Box Bay

The clifftop walk along Box Bay delivers proper coastal views without the crowds you'd get at Porthcawl beach itself. You're standing on sandstone cliffs looking straight out to the Bristol Channel - on a clear day you can see right across to the English coast. It's the kind of spot where you arrive expecting ten minutes and end up staying for an hour just watching the light change.

Walkers will find the most value here. There's enough of a clifftop path to justify a decent stroll, and the views shift as you move along. The geology nerds will enjoy spotting the rock layers - proper dramatic striation in the cliffs. Kids will get bored quickly unless they're the type keen on scrambling about on rocks and spotting birds.

There's no visitor facility to speak of, so arrive prepared. Free to access, naturally. Best visited on a higher tide when the bay actually shows character, and late afternoon light hits the cliffs just right. Morning visits can feel a bit washed out.

If you're staying at Trecco Bay Holiday Park just down the coast, Box Bay makes a natural extension to a beach day - five minutes' drive and you've got a totally different perspective. Don't expect facilities or crowds. That's precisely what makes it worth the detour. The walk itself takes twenty minutes either way if you're not lingering, but do linger.