Porth Dafarch

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Porth Dafarch is a sandy beach resort on south coast of Ynys Môn (Isle of Anglesey), north Wales, close to Holyhead. The bay is roughly 100 metres across and opens out south-west into the Irish Sea.

Backed by cliffs and in close proxmity to camp sites, there is sheltered and marked bathing area, rockpooling and rambling. Popular for watersports, particularly windsurfing, surfing, canoeing, sailing and jet skiing.

The geology of the area is mainly foliated schist.

The origins of the name are uncertain. Although some claim that the name is a contraction of "Porth Dau Farch" (Harbour of the Two Stallions), scholars are fairly sure that this is not the case. Indeed, 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) [1]. It has been tentatively suggested that Tafarch (which takes a soft mutation after porth to become 'Dafarch') was a personal name, albeit not a common one. [2]