One of Wales' best beaches forced to close after visitors ignore ban
An entry gate was closed for three hours at Newborough National Nature Reserve on Anglesey to safeguard both visitors and wildlife
A forest at the edge Treath Llanddwyn
(Image: Llanddwyn & Forest Support Group)
A beloved beach and its woodland were shut down after wardens became "overwhelmed" by visitors unlawfully lighting fires and barbecuess. An entrance gate was sealed for three hours at Newborough National Nature Reserve on Anglesey to protect both visitors and wildlife.
Traeth Llanddwyn beach, frequently ranked among Wales' finest, was extremely busy at the weekend as temperatures climbed. On Saturday the Met Office reported Porthmadog in Gwynedd – 18 miles further south – as Britain's hottest spot and the glorious weather drew crowds to the Welsh coastline.
Given the severe consequences of a fire at the 2,500-acre woodland a reserve-wide prohibition on barbecues and open flames remains in effect. With conditions there presently parched the dangers have intensified and ahead of the weekend visitors were warned of the ban by site manager Natural Resources Wales (NRW). For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here .
Wild camping is also forbidden but this is regularly flouted with problems worsening this summer. NRW wardens do their utmost to combat the dual threat but on Saturday afternoon matters started spiralling out of control.
Local resident Cathy Sands, who operates a Llanddwyn appreciation group on Facebook, was appalled by what she witnessed. "From 3pm people were starting to pitch tents on the beach and light barbecues," she told NorthWalesLive.
"Not wind breaks – proper tents. When I arrived at 7pm the wardens said they'd never seen so many fires in the area. They were getting a lot of abuse – people telling them to bugger off and saying it's not their beach.
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"It was quite horrible to see what was happening. It was also frightening with the threat to the forest in such dry conditions. As the wardens were speaking to one group of visitors, asking them to put out their fires, three or four more groups were arriving and starting more of them."
Ynys Llanddwyn Island with the peaks of Eryri in the distance
(Image: TXGemGem/Wik)
NRW said the reserve was closed between 7pm and 10pm on Saturday. A spokesman said this decision was made by on-site wardens after "several groups arrived intending to camp and light fires".
The tree-lined Treath Llanddwyn and its tidal island often appear in Visit Wales literature while the adjacent forest and dune systems are just as valued for their paths and nature. The area's popularity has surged on social media and its profile increased further when featured on HBO's House of the Dragon.
Fires have occurred in the forest this summer but all have been contained. However a runaway blaze remains an ever-present threat both to NRW and to residents whose homes are nearby.
To tackle wild camping and manage traffic through Newborough village NRW is implementing a "barrierless" parking system across the forest's three car parks. Expected later this year the scheme will utilise automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras with visitors required to pay through an app or online.
As far as Cathy knows the weekend closure marked the first time such action had ever been taken at the reserve. She reckons that, given the circumstances, wardens had little choice in the matter.
"Things were out of control," she said. "Due to the number of visitors blatantly lighting fires and barbecues NRW staff were overwhelmed – they couldn't extinguish the sheer amount of fires before more were being started.
"The wardens had to close the reserve just to get on top of the situation and it took them three hours to achieve this. All they were trying to do was to keep everyone safe and to protect the reserve's wildlife.
"If the forest had gone up in flames that afternoon I'm sure there would have been deaths."
NRW described the reserve as a treasured and ecologically-important location. A spokesman said: "We're listening to local concerns and doing everything we can to reduce risks.
"Please note that lighting fires and camping are not permitted at Newborough National Nature Reserve and Forest although there are official campsites nearby.
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"With the warm, dry weather increasing the risk of wildfires we're asking everyone to follow the rules and help protect what makes this place so special.
"Visitors are reminded to take their litter home, leave no trace, bring a picnic, and never light fires or barbecues. Please always follow local signage and fire safety warnings."
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