D186: MACHYNLLETH to TYWYN
Wednesday 24th September 2025
Today miles: 15.8 Total miles: 3050.1
The majority of today’s walking involves making my way along the Northern side of the River Dovey, then making my way along the coastline towards the small town of Tywyn. I set off from my campsite and walked the half mile back to the coastal path along Glyndwrs Way. The route descends down to the Western outskirts of Machynlleth As I walked through a short wooded area I spotted an item half buried in the undergrowth. I picked it up and found a small, dirty Paddington Bear teddy. It was soaked and appeared to have been lost for a while. I lost my previous fluffy companion ‘Turtle’ about two years ago and was happy to have found a new ‘friend’. I hope the child who originally owned and then unfortunately lost Paddy forgives me. Around fifteen minutes later I arrived on the road bridge which took be over the River Dovey.
The proper/official Wales coastal path leaves the road and heads further inland and over a series of hills. The route I took stuck closely to the relatively quiet road, it’s closer to the coast and therefore I was happy that I wasn’t breaking my own set of rules. The A493 would take me all the way to the mouth of the River Dovey, around eight miles away. The road is narrow and lined with thousands of oak trees on the right hand side. The trees are currently shredding acorns and there’s millions of these nuts lining the road. Occasionally I would witness an acorn fall to the ground and I was even struck by several these small bombs as I marched along the road. I stopped twice to take in water and enjoy a small snack. My second break was close to the Bryneithyn outward bound centre where dozens of excited and noisy youngsters were climbing into several canoes. The views out across the river were decent and it visibly widened as I continued towards Aberdovey. This small town is pretty and it has an ample amount of facilities. I took another longer break at a cafe overlooking the mouth of the river. At this point I decided to book my campsite at Tywyn, it’s situated half a mile from the coast and close to any facilities that I might need.
There’s a narrow promenade out of Aberdovey before I took to the beach. It’s firm sand and easy to walk along. After around three miles I switched back onto the firstly stone then concrete promenade into Tywyn. It was still fairly early so I took lots of short breaks and chatted with several dog walkers. Shortly after arriving on the campsite I met a man named Geoff who lives permanently in a campervan. He kindly drove me to the local shop and then back to the site. We chatted for a while and drank a few beers before I retired to my tent.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 