A 10 minutes stroll from Anglesey Outdoors takes you to the National Trust owned Porth Dafarch. This great beach is ideal for families as it is a sheltered west facing sandy beach nestled below rugged headlands with safe paddling and swimming.
The beach is mainly soft sand on the upper shore with some shale and with plenty of rockpools to explore the amazing sea life. Porth Dafarch is one of just 6 beaches on Anglesey to have Blue Flag status for its water quality and cleanliness. The beach is cleaned every morning during high season and there are good waste facilities. The beach has a dog ban between the 1st May and 30th September. This is enforced by the Dog Warden during the daytime.
Divers call Porth Dafarch 'Bog Bay' – but this is only because there are toilet facilities here (there are public toilets and outside showers during the summer months only!)
Porth Dafarch a popular dive beach for training as it provides a shallow shore dive with very easy entry and exit in a relatively confined area with lots of marinelife - pollack, wrasse, and also sand eels lie buried in the sandy seabed. Access from the sandy bay to the open sea is via a relatively narrow channel with further out to sea the wreck of the Missouri. There is a slipway but it is only suitable for carrying small craft down. The road that goes down to the beach gets very congested so the main parking is along the road to Trearddur Bay and towards South Stack Lighthouse .
Just behind the Beach there are ancient hut circles still just visible though the road to Holyhead now covers part of the site. There are more developed hut circles from the same era at Ty Mawr on Holyhead Mountain . Looking out to sea from the beach you can still make out the old Customs Post on the NW side of the Bay. This was built in 1819, when a harbour was completed at Porth Dafarch to allow mail and passengers to be landed on Holy Island when high winds and rough seas made landing at Holyhead impossible. When the new harbour at Holyhead was completed in 1873, the harbour at Porth Dafarch became redundant.
Porthdafarch is a popular launching spot for sea kayaking with Penrhyn mawr tidal race just around the corner toward South Stack . The coastline in both directions here is stunning with amazing geology, nesting sea birds and is a world reknown venue for moving water action.
Porth Dafarch is probably Anglesey’s iconic coasteering venue, where thrill-seekers use this epic coastline as an adventure playground; climbing, jumping and swimming through a natural obstacle course. To take part in this fun activity you need to be over 8 years old, be confident in the water and want to have some fun. Check here for the next session.
If you follow the 140mile Anglesey Coastal Path right around the coast of the Anglesey it cuts through Porthdafarch Beach on the final section. Either side of the beach there are spectacular views over towards Snowdonia , past Rhoscolyn Beacon and down the Llyn peninsula . As you walk north along the coastal path the path weaves in and out along the headland with just the Irish Sea ahead of you. In spring and autumn these headlands are a mass of purples and yellow from the wild heather and gorse and it is not uncommon to see porpoise and seals playing in the tidal race below. If you are staying at Anglesey Outdoors you can take a day long walk from the Centre to-wards the Breakwater Country Park , over Holyhead Mountain and walk along the coastal path dropping down to Porthdafarch Beach to finish. You can often catch some spectacular sunsets from along here.
Anglesey Outdoors is one of the closest accommodation facilities to Porth Dafarch offering some unique and affordable solutions for your visit to Holy Island . They also host the location to The Paddlers Return (10 mins walk), a Bar & Bistro which is very popular with visitors to the area and outdoor enthusiasts. There you can get some great home-cooked food for lunch or evening, an ice cream and a cold pint etc.
(Please check the opening times as they can vary!)
www.paddlersreturn.co.uk
(When visiting Porth Dafarch please check the tides and current conditions before you go)
DURING YOUR STAY...
Why not join us on an Adventure!
The beach is mainly soft sand on the upper shore with some shale and with plenty of rockpools to explore the amazing sea life. Porth Dafarch is one of just 6 beaches on Anglesey to have Blue Flag status for its water quality and cleanliness. The beach is cleaned every morning during high season and there are good waste facilities. The beach has a dog ban between the 1st May and 30th September. This is enforced by the Dog Warden during the daytime.
Divers call Porth Dafarch 'Bog Bay' – but this is only because there are toilet facilities here (there are public toilets and outside showers during the summer months only!)
Porth Dafarch a popular dive beach for training as it provides a shallow shore dive with very easy entry and exit in a relatively confined area with lots of marinelife - pollack, wrasse, and also sand eels lie buried in the sandy seabed. Access from the sandy bay to the open sea is via a relatively narrow channel with further out to sea the wreck of the Missouri. There is a slipway but it is only suitable for carrying small craft down. The road that goes down to the beach gets very congested so the main parking is along the road to Trearddur Bay and towards South Stack Lighthouse .
Just behind the Beach there are ancient hut circles still just visible though the road to Holyhead now covers part of the site. There are more developed hut circles from the same era at Ty Mawr on Holyhead Mountain . Looking out to sea from the beach you can still make out the old Customs Post on the NW side of the Bay. This was built in 1819, when a harbour was completed at Porth Dafarch to allow mail and passengers to be landed on Holy Island when high winds and rough seas made landing at Holyhead impossible. When the new harbour at Holyhead was completed in 1873, the harbour at Porth Dafarch became redundant.
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Watersports
Porth Dafarch is probably Anglesey’s iconic coasteering venue, where thrill-seekers use this epic coastline as an adventure playground; climbing, jumping and swimming through a natural obstacle course. To take part in this fun activity you need to be over 8 years old, be confident in the water and want to have some fun. Check here for the next session.
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Walking
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(Please check the opening times as they can vary!)
www.paddlersreturn.co.uk
(When visiting Porth Dafarch please check the tides and current conditions before you go)
DURING YOUR STAY...
Why not join us on an Adventure!
COASTEERING
SEA LEVEL TRAVERSING
ROCK CLIMBING
GORGE WALKING
THE BIG ABSEIL
WILD SWIMMING
KAYAKING
BUSHCRAFT
