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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Cathy Owen & Milo Boyd

'Hottest place in the UK' has its own microclimate and heaps of beaches

A Welsh town attracts sun worshippers from across the country due to its own unique microclimate which regularly sends its mercury soaring.

The country has been basking in glorious sunshine for more than three weeks now, with temperatures set to increase further this week.

At the top of the warm weather charts is Porthmadog, a port town in Caernarfonshire that attracts a lot of visitors due to its proximity to Snowdonia National Park and the Ffestiniog Railway, Wales Online reports.

The Met Office said the mercury in Porthmadog reached 25°C on Sunday making it the hottest place in Britain, a position it is used to taking.

The town also set the record for having the UK's highest temperature for 2023 last Tuesday with 25.1°C.

Another perfect day in Porthmadog (Christopher Davies / North Wales Live)

Despite being a coastal town, where temperatures are typically lower, Porthmadog's geography means it has its own microclimate that impacts it in a really positive way.

Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson says: "When the wind comes from the north east Porthmadog gets a lot of shelter. Although it's by the coast it's not really getting a lot of breeze off the sea meaning the temperatures keep rising and rising.

"Thanks to its geographical location Porthmadog has shelter from high ground, hills and mountains, around it mean it's protected from the north easterly wind."

BBC weatherman Derek Brockway has said that air flowing over the mountains then sinks and warms, helping to boost the temperature in Porthmadog.

If you fancy heading to Wales but want to escape the nation's reputation for wet and windy spells, then Porthmadog is a good bet.

It is close to a number of excellent beaches including Carreg Wen, a beautiful sandy spot overlooking the estuaries of the Afon Dwyryd and the Afon Glaslyn that is flanked by rocks and backed by hills and grasslands.

Blackrock Sands stretches for miles and is known as a great spot for beach sports. T.E Lawrence, who wrote Lawrence of Arabia, lived nearby while the 14th century poet Shelley is reputed to have regularly visited.

Portmeirion is nearby and definitely worth a visit (Ian Cooper/North Wales Live)

Nearby is also the village of Portmeirion, which perhaps best known as the setting of the cult 1960s TV series ‘The Prisoner and was built in a flamboyant Italian style that makes it unlikely any other place in the UK.

A short trip around the bay to the west is Criccieth, a coastal resort with a castle built by Llewelyn the Great in the l3th Century that dominates the skyline.

If you do find yourself in Wales with an afternoon to spare and an appetite to hang out by the coast, then one particularly beautiful beach with soft sand, clean water and rolling hills bordering it is one to go for.

Part of the beauty of Traeth Harlech, on the coast of Gwynedd, is the way the horizon seems to stretch away forever, creating stunning sunsets when the evening begins to recede away.

As the beach is so big, it is easy to find yourself in a section all to yourself, no matter how busy it gets. Clearly those who have visited Traeth Harlech love it and have rated the beach the best in north Wales, just ahead of the beautiful Llanddwyn on Anglesey.

Some reviewers go further, claiming is is the best in Wales and even Europe. Last month, a regular visitor upped the stakes again when breathlessly describing the four-mile sweep of sand as "the most peaceful, calming and beautiful place on earth".

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