Thomas, its vicar in the 1970s. We have vivid memories of a Bangor Diocesan pilgrimage with hundreds of pilgrims packing St Hywyn's – we had to receive our Communion in the churchyard in the wind and rain! It was quite natural then that the first part of my 70th birthday walk, to the westernmost tip of Llŷn, became something of a pilgrimage, though this time there was no rain and we would have liked more wind to keep us cool in the blazing sun.

One mediaeval pilgrim route to Aberdaron starts 130 miles away at Holywell, so starting from Caernarfon, a mere 43 miles away along the Wales Coast Path, was taking it comparatively easily. We – Judy, our friend Peter Kelly and I – walked nearly ten miles on the first day, along the shoreline so quite flat. The second day was completely different – after the only serious climb of the whole walk, we crossed Bwlch yr Eifl, at 1,400' above sea level with glorious views in all directions; 18 miles so far.

The next day we were joined by our youngest son Dominic, his girlfriend Nic, Judy's sister Sally and her husband Ty so we were a party of seven. Our route took us past the Ty Coch Inn at Porth Dinllaen which had just been voted “the third-best beach bar in the world”, creating much excitement locally, so we had to stop there for lunch! By the end of the day we had walked to the village of Edern, 25 miles from Caernarfon.

In the next two days we covered 18 miles from Edern to Aberdaron, the most remote and dramatic stretch of the entire walk. There is an inescapable feeling of walking to the edge, to what the Romans called finistere, and thought of as the end the world. As R. S. Thomas described his journey there

   I have crawled out at last,
   far as I dare on to a bough
   of country that is suspended
   between sky and sea.

We rested for an hour at Pentire camp site, whose owner offers refreshments to bona fide pilgrims, which she defined as those “walking with a purpose”. On a baking hot day her home-made elderflower cordial was very welcome. Unfortunately, we arrived in Aberdaron having walked 43 miles from Caernarfon too late to visit St Hywyn's.

By this stage Judy, Peter and I were feeling rather drained by the heat so on Saturday 20 July we walked only five miles, from Hell's Mouth to Bwlchtocyn, for a wonderful barbecue in the setting sun at Dominic and Nic's camp site. On the Sunday Nicholas, our middle son, walked with us from Bwlchtocyn as far as Abersoch before he had to dash back to his student medical placement at Chesterfield Hospital. Dominic and Nic returned to London but a few hours later we were joined by Margaret, Peter's wife and Pauline, another old friend.

The next day we returned to Aberdaron to walk to Plas-yn-Rhiw, and lost our way, briefly, for the only time in the whole ten days. By this time Peter and I had walked the Wales Coast Path from Caernarfon to Llanbedrog, apart from three shortish sections which were mainly on roads, bringing our total to 63 miles. The south coast of Llŷn between Llanbedrog and Criccieth is rather dull so we returned for a day to the north coast to show Margaret and Pauline the wildlife and dramatic scenery. This added six miles to our total and allowed us a very brief visit to St Hywyn's. That evening we were delighted to be joined by our close friends Chandra and Asoka – they had planned to be there throughout, but in the event were prevented from being us until the final day.

The final day, Wednesday 24 July, was my birthday. The easy 5-mile walk from the delightful seaside town of Criccieth to the delightful seaside village of Borth-y-Gest was everything I could have wished for. There was glorious sunshine, the very familiar magnificent scenery and excellent company. We built a cairn of 70 stones on a quiet inlet off the Glaslyn estuary to mark the official completion of 70 miles and recognise the sense of a pilgrimage which had lasted throughout. In the evening we returned to Bryn Teg, our house in Dolwyddelan, had a pleasant meal in the nearby hotel and a chocolate birthday cake baked by a neighbour, rounding off a wonderful birthday.

The experience exceeded my expectations in every way. We visited familiar places bringing back treasured memories of many holidays spent in Llŷn but also discovered picturesque coves and beaches we did not know. It was a delight to have the support of family and friends for every stage of the walk and to feel the growing sense of walking with a purpose.

My purpose was raising money for Christian Aid and Oxfam. Donations and promises so far come to more than £700* so my thanks to all these sponsors. According to Christian Aid's emergency appeal for Syrian refugees:

• £200 will provide food for a refugee family for a month – including milk, cheese and beans to keep children healthy.

• £500 will provide 20 women with hygiene kits to ensure they remain healthy even in unsanitary conditions.

• Now over £1,000 raised so thanks again to all involved.