The stunning Llyn Peninsula points like an arm of a giant into the Irish Sea. The journey to our first Lifeboat Station took just over an hour from our base in Abergele. On the north coast, on its own small peninsula, lies the picturesque fishing village of Porthdinllaen.
Porthdinllaen Lifeboat Station
Nestled at the waters edge at the base of cliffs the historic village is home to a world renowned pub and of course a Lifeboat Station. The area is National Trust owned and getting to the Lifeboat Station is via a track that runs through a golf course. If the gate is shut then the route has to be walked. The track passes along the top of the cliffs and offers spectacular views of the coastline and the village below.
At the far point of the peninsula lies the Lifeboat Station established in 1864. The current station was built into the cliff in 2014. It is a stunning location. We were met at the station by Lifeboat Operations Manager Ken, Coxwain Owain and mechanic Alan. Also on station was Nat, a crew member from Penlee in Cornwall who was undergoing important training on the Tamar. After a welcome cup of tea and a good chat with the crew we were taken on a tour of the station. Owain very kindly allowed us onto their Tamar Class lifeboat to have a look around. The boat, John D Spicer (16-24) is launched on a slipway into the bay, it is also unique in that it does not have a tipping cradle for the boat at the top of the slipway.
The Tamar covers a huge distance supporting stations in Anglesey right down to Aberystwyth. With a range of around 250 nautical miles and a speed of 25 knots, this boat is ideal for the Irish Sea and Cardigan Bay conditions.
After a fascinating visit, Ken guided us back to the shop, located in the old coastguard station next to the golf club. Here, he showed us around and we purchased a pin badge from him. Thank you to Ken and all the crew for an amazing visit.
Abersoch Lifeboat Station
A short drive across the Llyn is the small town of Abersoch. The lifeboat station sits in a boat yard and is a beautiful building constructed of local stone and roofed with Welsh slate. It was built in 1994 and lies next to the creek.
The station houses their Atlantic Class lifeboat, Peter and Ann Setten (B-886). Unfortunately we did not meet anyone at the station so took our required photo and headed onto our next stop.
Pwllheli Lifeboat Station
A little further around the bay lies Pwllheli. On the seaward side at the end of a sandy spit lies the impressive new Lifeboat Station built in 2020 to house a Shannon Class Lifeboat. The building is carbon neutral and features ground source heating and solar panel electricity generation. There has been a lifeboat station in the town since 1891. Built at the mouth of the harbour, this station had doors at both ends to allow launches into the harbour or the beach.
We were greeted at the entrance by volunteer Visits Officer, Ros and her amazing team. She showed us to the crew room offering stunning views across the bay where we met several of the crew including Launch Authority, Lyndsay. We had a fantastic discussion over a cup of tea and learnt a lot about the new station and some of the issues they have had to overcome in recent years. Their Shannon, Smith Brothers (13-39) is among the newest in the fleet having been commissioned in 2021. Unfortunately, it was not at the station during our visit as it was taking part in a historic trip from Liverpool to Manchester as part of a Coast to Cobbles celebration in the 200th anniversary of the RNLI. However, the SLARS (Shannon Launch and Recovery System) was in the station as was their D-Class boat, Robert J Wright (D-811). After some photos with the crew, they invited us to try the clothing used by the crews of the All-Weather Lifeboats. We donned the iconic yellow wellies as well as the Helly Hansen coat, a lifejacket and the white helmet. Allan failed the time required to get kitted out as he couldn’t do the zip up on the jacket. Photo taken and we said our goodbyes to an amazing group of people.
Criccieth Lifeboat Station
Our final visit of the day was to Criccieth, a lovely seaside town with an 1893 stone built boathouse overlooking the bay. There has been a lifeboat station here since 1854 but was closed in 1931. Following a tragedy in 1951 resulting in the loss of 5 lives, the boathouse was reacquired to house a Liverpool class lifeboat. A final rebuild in 2008 was needed to accommodate the larger Inshore Lifeboats and their current Atlantic 85, Frank Townley (B-938). Across the road is a separate boathouse housing their Arancia inshore rescue boat and its launch vehicle.
Unfortunately, there was no one available to meet us at Criccieth so we took our required photos and headed back to base.Another fantastic day and we are so grateful to all the volunteers that took time out of their day to come and meet us. We never take for granted that someone will be available at stations to meet us.
Day 3 sees us heading further south into Mid-Wales.
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