A beautiful North Wales beach has been rated one of the UK's best for swimming. While taking a dip off the Welsh coast can be a bracing experience, sea temperatures are at their highest in August - and last month’s heatwave pushed them to record levels.
At one point the waters off parts of Britain were warmer than at some resorts in California. Weather forecasters believe we’re in for another hot spell next week and once again beaches will be crowded as people look to cool off, reports NorthWalesLive.
According to the Guardian, one of the best places for swimming in the UK is a beach on the north west coast of Anglesey. Ella Foote, editor of Outdoor Swimmer magazine, selected her favourite places around Britain and in her top 10 was Trearddur Bay.
Read more: The hidden beach with crystal-clear water that's well worth the drive from Manchester
The seaside village, on Holy Island, boasts a main beach and two cove beaches, Porth Diana and Porth Castell. The main beach is one of the island’s tourist hotspots.
“This beach has everything for a great outing: sand for castle building, rock pools when the tide heads out, and a lovely bathing area protected by marked buoys,” wrote Ella. “Swimming across the bay it’s easy to cover 400 metres with nothing but sand beneath you. With plenty of parking and facilities, it’s possible to spend all day here and not get bored.”
Several shallow scuba diving sites are available in the bay and the seas off Trearddur are said to provide some of the world’s best kayaking experiences. Boat and fishing trips can be booked from the beach and for those who prefer to stay on dry land, horse riding is available too.
Anglesey Coastal Path runs past the village north towards Porth Dafarch, another superb beach with great swimming and water sports. If you prefer yachts, Trearddur Bay Sailing Club is the place to head to, and now is the right time: its sailing season is condensed into just four weeks, from late July to late August.
After a hard day on the beach, there’s only one way to end your visit, according to Ella. “Finish with locally caught fish at Sea Shanty Café; the mussels are perfect for warming up during the cooler months,” she said.
Along with Mickey’s Boatyard and Beach Café, Abersoch, the Sea Shanty was recently rated one of the UK’s top 35 “beach shacks” by the Independent. “Their menu is simple but delicious, with steak sandwiches, chip butties and deep fried whitebait,” the newspaper reckoned.
Some visitors have given the beach toilets a black mark in recent years but that’s about to change. Anglesey Council has earmarked £248,000 for four beach toilet blocks on the island, including Trearddur Bay’s. It is due to get outside showers, washroom upgrades and new charging points for electric vehicles.
One regular visitor from Wigan has fallen in love with Anglesey and Trearddur Bay in particular. Writing on Facebook recently, she said: “I spent most of my childhood on this beautiful island and made tonnes of amazing memories with my nan. Now I get to make the same memories with my little boy and, boy, do we love it here.
“He tells me he wants to live here all the time and you know what? I might just have to make the move from 2.5 hours away because I don’t recall anywhere else on this earth that makes me feel as happy and content as what this island does.”
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