A walk down the beach of Porth Dafarch (From a 'lockdown' armchair) - Richard Janes
Weather looks good and all your mates are out. Where shall we go? …. 'Dafarch!' Great beach, easy (free) parking, toilets (usually) and easy access to stunning paddling with opportunities for everyone. Porth 'Dafarch' is the put in for many adventures and the take out for much relief. Sometimes.
The origin of the name Dafarch was probably from a persons name; 'Tafarch'. In documents the name has been recorded as Porth Davagh, ("Davagh's Harbour") (1545), Porth Daverch (1878), Porth y Dafarch (1799), Porth y Daferch (1789), and the present Porth Dafarch (since 1838). I prefer to believe the less likely origin, 'Dau Farch'; two stallions. Especially when considering a frequent objective of a launch from here are the tide races of Penrhyn Mawr and South Stack!
How did we get to Porth Dafarch?
Maybe we were staying at Anglesey Outdoors. As we drive down Cwm y Creigiau (Valley of the rocks), take a moment to stop at the 'T' junction with the coast road and look over the wall. Here we can see the remains of late Neolithic hut circles Cytiau'r Gwyddelod (Irishman's Huts) occupied through to the Roman period. When excavated by Lord Stanley in the 1870's the handle of an Iron Age tankard was found. The symbol of a chieftains hospitality.
Thank you Stephen Miles for this addition. .. Handle of a tankard? Hmmm...I'm rather sure 'Saturday Gang' ( An eclectic mix of now ageing paddlers had a beer here once)
Porth Dafarch was used from the mid-17th to early-19th century as an alternative to the main port of Holyhead when it was affected by adverse weather conditions in the Irish Sea. Passengers would use the sheltered bay to set sail for Dublin. However, with the commencement of a steam service in 1822 and the construction of the Holyhead Breakwater, Porth Dafarch was no longer required as an alternative port.
Porth Dafarch is created from Precambrian rock. 'Cambria' is the Latinised name for Wales, where rocks from this age were first studied. Pre (before) Cambrian accounts for 88% of the Earth's geologic time.
Walking down onto the beach, immediately turn right, over the little stream where we often rinse sand off boots at the end of the day. A little further on can be found folded rocks from the South Stack Group of sandstones and siltstone below the sea wall. The rocks are folded in such a way to indicate they relate to the overturned limb of a major anticline (upward closing arch like fold) that dominates the coastline for several kms to the North and South.
Crossing back to the South side of the beach we again see examples of the South Stack Group of sandstones and mudstones with small scale folds plunging NE. These rocks are grey (ish) in colour.
We then come to another feature, a dolerite dyke. Dolerite is a fine grained rock of darker composition. A dyke is an igneous (formed from molten rock) intrusion into the surrounding rock. This dyke is about 16m wide and its continuation can be seen near the electricity substation on the other side of the bay. Displaced, because a fault runs up the valley to the NE of the beach!
Depending on the tide, we may have got our feet wet? Small discomfort for us but think of the biology that has to live hereabouts?
Let's walk back up to the top of the beach....
On the rocks, above the sea we find the 'splash zone'. One of the most inhospitable regions on the planet. High salt content, extreme temperatures between night and day, desiccating....And you might get dumped on by passing seagulls!
Orange, white and grey lichens are found up here and also some of the beautiful, whiskery sea-ivory.
Lichens are are well adapted and live a symbiotic life. The bulk of a lichen is fungus with threads of mycelium forming an attachment to the rock. Algal cells are near the light and photosynthesise. Water is provided by the fungus which can store up to 35 times its volume, when available.
Phew!! A lot of virtual wandering and thinking. If folk are interested, we can continue the 'story' by dropping down from the 'splash zone' and exploring some of the biology and further chats about the rocks.
I think the van is open at the top of the beach. Anyone for an ice cream?
