Despite being in a very deep sleep, I got woken by the seagulls at 5am. As breakfast wasn’t included in the price I decided to leave early. The room hadn’t been great, so I pointed out the wet carpet and the non flushing toilet on my departure at 7am. Trying some cycle chat to win me back the owner asked where I was going. When I responded Caernafon (@ 45 miles directly), with a puff of the cheeks, he said, “that’s easy, I’ve had some cyclists staying doing 100 miles /day – mad”. Not wanting to deflate him anymore, I left it at that.

There was light rain to start with but it was forecast to brighten up. I was planning to stop for coffee in Harlech famous for its castle after 10 miles but nothing was open. The cycle had been good on the quiet main road with more excellent views from Harlech centre.

Pushing on, there were no food options in other villages so I continued to Porthmaddog along scenic backroads and along Britannia Terrace effectively a causeway to Porthmaddog.

Looking inland from the causeway there were a large gaggle of Canadian geese on the river Glaslyn.

On entering the town (and the Llyn Peninsula) it seemed that the Port cafe was doing good business; there was so much choice. I settled for sandwiches, a muffin and a coffee. Studies suggest that the more choice there is the less satisfied we feel with what we have chosen as we dwell on ‘what ifs’; it’s known as the paradigm of choice.

Since Pembroke I had been meaning to buy a postcard to send to a Welsh friend, but (unsurprisingly) hadn’t been able to find any displayed. As I left the cafe a seaside shop opposite was opening. When I enquired, the lady was very apologetic as she only had one. Even as a self-deprecating Midlander describing itself as the “Armpit of Wales’ seemed a bit strong.

The next 14 miles through Criccieth to Pwllheli were on intermittent cycleways. I arrived for @ 11am and got a baguette as an early lunch. The plan was to cycle the 7 miles over the island to Nefyn and then up the coast to Caernarfon. It was a busy and straight road and hence the 50 mph speed limit must have been significantly exceeded by a couple of ‘boy racers’, which is always scary on a bike.

After a pleasant stop in the early afternoon sunshine at Morfa Nefyn, I passed through Nefyn and climbed out on the coast road to Pistyll and then Llanaelhaearn. It was a tough climb for tired legs, but the coastal and mountain views were spectacular. Over to the south there were also great views of Snowdonia especially the table-top mountains, which on closer inspection were an illusion caused by the low cloud. The descent to the A499 was equally scenic.

Before the trip I had been aware that the Llyn peninsula was synonymous with Welsh Nationalists and indeed the previous weekend had seen celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the forming of Plaid Cymru in Pwllheli. This was reinforced by Welsh only signs, a Welsh only bookshop, ‘No 2nd homes’ signs, many local and national flags, and erased English translations on roads signs. I may be a bit thick-skinned, but I didn’t encounter any issues.

On the A499 there was a dedicated cycle path which generally followed the old road into Caernafon. The surface varied from poor to good. Having had enough of the noise I turned off with about 6 miles to go on side roads through Saron. Luckily this coincided with the Welsh Highland Steam Train passing by.

The aim of today was to get a taste of the Llyn Peninsula, which is a lovely part of Wales. Another nice place is Caernarfon, a walled town, where Welsh is spoken a lot. I arrived at my hostel just after 4pm, with 65 miles done. Today (and tomorrow) had built in flexibility to allow for poor weather, tiredness, etc, so it was nice to have an easier day. I felt obliged to have the Welsh pie (essentially a lamb variation of shepherd’s pie with cheese on top) which was very tasty.