12 Best Things To Do In Aberdaron

Aberdaron beach – Traeth Aberdaron – is a fantastic family-friendly beach with gorgeous views. It’s around a mile long in all, from Porth Simdde at the western end to the eastern end, past the church and beyond the village. The terrace at the Ty Newydd Hotel overlooks the beach, and is a great place for a meal and a few drinks on a warm summer evening.

It’s quite a large beach at low tide, but at high tide most of the sand is submerged, as you’ll see from one of the images in the article.

The two islands visible from the beach are often mistaken by visitors for Bardsey. They are Ynys Gwylan Fawr (Big Seagull Island) and Ynys Gwylan Fach (Little Seagull Island).

There’s no more spectacularly sited church in Wales than St Hywyn’s, just above the golden sweep of Aberdaron beach. It’s a glorious sight, and the last stop for pilgrims about to make the treacherous crossing to Bardsey Island.

It may have been founded as early as the 6^th century AD, around the same time as the first monastery on Bardsey. It has two naves – the original one, with its tell-tale round arched Romanesque door, was built in the 12th century. The second one was added in the 15^th century,  as the parish would have had considerable revenue from pilgrims.

The church was restored in the 19th century having fallen into a state of ruin. Between 1967 and 1978, the famous Welsh poet R S Thomas served as Rector of the church and parish, before retiring to a small cottage nearby.

Y Gegin Fawr – The Big Kitchen – is a café in the village centre that was a hostelry for medieval pilgrims travelling onwards to Bardsey. It’s believed to date back around 700 years, and the current building was most likely completed in the 17^th century, making it around 400 years old.

The main building is a small café with a few tables inside and out, serving sandwiches, soups, hot meals, cakes and drinks. And there’s also a little ice cream booth at the back of the building. It’s a lovely place to stop by for half an hour or so.

In the Middle Ages, three pilgrimages to Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli) were considered by the Vatican to bring the same spiritual benefits as one to Rome.  I’m inclined to say it should be the other way around. Rome is so easy to reach in the 21^st century, whereas the trip to Bardsey – in my view the best of all pilgrimages in Wales –  takes you on an adventure, through some of the most sublime coastal scenery in Europe.

And there’s no guarantee, when you get to the boat in Aberdaron, that you’ll make it across to the island, as the stretch of water between it and the mainland is treacherous.  The island’s Welsh name, Ynys Enlli means ‘island of currents’, and there are certainly plenty of those around.

I think I have some sort of personal jinx when it comes to Bardsey. I’ve booked three sailings to the island, all of which have been cancelled. I’ve stayed in the area around Aberdaron for several weeks, spread over fifteen years, and never got a break for a sailing. I’ve been to Aberdaron more times than I can remember. But I still haven’t managed to set foot on Bardsey.

Bardsey’s reputation as a holy island goes back to the 6^th century AD, when a monastery was founded there, most likely by St Cadfan. His monastery was replaced 700 years later by the Augustinian Abbey of St Mary, which remained in operation until Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537.

The island has long been known as the Isle of 20,000 Saints. It’s doubtful that that many saints are buried there  – that’s nearly double the number recognized by the Roman Catholic Church! But some local saints may well have been laid to rest there, and this is probably true of the many monks who worshipped there for around a millennium.

An old friend has maintained a tradition of visiting Bardsey with a group of her friends for over thirty years. She has said that it’s the most peaceful place she has ever visited, and that it’s also a wonderful place for wildlife, particularly grey seals, including puffins, choughs and Manx shearwaters.

Boat trips to Bardsey depart from Porth Meudwy, a small harbour (signposted) a mile from the village.

See Also: Welsh Islands – The Ultimate Guide To 22 Of The Best Islands In Wales To Visit

The Best View of Bardsey Island – From St Mary’s Well

Bardsey Island in springtime

You can’t see Bardsey from Aberdaron village, as it’s hidden behind the headland to the right (north).

For the best view of the island, follow the road towards Uwchmynydd, taking a left at the crossroads on the road out of the village. Stay on this road, passing two campsites and the Ty Newydd Café. When you reach a bend in the road, you’ll see the island on your left, and plenty of parking space on the grass either side of the road.

As you’ll see it’s a wondrous spot, and you can follow the Coast Path in either direction from there.

Coast Walks Near Aberdaron

I’ve walked much of the 870 miles of the Wales Coast Path, and believe that the section around Aberdaron is one of the best three sections along the entire Welsh coastline.

The Aberdaron coast is among the most dramatic in Wales, with long sections of cliffs, mountains within metres of the sea, with stunning hidden sandy coves and a few larger, longer beaches. There are also some heart-stopping views of Bardsey along the way.

Porth Neigwl – more commonly called Hells Mouth – is rather a long way from anywhere, but for many in North Wales, the Midlands and North West of England, it’s the nearest decent surf beach. So they head out to Hells Mouth throughout the year, and keep on coming back – some people I know have been visiting the beach for over 30 years.

Hells Mouth is a different beast to the other beaches on the Llŷn Peninsula. It faces the southwest, and is exposed to the prevailing winds and waves, which often reach storm force. It’s over three miles long, the strip of sand is relatively narrow, so it’s not a place for families to take the kids for a paddle.

That said, it’s a magnificent sight, especially from around Mynydd y Graig and Mynydd Rhiw, both of which are to the east of Aberdaron.

Access to the beach is from the car park at the Abersoch (east) end of the beach. If you do opt for a windswept walk along the sands, you’ll have plenty of space to yourself. A magical place.  

Plas yn Rhiw is a manor house three miles from Aberdaron, overlooking the vast bay of Porth Neigwl (Hells Mouth). It was originally built in the 17^th century, and its Georgian-style windows suggest that considerable work was done on the house in the 18^th century.

In 1939 the house was acquired by the Keating family (Constance and her daughters Eileen, Lorna and Honora), and they set about restoring the house and its beautiful terraced garden. It was lived in until 1981, after which it was donated to the National Trust.

The interior of the house – which is closed until late 2025 – is wonderful, with thick stone walls and original furniture and decorations owned by the Keatings.

Porth Dinllaen is one of the most beautiful villages in North Wales, a tiny hamlet with a pub on a sheltered beach, surrounded by some of the most beautiful coastal scenery in the UK.

We’ve stopped by at Porth Dinllaen a great many times. There are barely ten houses in the village, and one of these is the Ty Coch Inn, the red-painted building at the bottom of the path down. The walk from the beach to the bar is something like ten metres, so it’s not a great surprise to learn that it’s always voted one of the best pubs in Wales.

Porth Dinllaen can be reached from the nearby village of Morfa Nefyn, or if you can grab a spot, from the car park at Nefyn & District Golf Club. From the golf club car park it’s an 800-metre walk along the course – you reach the short, steep downhill path to the beach after about ten minutes.

Abersoch is only ten miles from Aberdaron but is very different in feel. It has been heavily developed over the years, with plenty of boutique accommodation and upmarket restaurants – far more than anywhere else on the Llŷn Peninsula.

Abersoch is as lovely as it always was, with its pretty harbour and long beach lined with higgledy-piggledy painted huts along the top of the sand dunes. And the views across Tremadog Bay to Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and the Rhinog range to the south are breathtaking.

But it has also lost something over the years.  As soon as we drove out of the village on the road towards Porth Ceiriad beach to the south, it felt different, like we were back on the Llŷn, like we had just left an exclave behind. Porth Ceiriad is a gorgeous beach on the coast path, and there was hardly a soul around. This was much more like it.

Caernarfon Castle is one of the greatest Castles in North Wales, and part of the first Welsh World Heritage Site, the Castles and Walled Towns of Edward I in Gwynedd. Caernarfon is possibly the most famous of the four (the others are Conwy, Harlech and Beaumaris). It’s probably better known than the others because it’s where the then Prince Charles was invested as Prince of Wales in 1969.

The Castle is the most formidable of Welsh castles, a stupendous fortress guarding the estuary of the Seiont river and the southern entrance to the Menai Strait.  It is augmented by a fine set of town walls, which run along the seafront to the north of the castle. The complete circuit is still intact after over 740 years.

There are enough things to do in Caernarfon to warrant a stay, particularly if you’re planning a few forays into Eryri, better known as the Snowdonia National Park. It’s the northern gateway to the Llŷn Peninsula, and is an hour’s drive from Aberdaron.  Caernarfon is also the northern terminus of the Welsh Highland Railway, one of the most scenic narrow gauge railways in Wales.

The Italianate village of Portmeirion brings a touch of the Italian Riviera to the North Wales coast. It’s a holiday village, the lifelong project of architect Sir Clough Williams Ellis, a wonderful place of whimsy and fantasy that draws visitors from around the world.

Williams Ellis designed some of the buildings in the village and ‘rescued’ others, including the Bristol Colonnade on the main piazza. These would otherwise have been demolished, but got a second life in this gorgeous spot.

The cottages in the village are all available for holiday rental, and you can also stay at the beachside Hotel Portmeirion, or the restored 19^th-century castle, Castell Deudraeth, on the hill above the village.

The village overlooks the Dwyryd estuary. At high tide the water comes up to the shore, and it’s a popular paddleboarding spot at this time of day. At low tide, the estuary turns into a vast beach, a great place to walk along the shoreline for a while.

See Also: 11 Best Things To Do In Portmeirion

Where Is Aberdaron

Aberdaron is at the southwestern tip of the Llŷn Peninsula, in the county of Gwynedd in North West Wales.  

Here are some sample distances from nearby towns in North Wales, and some major cities in England:

Pwllheli to Aberdaron – 17 miles

Caernarfon to Aberdaron – 34 miles

Porthmadog to Aberdaron – 30 miles

Llandudno to Aberdaron – 62 miles

Liverpool to Aberdaron – 105 miles

Manchester to Aberdaron – 130 miles

Birmingham to Aberdaron – 148 miles

London to Aberdaron – 262 miles