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.