Bro Nefyn
Pigion Bro
- Pigion Bro
The quaint little town of Nefyn is situated on the northern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula and has a population of 1,228.
Its natural, sheltered harbour means that Nefyn was an important town in its day. Back in 1284, King Edward I chose to hold a tournament in a field to celebrate that he had conquered the whole of Wales. And the Celts had realised the geographical importance of the landscape three centuries before Christ. From their fort on Garn Boduan they enjoyed fantastic views over the Llŷn Peninsula - and were able to defend themselves from attacks on land or sea.
Nefyn is famous for its herrings and the beautiful beach at Porth Dinllaen, and the influence of the sea has been key to the history and economy of Nefyn for centuries.
Nellie Trenholm
92-year-old Nellie Trenholme is one of Nefyn's most colourful characters. She ran a beauty and hair salon in the town for many years, and although she's retired, she continues to cut and style her friends' hair.
Nellie followed in her father's footsteps in becoming a hairdresser. Her dad used to cut hair in the cellar of the house, and although he went to the USA to work as a slate-worker, he continued to cut people's hair when it was needed. Shân visits Nellie at her home to have her hair styled on her trip around Nefyn.
Gareth Gruffydd - Golfer
Gareth Gruffydd, the golfer is "Mr Nefyn Golf". He has been club champion 15 times and he still holds the old course's record of 77, and has done so for 32 years. Over the years he has played many 'interesting' shots, including some which have meant that Gareth has had to climb down some rocks to the beach before hitting the ball back on to the green - and also without going over par. Iolo joins Gareth on the golf course as they try to relive some of Gareth's past experiences playing golf!
Coastguard
Iolo heads over to see the Porthdinllaen Coastguard Team in action on a training session. There are eleven members in the team - and they all have full time jobs so they volunteer as coastguard officials in their spare time.
The team meet on a monthly basis to train together so they are ready to react to any call made by the members of the public, be it a 999 call or a telephone call made by a member of the public reporting a boat or ship which has gone into trouble on rocks or dangerous beaches in the area.
Llŷn Fishermen Society
The Llŷn Fishermen Society are a bunch of fishermen who still continue the tradition of throwing their lobster cages and nets into the sea. There are nearly 8 boats which are owned by the members of the society and that are used for fishing at the moment.
Their latest venture is to fish for whelks but unfortunately, it's impossible to fish for whelks without going out to the sea for a whole day because they are so far away from the shore.
Shân and Iolo travel to Porthdinllaen beach to meet Owie Roberts, the Secretary of the Llŷn Fisherman Society, and Porthdinllaen Harbourmaster, Gruff Williams.
Nefyn Musuem
Nefyn Museum is situated in the town's old church. Although the museum isn't open at the moment, the building holds an interesting and valuable collection. A crew of local people including Councilor Meinir Jones hope to re-open the museum. Meinir takes Shân around the building to see some of the treasures that are kept there.
Gwenda Williams - Daughter of a local ship captain
The ship captain Richard Davies was buried at the Nefyn Cemetery in 1978. His daughter, Gwenda Williams still lives in the town centre. She has a store of treasures that her father brought back from his overseas travels, including an emu egg from Africa and two dolls from Yokohama in Japan.
Among her photographs are some that were taken by her father on the deck of the Monkbarns - the last sailing ship to carry cargo round the Horn. The collection includes pictures of the ship in trouble d hurricane in 1926. Shân calls at Gwenda's house to see her wonderful collection of treasures.
Wini Jones Lewis - Artist
Wini and her husband ran an old people's home for many years in Morfa Nefyn, but decided to close it two years ago as it was such hard work. They have now transformed their house into tea rooms where they serve food for visitors. Wini has also opened a gallery in the house, selling art work made by local artists and some of her own work too.
Wini enjoys painting local views, but can't make a living from just selling paintings, so she is also an art teacher. She usually paints by night at her studio in her home. Shân visits the gallery and tea rooms to see Wini at work.
Elfed Roberts - Londis Shop
Although many of the shops in Nefyn have now closed, there is an interesting crew of young entrepreneurs developing in the town. One of them is 35-year-old Elfed Roberts who runs the Londis shop in Nefyn. Elfed is currently developing the local food side of the shop, and is learning some butcher skills for his new venture.
This year the shop came second in the Best Londis Shop in Britain competition. He employs 35 members of staff, all of those being residents of the town. Nefyn is everything to Elfed, and Shân visits the shop to meet him.
Tegid Williams - Historian
Tegid Williams is a young historian in his twenties, and is a member of staff at the Lloyd George Museum in Llanystumdwy. He specialises in the history of the sea and the type of ships which sailed from Nefyn years ago.
Tegid joins Iolo on a historical trip around Nefyn town to learn more about the area, including the public cemetery where there are 150 gravestones of past captains. They'll also visit Pen y Bryn tower which was built especially for the wives and children of the mariners so they could see which boats were out in the bay and if there was any sign of their husband's or father's ships.