Llanbedrog, Wales

22nd-25th September

I went to Wales with a group of friends for a weekend getaway. We rented an Air BnB between a group of ten in the area of Abersoch. The property hosted plenty of bedrooms, great views of the sea, and a swimming pool. We didn’t have many plans other than having a splash in the water and getting the wood fire going, but some of us mustered up the energy to explore the local countryside.

We drove to Llanbedrog beach and found what we thought to be an ‘easy’ route on the OS maps app. We parked opposite some colourful beach huts, then went to investigate the shore. Our path led up to a viewing point marked by the ‘tin man’ sculpture. The ascent was unexpectedly difficult and we had to stop and catch our breath a few times. Once we were ready to go back down again, it had started to get dark. We all turned on our phone lights and carefully made our way back down, with a few pee stops on the way.

Despite being a last minute hike that didn’t cover much ground, it was surprisingly challenging. Steep steps guided us both up and down, we were provided with rope bannisters to cling onto and this made for tough work. A descent in dark, slippery conditions was a little treacherous, but we made it back safe and sound. We took a detour to Lidl so that we could cook a big dinner for everyone (pasta with garlic bread). It was a very enjoyable weekend, with good company, good food and lots of fun.

The ‘tin man’, known as the ‘iron man’ to some locals, has had an interesting history. He first incarnation was a wooden figure head from a boat, installed in 1919 by Solomon Andrews. Unfortunately, he was vandalised, but a local artist called Simon Van de Put created a replacement sculpture which was erected in 1980. This man was constructed from metal, but because the material hadn’t been treated, by 1987 all that was left of him were his boots. The third and final installation was again created by local talent. Berwyn Jones, David Jones and Hugh Jones can all be credited with this accomplishment. The ‘tin man’ as we know today was helicoptered into position in 2002.

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