Porthcawl is built around three very different beaches, the 1930s Grand Pavilion, and one of the great links golf courses in Britain. The harbour and esplanade are walkable from end to end in an hour, and the cliff path north past Rest Bay to Sker House is the best free walk in town. The annual Elvis Festival in September is genuinely huge, and the storms that batter the breakwater in winter draw a small but devoted crowd of photographers.