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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Andrew Forgrave & Kieran Isgin

Full bus of tourists turned away from 'Britain's best beach' after driving 150 miles

A bus full of tourists were unable to visit 'Britain's best beach' despite travelling 150 miles for the journey.

Porth Iago in Wales is a small secluded beach on the western tip of North Wales, and used to be a popular spot in the 1970s.

It has recently experienced a resurgence of visitors due to people on social media sharing pictures of the stunning landscape which can sometimes include views of dolphins and a breathtaking sunset. But when the tourists wanted to experience it themselves, they were turned away by beach bosses at the site entrance due to a high number of visitors, North Wales Live reports.

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“People have begun coming in coaches but we’re not a big site and there’s no way we can allow that,” said site manager Chris, who asked for his surname to be withheld. “Last summer a coach party from Birmingham called to ask if they could come and we said that, unfortunately, they couldn’t.

"They came anyway, so we had to turn them back. They drove all the way back to Birmingham.” Other requests to use the site have also been rejected, including a couple who wanted to use it for their wedding last year.

In fact, the entire 2023 camping season had been booked up before the previous one even ended. Many regulars return to the site each year, including a 94-year-old who first visited around the time the site first opened in 1934.

Each summer see stays eight weeks camping there. “Others have been returning here for 50 or 60 years,” said Chris.

Lonely Planet named Porth Iago the best wild camping beach in Wales while the Sunday times dubbed it the Llyn Peninsula's 'prettiest beach'. Although demand for the site is high, with further potential to increase revenue, Chris clarified that there is no plans to expand the campsite.

“There are no shops in heaven,” said Chris. “You can’t take your money with you.”

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