Nefyn Coastal walk

'Beaches and cliffs in equal measure'

Date: 8 July 2012                                         Start time: 10:14

Start point: Caeau Capel Hotel, Nefyn - SH306407

Walkers: Mark Illingworth, Emma Lever

Distance: 9.19miles                                      Time: 3:38:35

Route: Turn R out of hotel drive and take path L just after gate. Follow path to coastal cliff top then onto road. Follow road R then cross road ahead at T junction and take upper path along cliff tops that starts next to 'turreted' house. Follow this path round cliff tops out to point of Penhryn Nefyn and along to road that drops R to beach at Morfa Nefyn. Go down to beach and walk W across sands. Walk past houses and a pub at Porth Dinllian and take path over rocks to lifeboat station. Follow path up towards coastguard lookout, being mindful of golf balls from your S. Head to clear track running S alongside golf course fairway. Follow this as it becomes a lane leading to club house. Take road from golf club SE to Morfa Nefyn and take L at crossroads to head N towards beach. Just before beach, take steps R up to cliff top coastal path and follow this back the way you came. However, at lane on compulsory diversion, follow the lane until it turns sharply R and a path goes L through a field to coast. Take path and turn R through gate on leaving field. Follow coastal path back to turreted house and follow first L off road. Follow this road around to hotel start point.

Weather: Mostly mild but with some drizzle, particularly on second half of walk. Clouds were low all around and there was the odd sensation of there appearing to be no clear horizon out to sea because of how the clouds met the water in the distance.

Notes: Porth Nefyn beach has a touch of the idyllic and old fashioned about it. An optimistic cafe and ice cream shop called 'Oasis' complete with wind battered palm trees is at one end of the beach and a neat little harbour with white washed fisherman's cottages at the other end, with a line of colourful little cabins backed up to the sea wall in between. It has probably been the inspiration for many photographs and paintings from Victorian times, and it was the least tired looking part of the town really. Along the path above the bay were many monument benches to those who had clearly loved the place and possibly lost their lives nearby. Unfortunately for some, the placement wasn't always great. A couple fronted up to overgrown shrubbery masking the sea views, and one bench very oddly faced inland looking at a field and some houses.

If Porth Nefyn was picturesque, Porth Dinllean was picture postcard perfect. The painted red pub framed by cottages, fronted by a variety of boats and with sandy beach to rest on and green cliffs behind - it looks almost the perfect little seaside resort for those who loath crowds. Even to get there by car meant driving through a golf course, so secluded was this little bay. And just around the headland by the lifeboat station was an even more secluded perfectly golden sandy cove.

Seabirds were in abundance round the Porth Dinllean headland with its rocky outcrops, but my recently found bravery with birds was seriously put to the test by one bird - I think it was maybe a wren. I must have wandered close to its nest as it came squawking and swooping at me from above. I scarpered sharpish away to a little further inland and literally landed on a putting green - the map doesn't quite show it by Nefyn and District Golf Club comes right out onto the headland with a short par three teeing off from the coastguard lookout and a shared fairway of one hole out and another back in filling the width of the headland. The paths went very close to some of the greens and there is certainly the chance to be hit if the golfer doesn't do what is probably necessary and shoot it low under the winds. We saw one golfer get close on the par three, whilst his lady companion seemed to get away with a provisional shot on each hole. She seemed like an annoying snobbish kept woman. The coastguard was nice though, he told s they sometimes get dolphins and have seals turning up regularly. He thought he saw one whilst we we talking with him, but we didn't see it. I was disappointed not to see anything on our walks around this part of the coast as I expected it most here. Apparently they were more likely to appear at low tide, but it seemed we always caught the tide coming in. 

The golf course was quite impressive, running right along the cliff tops and up the head land. A shared fairway ran up the headland that was barely wider than a decent sized garden at its narrowest and you could see the bays on both sides standing on the middle of it.

Notes on Nefyn: Lets start with the Caeau Capel Hotel - the weirdest hotel I've ever stayed at. From the outside it looked like a once rather wonderful home or hotel had faded to something rather unloved and untended to. On the back was an extension that in 1970 would have looked thoroughly modern and tasteful. In 2012 it looks more out of place and ugly than stylish and modern. The decor, artwork and ornaments were all pretty awful and very out dated. The 'cocktail lounge' was open once for a brief period during the whole weekend we were there. We first saw this room in the dark and were rather firghtened by the life size model/mannequin in the corner all armoured up. The owner/hostess Ruth Stagg seemed as mental as some of the hideous paintings and porcelain animals she had on display. She was of foreign origin, somewhere like France maybe, but she spoke so fast that she was hard to follow. On a better note, the rest of the staff (apart from her rude southern husband) were very nice, the bed was comfortable, the shower was decent and the breakfast was good.
The hotel - old, tired, in need of a touch up - was a fair reflection of the town really. A lot of houses through the main road seemed up for sale, shop premises were boarded up or empty, and the roads were in the process of an upgrade. There seemed to be only one pub (that was attached to a hotel and restaurant) in business, another one was closed down. There was an Indian restaurant called 'Little India'. We ate there, the prices were reasonable and the food was quite good. I liked the samosas, which were amongst the nicest I've ever had. Emma had a house unique curry that was good. I had a reasonable Pathia. We had the stupid desserts that you only find in Asian food outlets. Little India was the only place we were sure was open in the own. There were two cafes we never saw open and a chip shop, as well as two convenience stores. The peninsula brewery was also based here - I had a few of their beers in Aberdaron and they were good, but the bottles we saw for sale were really pricey. The seafront was nice, but I've described that in the notes on the above walk.
I would say Nefyn was the least favoured place we visited. The lack of places to eat and drink was disappointing. So much so that we left the town on our second evening. We wanted to visit Whistling Sands but the weather prevented us on our way to Nefyn, so when the sun shone on the Saturday we took our chance. We stopped for food on the way in Tudweiliog at The Lion Hotel. The food was very good. Emma had gammon and I had rib-eye. The meat was perfectly done. The pudding was brilliant too - I had a toffee, fudge and ice cream creation that was one of the nicest desserts I've ever had in a pub. On from there was Whistling Sands (Porth Oer). I would really recommend a visit here - the sand really does whistle (well, its more of a yelp or a squeak but that wouldn't have the same ring to it) and the bay looks perfect and unspoiled once you're past the little shop. You'll start to wonder why all sand doesn't make noise - that's the one drawback really, all normal sand will now become disappointing!