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Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it

Wednesday July 12th 2017 - Part 1 - Nefyn beach

The previous night's metaphorical finger-crossing had obviously worked as I woke that morning to sunshine and an almost cloudless blue sky, perfect for some exploration and photography. I would normally wait until later in the holiday to have what I call 'my big day out' off the island but knowing how changeable the weather can be there was no time like the present.

About seventeen years ago, when I was with my partner, we had discovered by accident a rather out-of-the-way beach somewhere along the Llyn peninsula; after that one visit we had never been back there but I'd never forgotten it, and though I've tried to find it myself three times in the last few years I've drawn a blank each time. I'd got to the point of thinking that maybe it had been a dream, although I knew it wasn't, then just recently I hit on the idea of using Google Maps to see if I could find it. It took a bit of studying but I found it eventually - it was at Nefyn, a little place I'd passed through on my search for it a couple of years ago. The lane leading down to it was clearly showing on the map so I couldn't think how I'd missed it, but when I actually got there I realised why.

As I drove through the village I was looking for a sign for 'beach' but there was nothing, and I knew if I went far enough I would end up in the golf club car park above Porth Dinllaen which is exactly what happened last time, so I turned round, went back to where I could park up, and walked along the road until I found the lane I was looking for. With a name like Beach Road (although written in Welsh as Lon Y Traeth) it had to be the right one so I went back to get the van; I remembered that the end of the lane had gone down a very steep hill with a double bend and I was right, it was certainly steep but I got down safely and parked in one of the handful of spaces overlooking the beach.

There was a cafe near the bottom of the hill but it was closed - it had been closed all those years ago too - and a concrete slipway leading from the end of the lane straight onto the beach. A couple of dozen beach huts were set back against the wall at the bottom of the cliff and further round the bay were three or four cottages and a handful of what appeared to be holiday chalets or possibly fishing shacks. A harbour wall and a dozen or so small fishing boats completed the picture; it looked a lovely quaint little place and I was glad I'd finally found it after all this time.



Setting off along the sand I walked from one end of the beach to the other and back, stopping every so often to take a photo - and there were plenty of opportunities as it was such a scenic little place. Nestled at the base of the cliff and so close to the water it was hard to believe that anyone actually lived there but there was evidence that a few people did and one of the cottages was undergoing some work.



When I'd seen just about everything of interest - these are just a handful of the photos I took - I made my way back to the van, and as I drove back up the hill I could understand why there probably wasn't a sign for the beach. The lane was narrow, the hill and the bends were steep, and parking was limited to just a dozen or so spaces, so a sign could very well encourage more people and vehicles than the little place could handle. I was glad I'd finally found it after so long though - at least I'd proved to myself that it hadn't been a figment of my imagination all those years ago, and now I know where it is I'll certainly go back there sometime in the near future.



10 comments:

  1. his was superb to read and the photo;s as usual awesome to view.
    Thanks for a lovely trip

    Yvonne.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it Yvonne, thanks for the comment :)

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  2. Replies
    1. It certainly does, it's a lovely little place. I wouldn't mind living there myself :)

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  3. The place is beautiful and I'm glad you found your way to it. As you know, husband and I tried to find the beach ourselves, no signposts and having parked up at the golf club we found it too far for my husband to walk to. Thanks for explaining the road is steep, narrow with bends, that's put me right off driving to it :) Your photos are lovely and on such a nice day too, I'm glad you found it and enjoyed your time there.

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  4. I'm just wondering if you're mistaking this beach for Porth Dinllaen further on - the one where public vehicles aren't allowed? Admittedly it is very confusing! This is the beach I was actually looking for the year before last when I ended up in the golf club car park and discovered Porth Dinllaen - I'd asked someone in the car park where the beach was and they directed me across the golf course. I'd had no idea until then that Porth Dinllaen existed, and as soon as I got there I knew it wasn't the place I was looking for, but it turned out to be a lovely little bonus. I went there again after going to this beach - that's in the next post.

    Going down to this beach isn't actually all that bad if you use first gear and take it slow - I managed fine in the van. If you have a look on Google Maps for Lon Y Traeth, Nefyn, then go into street view you can click your way along the lane almost down to the beach - it'll give you an idea of what it's like to drive down and where to park up. Parking is free and it's worth going just for the view from the parking area :)

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    1. Ignore me Eunice, I am getting mixed up, we didn't find Nefyn or Morfa Nefyn beach which were close to where we were staying at the time. We decided to go to Abersoch and Aberdaron instead :)

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    2. Having two villages next to each other with very similar names is definitely confusing. I think Nefyn beach would be the easiest for you to get to even though the lane is a bit steep - you'll have to take the bull by the horns and try it if you're ever down that way again :)

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  5. What an absolute stunner of a place, the sweeping curve of the bay looks almost too perfect (if that makes sense).

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  6. It's a lovely little place, very photogenic too, and if I'd put all my shots on here this post would be several feet long! :)

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