Harlech’s majestic castle stands between the mountains and the sea, on a spur above the coastal plain, the houses, shops and restaurants of the little town clustered around it. At the foot of the slope, where once the water lapped at the castle’s sea-gate, is the railway line, and beyond it in the dunes lies the famous Royal St David’s golf-course; at high tide a really well (or badly!) hit drive might reach the sea. At low tide the immense expanse of sandy beach seems almost empty, even on the busiest summer days. Harlech is the historic heart of the area, and on its short but bustling high-street antique dealers rub shoulders with hardware shops, cafés, a sweet shop, and several restaurants as well as all the usual facilities of a small town.
Harlech will be your base if you choose a Car-Free Escape (or if you wish to bring your dog!).
A small handful of working farms sit on the gentle slopes that rise eastwards from the sea to dome-crested Moelfre, outlying bastion of the central Rhinogydd. Welsh Mountain sheep and Black Welsh cows graze the land, which is divided into a complex patchwork by tall dry-stone walls. Footpaths and a narrow lane link the isolated buildings with the village of Dyffryn Ardudwy at the edge of the coastal plain below. Across the fields from Dyffryn tall dunes rise, and beyond them the beach stretches literally for miles. The farms are far older than the village, which grew up in the 19th Century along the coast road, and now boasts an award-winning butcher (crowned supreme sausage champion for North Wales in 2007), a village supermarket, and in the Ael y Bryn Hotel a hostelry that serves holiday-makers and locals alike. Harlech and Barmouth are ten minutes along the coast in opposite directions.
