Wales

Plas yn Rhiw and Rhiw village walk

A view of the curving white-sand beach of Hell's Mouth Bay with bright green trees and woodland in the foreground seen from Plas yn Rhiw estate, Gwynedd, Wales — Hell's Mouth Bay from Plas yn Rhiw estate, Gwynedd, Wales | © National Trust Images/Joe Cornish

A relatively short but quite challenging walk with coastal views and fascinating history. Head up through coastal woodland to the village of Rhiw, skirting around the base of the mountain and back down to Plas yn Rhiw along country lanes.

Near to

Plas yn Rhiw

Start point

Car park at Plas yn Rhiw, grid ref: SH237282

The route begins by following a section of the Wales Coast Path through wooded pasture, along a grassy footpath on uneven ground, which can get muddy with some steep sections. You will cross over a wooden footbridge and pass through several kissing gates.

The rest of the route follows country lanes with tarmac and also involves crossing a busier road at several points. Please be aware of traffic.
Total stages: 12
Total stages: 12
Start point
Car park at Plas yn Rhiw, grid ref: SH237282
Stage 1
Turn left from Plas yn Rhiw car park, walk up the steep road towards Rhiw and look out for the second blue Coast Path sign on your left.
Porth Neigwl
Enjoy views of Porth Neigwl, a 3.5 mile long beach. It was once a historically infamous spot, with records of more than 140 shipwrecks in this bay alone. Today, Porth Neigwl is a popular site for surfers, with some of North Wales's best and most reliable surf breaks. Porpoise and bottlenose dolphins can be seen here, too, and the soft cliffs are one of the last sites in the UK where the large mason bee is still recorded; a solitary bee that relies on soft eroded cliffs for nesting and the bird’s foot trefoil plant for forage.
Stage 2
Go through the black kissing gate on your left and follow the Coast Path sign leading you into a field.
Stage 3
Follow the coast path signs leading you through a recently planted area of native trees and down towards Garth Woods, which you’ll see ahead of you.
Coed Garth
Coed Garth is a small (13.5-acre) ancient woodland which is unusual on Llŷn – because of its proximity to the sea and coastal heathlands. This woodland is a great place for bluebells, with extensive carpets of them in April and May, and a variety of fungi in the autumn and into winter. The edge of the woodland is also a great place to spot and hear both green and greater spotted woodpeckers, which both like to nest in and feed from the dead standing trees found here. Some tree planting work has been completed in the field leading you towards Garth woods. The aim is to create a wood pasture parkland on the edge of the main woodland itself.
Stage 4
Cross the wooden bridge into the woodland and follow the trail that climbs up the slope.
Stage 5
A kissing gate leads you out of the woodland. Go through this gate and turn right to continue following the Coast Path signs up the steep slope. At the next Coast Path sign, turn right and follow the stone wall up the slope.
Stage 6
As the slope begins to level off, turn right, following a ‘circular walk’ and up past Pant, a National Trust holiday cottage.
Stage 7
Continue up the hill leading you through two separate gates and into the village of Rhiw.
Stage 8
On rejoining the road, turn left, walk a short distance past Capel Nebo on your left and up to the crossroads in the middle of the village.
Stage 9
Turn right at the crossroads following the 'Sarn 3½ miles' sign.
Stage 10
Follow the road past the old school and the village hall on the left, and up to a junction on a corner. Turn right at the blue sign which reads ‘Unsuitable for wide vehicles’.
Stage 11
Follow this road for about 600 metres, until you reach St Aelrhiws church. Turn right at the junction below the church with a red post box on it.
Mynydd Rhiw's past
An axe factory was discovered on Mynydd Rhiw in the 1950s during gorse burning. It is assumed that the site dates to between the 5th and 3rd millennium BC (the Neolithic period). It consists of several round hollows where rocks were excavated and flaked to produce various tools, such as axes and scrapers. These were traded widely over a very long period during the Neolithic and early Bronze ages. This special place helps to reveal a picture of life on the flanks of Mynydd Rhiw at the end of the Stone Age. The remains show how Neolithic people strived to quarry a type of rock especially suitable for the manufacture of stone axes and other tools of great importance to their way of life.
Stage 12
Follow the winding road down, back into the trees, past the tea-room and towards Plas yn Rhiw. Continue down the road to the junction and turn left to return to the car park. Please take care when crossing the main road.
End point
Car park at Plas yn Rhiw, grid ref: SH237282
Trail map
Plas yn Rhiw walk map | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
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The house at Plas yn Rhiw, framed with bright azaleas and the new leaves of box hedges, in Gwynedd, Wales

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Plas yn Rhiw, Rhiw, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, LL53 8AB

01758780219

plasynrhiw@nationaltrust.org.uk

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Explore some of the finest landscapes in our care on coastal paths, accessible trails, woodland walks and everything in between. Find the best places to walk near you.

Near to

Start point

Trail information

Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

Getting here

Facilities

Accessibility

Terrain and elevation

Trail route

Total stages: 12

Total stages: 12

Start point

Stage 1

Point of interest

Stage 2

Stage 3

Point of interest

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Stage 7

Stage 8

Stage 9

Stage 10

Point of interest

Stage 11

Point of interest

Stage 12

Point of interest

End point

Trail map

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