Conwy Morfa

The Conwy Morfa (Welsh: Morfa Conwy) is a piece of originally marshy-sand based spit, north of the western end of the modern A55 entrance to Conwy in Conwy county borough, north-west Wales.

Known locally as "The Morfa" (Welsh, Y Morfa), it shapes the south side of the estuary of the River Conwy. Today a large sandy bay, which at low tide forms part of the extensive sandy beaches and mussel banks of Conwy Bay, Conwy Morfa has many developments on its land, including:

In 1869, three Scots laid out a few holes on Conwy Morfa - they may have been the first to play golf on Welsh soil. In 1875 members from The Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake realised the potential of the Conwy Morfa, and had a 12-hole course professionally laid out. On 30 June 1890 The Caernarvonshire (Conwy) Golf Club was formed, and on 30 July the Club's first Captain, Mr. Sydney Platt opened the club house - a donated military mess hut from the local army base. In 1895, the club became one of the founding members of the Welsh Golfing Union, and after extending the course to eighteen holes staged the first Welsh National Championship.

Today it is a typical links course, with an abundance of gorse and wind adding to the challenge. Douglas Adams the golfing painter created three of his most famous paintings on the Conwy Morfa: 'A Difficult Bunker, 'The Putting Green' and 'The Drive'. These are on display in the present club house, completed in 1996, the fifth since 1875.

There is a debate as to who came up with the design for the Mulberry Harbour, but what is known is that a North Walian civil engineer Hugh Iorys Hughes was given the task of proving one of the competing designs - the one he had most input to. The prototypes were constructed at the Morfa, with the area transformed into a huge construction site and over 1000 labourers were drafted in. These included Oleg Kerensky, son of former Russian Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky, who supervised the construction process. Hughes constructed three 'Hippo' caissons, which were towed from the Morfa to the test site Rigg Bay, Solway Firth near Garlieston, Scotland. When full production started, the main location was on a site behind what is now the second green, before being launched into the River Conwy estuary for their journey south and ultimately to play a key role in the D-Day landings

...
Wikipedia