26-04-2025
North Wales bakery where long queues form to buy their giant oggies and 'gorgeous' cakes
We had built up a bit of an appetite as we headed to the Point of Ayr lighthouse in Talacre. The grade 2 listed structure dates back to 1776 and is said to be haunted by the old lighthouse keeper who still looks out to sea.
We didn't see a ghost but the beach was packed full of tourists, dog walkers and families. We saw a long queue forming outside an unassuming bakery, which had notices in the window re a Point of Ayr reunion and a dog questionnaire.
There was also a specials board offering 'doorstep cheese on toast' for £3.90 or 'hot baps' with various fillings.
Clwyd Bakeries are an award-winning bakery, who have sites in Prestatyn, Rhyl and Ewloe, as well as Talacre. The bakery was really busy, partly due to the many caravan sites in the area.
We saw a poster on the wall about the legendry "Welsh Oggie'. The oggie is our regional version of the Cornish Pasty. The Cornish pasty evolved for tin miners, who were unable to return to the surface at lunchtime, so had a hearty, easy to hold and eat lunch. The Welsh Oggie had the same premise but are much larger in size.
The oggie behind the Clwyd Bakery counter, dwarfed the other pasties and pies on display. I said to my wife, that it looks like its going to take two of us to carry the oggie out of the shop. We were asked by a polite member of staff, if we wanted the giant oggie heated up.
We ate our goodies on one of the benches placed directly outside of the bakery. There were a few seagulls keeping a close eye on proceedings from the top of the building, but they left us alone.
Instead of being filled with the traditional Welsh ingredients of lamb and leeks, this one contained mince beef and potato. We encountered huge chunks of potato in the savoury flaky crust, and wondered how the miners produced any work after eating these simple but massive pasties.
Of course, we weren't finished there, as we were in a cake shop after all. We ordered a cream scone and a gorgeous looking toffee cream choux bun for dessert.
Cream replaced butter in our deliciously light and airy scone. The cream scone was served cold straight from the fridge, so it wasn't as soft as it would be in a tea room. We still never left a single crumb for the seagulls though.
We also went for another dose of fresh cream with our choice of a toffee choux bun. It was a fun twist on the classic French choux pastry. This golden bun had a rich delicious salted caramel taste with an elegant sugar hit.
Although I didn't look very elegant, sitting on an outside picnic table with cream and toffee all over my face.
Other offerings in the bakery included things like breakfast rolls for £6, pork pies for £2.80 or veggie Jamaican pasties for £2.80. There were an abundance of freshly baked cakes such as vanilla slices, Viennese whirls, jam tarts and egg custards on display. Although, all the goods were disappearing really quickly as the hungry hordes descended on the humble bakery.
Many sightings of a ghost on top of the Point of Ayr lighthouse have been reported in the past. Mediums have described sensing a presence of a man who had his heart broken. Perhaps, he had his heart broken because Clwyd Bakeries had run out of those delicious giant Wesh Oggies?
