| The starting point for the trek is the Porth-y-Nant
upper car park. The car park is easily reached by a
road that leads off the B4417 and up out of the village
of Llithfaen signposted to Porth-y-Nant National Language
Centre, follow it for a mile and you'll reach a large
car park next to a forestry plantation. From the car
park you will see a bridleway heading North East away
from the car park, take this bridleway as it heads towards
the pass between the main Yr Eifl peak and the most
northern and sea bound peak.
Yr Eifl from Port-y-Nant
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Yr Eifl Ascent Path
|
From the bridleway looking left towards the seascape
you will see an interesting valley below. The Vortigern
Valley or as it is correctly named in welsh Nant Gwrtheyrn
is full of mystical legendary tales and a daunting industrial
past. The valley gets its name from the Celtic leader
named Vortigern who is said to have lived and died in
the valley. The scars on the hillsides of the valley
show the remains of the Porth-y-Nant quarry. A village
consisting of 24 workmen's houses, a foreman's house
with a cooperative shop and bakery built behind it and
a mansion and chapel, was built in 1863. After the decline
of the quarry the last inhabitants left the extremely
inaccessible village in 1959 leaving what looked to
those who dared the steep incline as a lost village.
In 1978 however work began on improving the road access
and refurbishing the lost village into a National Language
Centre. The modern facilities now house accommodation
for up to 58 educational residents and the chapel is
now also used as a local community centre.
Yr Eifl Northern Peak
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Gyrn Ddu and Gyrn Goch
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The bridleway is very clear but is soiled by much industrial
waste from the existing and past quarrying activities.
Continue along the bridleway for about a mile until
you reach the Bwlch yr Eifl, a mountain pass between
Yr Eifl's main peak and the northern peak which is now
fenced off for safety reasons due to the quarrying activities.
The northern peak of Yr Eifl is one of the messiest
hills I have ever seen as it has been heavily over quarried.
To the north the view is however breath taking, the
high Snowdonia mountains are within range and the view
over Caernarfon Bay sweeping from left to right, the
outline of Anglesey, the golden shores of the beaches
and the small yet impressive hills of Gyrn Ddu and Gyrn
Goch.
A path now heads to the right or south east from Bwlch
yr Eifl. This path is very obvious and clear however
for some unknown reason is still not defined on any
Ordnance Survey map. Take this path as it becomes more
of a gradient heading directly towards Yr Eifl's highest
peak. After half a mile the path becomes engulfed in
heather and boulders. The path go to the left slightly
passing over much larger boulders before eventually
reaching the impressive summit trig point cairn and
a large circular shelter.
Yr Eifl Summit Cairn
|
Views towards Snowdonia
|
From the summit of Yr Eifl at only 564m you still get
a fantastic panoramic 360 view and a unique perspective
of the Lleyn Peninsula. The close proximity to the sea
can also make Yr Eifl feel much higher than it actually
is. The views to the south are of Tremadog Bay and Harlech
Sands, the view to the east are of the high Snowdonia
peaks and the views north and west are of the Irish
Sea and the Lleyn Peninsula. Looking closely by to the
south you should now be able to make out the iron age
fort of Tre'r Ceiri on Yr Eifl's south east peak, the
next objective of the trek.
A rough path leads south then south east from the summit
winding down through the boulders and then the heather
clad south side of Yr Eifl. The path is quite thin in
places and care should be taken as the path passes over
many small boulders and heather covered ankle breaking
holes. There are a few paths that go of to the right
however try and stick to the main path which after heading
down will then bend off to the left to approach Tre'r
Ceiri from the north side.
Tre'r Ceiri from Yr Eifl
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Path to Tre'r Ceiri
|
After crossing the heather land between the highest
peak and the south east peak the path will eventually
make the small ascent of Tre'r Ceiri. An opening in
the wall on this the north side will lead you inside
the fort. Tre'r Ceiri is an elongated enclosure inside
which are the remains of over a hundred circular dry
stone iron age huts. The meaning of Tre'r Ceiri is often
a debatable one, most say that it stands for Town Of
The Giants relating the word Ceiri with the welsh word
for giants of Cewri, however others who may well have
a point seem to think that the word Ceiri is a plural
of the welsh word Caer meaning castle or fortress, which
in a way would make more sense.
There was an extensive survey in 1956 from which evidence
of occupation during the Roman period and earlier was
found, most of the finds at Tre'r Ceiri were found to
be between 150 to 400 A.D. In more recent years the
Tre'r Ceiri has rightly been taken over by local and
national conservational groups to preserver the area.
The maintenance work and conservation work carried out
was vital.
Tre'r Ceiri Gate
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Tre'r Ceiri Hut Circles
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Take the path that follows the walls left passing many
of the fascinating round hut remains. The path will
lead to the summit of this smaller peak where a cairn
and information board can be found. Follow the path
round the opposite side of the wall now and head eventually
to the south west end of the fort and to the opening
back through the wall into the heather moorland. A path
now leads in a south westerly direction crossing a wall
after a mile then continuing over the moorland. Before
the path turns into a much wider affair, after passing
the highest Yr Eifl peak simply head in a north westerly
direction taking much smaller paths around the hill
and back to the Porth-y-Nant car park.
|
Duration
: 3.5 Hrs
