The town of Nefyn lies on a sandy bay on the north coast of the Llyn Peninsula, with the fishing hamlet of Porth Nefyn at one end nestling under the Penrhyn Nefyn headland. The town was the venue for a tournament held by Edward I of England in 1284 in celebration of his victory over the Welsh. There is an ancient Iron Age Hill Fort called Garn Boduan overlooking the town which has been dated back to 300BC. In the next bay along, the smaller Morfa Nefyn and the tiny harbour village of Porthdinllaen share a curved sandy beach. A golf course overlooking the bay has been built on the site of another Iron Age Hill Fort, Trwyn Dinllaen, which dates from around 100BC.
Looking at the tiny port of Porthdinllaen, it is hard to believe that at one time it was an important shipping centre for the trade with Ireland, with over 700 ships making use of it at the height of these activities. The village even had pretensions to become the main departure point for Ireland in the early 19th century, but Holyhead on Anglesey got the upper hand, leaving Porthdinllaen in its present tranquil state. The main draw nowadays is the Ty Coch Inn right on the water's edge, probably one of the best known pubs in Wales. Built from red brick in 1823, it was originally a vicarage, but after the vicar moved to another dwelling in 1942 the building was turned into an inn, catering for the men engaged in the local shipbuilding industry. The inn was used in the film Half Light starring Demi Moore (see the entry for Malltraeth, 19 March 2014). Adjacent to Porthdinllaen is Lifeboat Bay, home to the Porthdinllaen Lifeboat, which has a long history of saving lives at sea. The whole area around Porthdinllaen and Lifeboat Bay is now owned by the National Trust.
Live streaming webcam view from Ty Coch Inn
Map of the area.
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| PorthdinllaenLB16. Photo by Lesbardd, via Wikimedia Commons. |
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