The UK's most beautiful seaside village has huge sandy beach and no crowds
This coastal village is a hidden gem that's not very well-known outside west Wales.
When you think of the UK's picturesque seaside towns or villages, your mind might instantly wander to the coasts of Devon or Cornwall in the south-west, or perhaps Kent or Sussex in the south-east. Even if Wales did cross your mind, it's likely you'd be picturing somewhere in Pembrokeshire.
However, there's a hidden treasure nestled on the Carmarthenshire coast (more renowned for its lush green hills than its coastline) that deserves your attention. You could easily miss it as you drive west towards Pembrokeshire.
But if you take a detour from the bustling A40 trunk road just outside the historic market town of Carmarthen and venture down a tranquil B-road through the countryside, you'll soon spot a stretch of golden sand and the seemingly serene waters of the Tywi estuary.
Overlooking it all, majestically positioned on a hilltop, are the remnants of a grand medieval castle. Welcome to Llansteffan, a delightful village that remains relatively unknown beyond west Wales.
Here, alongside the beach and castle, you'll discover pubs, shops, eateries and notably fewer crowds compared to the UK's other seaside and staycation hotspots, reports the Express.
This charming village is nestled on the northern shore of the Tywi estuary, where the river greets the waters of Carmarthen Bay after a leisurely journey from the hills of mid Wales. The tidal ranges here are quite dramatic, so beach-goers should be mindful of the water.
However, the sand is just right: firm enough for building sand castles, yet soft enough to enjoy that delightful sensation of walking barefoot.
When the tide rolls in, Llansteffan beach becomes accessible, with direct foot access from the village and a car park for those who need it. Amenities include a public toilet, a small children's play area, and a fish and chip hut - perfect for enjoying a seaside supper.
And when the tide recedes, you can also explore the equally expansive Scott's Bay, where smooth sand meets intriguing rock pools.
Wales is known for its abundance of castles, a testament to centuries of conflict between Anglo-Norman lords and feuding Welsh tribes (who were just as likely to fight each other as they were the English). To the north, tucked away in rural Carmarthenshire, you'll find the hilltop fortresses of Dinefwr, Dryslwyn, and the awe-inspiring Carreg Cennen within close proximity of one another.
A short jaunt along the coast to the west will take you to Laugharne Castle, while Kidwelly Castle lies a few miles to the east.
Llansteffan Castle is a hidden gem that rivals any other, with its 12th-century structure majestically perched on a headland overlooking Carmarthen Bay. This historic site has been strategically important since prehistoric times.
Despite being in ruins for centuries, the castle offers a wealth of exploration opportunities, and the views from atop are nothing short of breathtaking. The formidable gatehouse, complete with arrow slits, still stands as a testament to the castle's once-impenetrable defences.
Venture inside to discover the remnants of the inner and outer wards, which reveal the castle's past life as both a military stronghold and a lordly residence.
For those keen to visit, well-marked paths lead up to the castle from either the village or the beach. Visitors can freely wander through the ruins, scale the battlements, and soak up the expansive views that, on a good day, stretch for miles.
When it comes to dining in Llansteffan, the Inn at the Sticks steals the show. Crowned as the Best Local Restaurant in Wales by the Good Food Guide last year, this pub, restaurant, and deli celebrates Welsh ingredients.
Expect to find typical coastal dishes like cockle popcorn in crispy Welsh beer batter, scallop and sewin roulade, wild game farmhouse terrine, and a beetroot "symphony" – an inventive recipe featuring beets prepared five ways. It's a culinary treasure that one reviewer hailed as a "rare find".
The quaint establishment offers a selection of cosy rooms for an overnight stay, priced very reasonably between £120-140, which is just perfect after a day filled with sea breeze and scrumptious meals. One satisfied guest gushed: "The rooms provide the same blend of charm and comfort. They are beautifully designed with vintage touches-like iron bed frames and low beamed ceilings-combined with modern amenities and complimentary Welsh cakes. The décor balances rustic charm with cosy elegance, making each room feel unique and intimate."
For those looking for a homely touch, there's also the option to book a charming cottage on AirBnb.
Llansteffan itself is a treasure trove of activities, offering days filled with beach strolls, historical exploration, and delectable dining without ever needing to leave. However, if you're itching to see more, there are numerous attractions just a short drive away.
Across the estuary lies Laugharne, renowned for its association with Dylan Thomas and his iconic boathouse.
Venture slightly further west and you'll find Pendine, boasting one of the UK's longest sandy beaches and a history peppered with land speed records. To the east, Pembrey Country Park awaits with another expansive sandy stretch, Cefn Sidan, and a park that's a hit with kids thanks to its adventure playground, woodlands, and cycling paths.
A short distance away, the charming Carmarthenshire towns of Llandeilo and Llandovery offer a wealth of options for dining, drinking, and accommodation amidst their picturesque rural market settings.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
5 hours ago
- Wales Online
Hidden railway exposed by tide at popular Welsh beach
Hidden railway exposed by tide at popular Welsh beach Low tides have revealed the ghostly remnants of a railway line A section of old rail track uncovered but still submerged (Image: Sheila Rosemary Stephenson ) As the tide slips away, the sands of Barmouth beach in Gwynedd reveal a haunting spectacle: the ghostly skeleton of an old railway line, stretching out across the shore as if travelling out to sea. Rusted wheels and axles, long hidden beneath layers of silt, have emerged alongside narrow bands of iron track, now gently rusting on the sand. This eerie scene on Barmouth beach in Gwynedd is reminiscent of the Welsh legend of the submerged kingdom of Cantre'r Gwaelod in Cardigan Bay. Unlike the kingdom's bells, which are said to still ring beneath the surface, Barmouth's mysterious beach railway remains eerily silent, save for the sounds of the seashore. It's believed that this track has remained hidden on the beach for over a century. In recent years, it's been occasionally exposed by shifting sand patterns on a coastline that's constantly evolving. The old railway tracks are thought to be a legacy of the resort's rapid expansion in the 19th century (Image: Sheila Rosemary Stephenson ) There have been several theories proposed to explain the existence of the railway. Some speculate it was an historic lifeboat launch site, while others suggest it was a ramp for bringing fishing ships ashore for repairs. As far as anyone knows, the tracks end at the low tide line, so disappointingly, they're unlikely to be part of a long-lost smuggling route from Ireland, as commonly supposed, reports North Wales Live. Article continues below It's often imagined that these narrow-gauge tracks were installed to move Edwardian bathing machines up and down the beach – the idea being to preserve the modesty of ladies taking to the waters. Historical sketches from the mid-19th century confirm that Barmouth did have these machines, but they were never on tracks. Instead, horses are depicted hauling the huts to the water's edge. Sketch by William Home Lizars from around 1845 showing the seafront in Barmouth and visiting families enjoying leisure time on the beach. Bathing machines can be seen lined up by the sea, drawn there by horses, not rail tracks (Image: National Library of Wales/Wiki ) A significant amount of construction was carried out on the beach after the resort's promenade was severely damaged by the Great Storm of 1928. Photos from the time show the entire seafront transformed into a massive building site, with steam-powered machinery doing much of the heavy lifting. In 1930, iron tracks were laid along the promenade to remove debris, and more on the beach for the construction of a new wave-return wall. A plausible conclusion is that the railway tracks seen today are remnants from that period of intense building activity. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here However, this theory has been dismissed by Barmouth historian Hugh Griffth Roberts, who believes there's a rather more mundane explanation. Ironically, the existence of the beach railway may owe much to the arrival of rail travel in the mid-19th century. For centuries, Barmouth was a crucial port serving the woollen, slate and herring sectors in Meirionnydd. It also had a ship-building industry that stretched up along the majestic Mawddach Estuary. A pair of rusting iron wheels poke up from the water's edge (Image: Sheila Rosemary Stephenson ) Despite the poor roads of the times, by the 1750s the port town was already attracting affluent tourists drawn by its location between the sea and the 'romantic' landscapes of Eryri. Visitors included the likes of William Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron and Charles Darwin. The unveiling of Cambrian Railways' new coastal line to Barmouth in 1867 significantly changed the town's fortune, with the Barmouth Heritage Trail highlighting a substantial tourism and building boom as a result. The heritage site states: "When the first train arrived some 1,200 passengers got off and the town was barely ready!" With tourism came fresh challenges, including increasing incidents of drunkenness that led to the construction of a modest lock-up during that period. A particularly unpleasant problem also arose — the disposal of waste from the burgeoning guesthouse industry. The heritage trail's solution to this issue involved the construction of a sewage holding tank at the north end of the beach in 1890. This allowed for waste to be released into the sea during high tide through a long cast-iron pipe. While discharging into the sea was common practice then and continues to some degree today, Barmouth modernised its wastewater management in 1987 by replacing and burying the old discharge pipe under the beach. Moreover, a new sewage treatment plant and pumping station were established. It is believed that rail tracks visible on the beach today were originally used for laying down the Victorian discharge pipe, which may have been left there to become buried over time, re-emerging more than a hundred years later. Article continues below
Wales Online
9 hours ago
- Wales Online
Beautiful Romany wagon tucked away in wildflower meadow by river with brown trout and otters
Beautiful Romany wagon tucked away in wildflower meadow by river with brown trout and otters A truly unique 'tranquil and enchanting' site that sadly the owners are now forced to take to auction Not your usual property for sale (Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales ) Have you ever experienced the arguably very stressful scenario of buying a property without even seeing it in reality? Andrew Newland from Pontypridd and Alexandra from Mold have done it - three times - and one of the unseen purchases was as unique as the situation. After spending 14 years living and teaching in Asia teaching in China, Thailand, Vietnam and lastly Hong Kong, the couple were ready to come home to Wales to re-establish roots for raising a family. The pair were looking for a business to buy with their friends John and Rachel, and stumbled across surely one of the most wonderful and wild holiday lets in west Wales - a pocket of land that is home to a genuine Romany wagon as well as a wooden cabin and pretty slice of land. For more property stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here. READ MORE: We transformed an old cow shed into an incredible Welsh home ALSO: Stunning country manor with cottages and over 500 acres of land for sale for £4.5m The Romany Gypsy Wagon is joined on the site by a wooden chalet (Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales ) Article continues below Andrew says: " We hadn't actually seen the place, we were still in Hong Kong when we bought it - we sent our in-laws as scouts and they had a good look around for us and they fell in love with the place - it's unique - just under an acre and where the wagon and cabin are and then separate flower meadow connected by a small bridge that we built and there's a section of river that flows through the site with trout and salmon and otters. "Family and friends thought we were 'a bit mad' but they know us and in life we've taken the road less travelled, so it was very 'on brand' for us." But as soon as the couple visited the site near Llangrannog, Ceredigion they were enchanted. Andrew remembers: " We were immediately taken by it - there was a storm, my wife was heavily pregnant with our second child and the phone signal is not very good and there's no WiFi but even with all that we fell in love with the place. The site is 0.65 acres in size (Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales ) "It's the silence - the fact it was totally cut off - such a difference to what we were used to, to Hong Kong - to come into that, a slice of heaven in Wales. It's where time slows down. "I love the wagon most of all, it's almost womb-like! Because the cover is all insulated you're cosseted from sound as well so it's very much how I imagine what a womb is like. It's got a nice big comfy bed and heating, room under the bed to fit a dog bed too if visitors want to bring their dog away with them. Idyllic and peaceful place to relax near Llangrannog, Ceredigion (Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales ) "The wagon is one of the main reasons why the site got planning permission as a holiday let - because of the historical value of the wagon itself, it's a genuine vintage Romany wagon. And i t's a stunning location even if the weather is not great, you can still lie in bed, read a book with the top half of the wagon door open and watch the rain." The site comes with a wooden cabin too that offers a kitchenette with bistro table and chairs and an amazing view from the kitchen sink, a shower room and a lounge which opens out onto a new raised deck area, one of the features the couple have worked on since owning the site, as well as tidying the foliage, renovating the paths, painting the wagon and building a bridge over the little river. The Romany gypsy wagon looks very inviting (Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales ) Andrew says: "You come out of the cabin in the morning with your coffee and you sit there and you feel like you're in the trees, you're well above the wagon and above the river so you're up mid-tree level - you're in amongst the birds - there are so many fantastic birds there - we fill the feeders and watch them and that's all you can hear, the bird song and the river." But not seeing the site before they bought it was not the challenge for the couple. It is said by many people that timing is important with a property purchase and for Andrew and Alex it was bad timing - they came back to Wales and were the new owners of the site in December 2019, just a few months before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Inside the wagon is comfortable and cosy (Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales ) Andrew, a retrofit assessor, says the situation wiped out the first 18 months of running the tranquil and secluded site as a successful holiday let and led to a change of plan and location for the family. He says: " We were going to come back home and set up a holistic fitness retreat, run it from the land and develop it further and have more accommodation but we had to make other plans and so I started a business near Chester so we ended up being based in north Wales." The site also contains a wood chalet which is also part of the auction lot (Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales ) The two couples ran the holiday let business via and trying to visit the site as much as possible to keep it maintained and also stay and enjoy it themselves occasionally. Andrew says: "People love it as much as we do which is fantastic, everybody who comes to stay seems to have the same experience - people feel like they are transported back to a simpler time - lack of phone signal, lack of WiFi, it taps into a sense of nostalgia." Inside the chalet and it's surprisingly spacious with a kitchenette and cost lounge (Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales ) The site has even attracted the attention of TV presenter and celebrity Richard Hammond, who stayed back in 2007 before the two couples owned it and it was booked via company Under The Thatch, said: "It was only in the morning that I fully appreciated why this place is so popular. "Although the caravan scores high on novelty points, it's the setting that's the real winner. Tucked away in the corner of a wild-flower meadow next to the river where brown trout and otter are protected as part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest, it's secluded and ridiculously picturesque." The cute kitchen also has space to eat at a bistro table (Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales ) However after a few years making the three to four hour journey from north Wales to this special spot near the Ceredigion coast it is with heavy hearts the two couples have decided to sell the site and pass on this idyllic and enchanting site on to a new owner, who has the chance to realise its potential to expand the business into the land and increase the size of the cabin, subject to planning of course, and if they want to. Andrew says the experience has taught them the value of owning a holiday let and says if someone is thinking of purchasing the site, or any other unique property, they should consider what makes it distinctive in the first place, and cherish it. For more property stories join our Amazing Welsh Homes Facebook group here The chalet can even boast a shower room with full facilities (Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales ) He says: "Try and maintain the character of the place. It would have been easy for us to tear the cabin down, to remove the wagon, and put on some standard glamping facility but we wanted to maintain the character of the place - we wanted to keep it authentic, that's what we strived for. "Keep the authenticity of the place and then it rings true to everybody who comes. Oh, and make sure it's not a four hour drive away, get one closer to where you live!" The 0.65 acre site, including the wagon and the cabin, is going to auction with a guide price of £99,000 with Auction House Wales with bidding opening on Monday June 23 at noon and finishing on Wednesday June 25 at 12.36pm, call 01633 212555 to find out more. Viewings are strictly via appointment with the local agent Morgan and Davies, Aberaeron, call 01545 571600 to find out more. The chalet's wooden deck is a sun-kissed bonus feature perfect for alfresco dining or star-gazing (Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales ) Andrew says: "Selling is definitely bittersweet for us. It holds a lot of emotional value, and parting with it isn't easy. That said, it's a necessary step for the next phase of our lives, which we're genuinely excited about. "While there's some sadness and disappointment in letting it go, we're also happy knowing that someone else will have the chance to realise the full potential of the site. It's a special place, and we hope the new owners will love it as much as we have." Article continues below Find your own holiday let or property for sale in Wales:
Scottish Sun
12 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
English tidal lido right on the beach that you can only visit twice a day
Plus, the free lidos, sea pools and splash parks for summer IN THE WAVE English tidal lido right on the beach that you can only visit twice a day Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ONE of the prettiest pools in the UK is near a popular seaside town - but you will have to time it well to jump in. Found in the historic fishing village in West Cornwall, Mousehole Rock Pool in Cornwall is open for 24 hours a day, but when you can swim in it depends on whether the tide is in or out. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 The man-made tidal pool is on the edge of Mousehole in Cornwall Credit: Alamy 4 The pool is open 24 hours a day but is only suitable for swimming at certain times Credit: Alamy Mousehole Rock Pool is a tidal swim spot that you can only visit twice a day - because it's best to go in high tide. During high tide, the pool is exposed to the sea for a few hours on either side, making it accessible for swimming. The pool can drain with the falling tide and will become shallower. The tide varies throughout the year, but in summer, Mousehole usually has two high tides a day - in mid-morning and the evening. The best time to visit the tidal pool is just after high tide and you can check these with the 7-day tide forecast before going. Mousehole Rock Pool was built in 1969 for the local children to teach them how to swim, and has remained popular ever since. Anyone who ventures there will discover the stunning views across Mount's Bay towards St Michael's Mount and the Lizard. There's also the Rock Pool Cafe Mousehole which has reopened after winter break. It's situated above the Mousehole Rock Pool cafe so you can take in the views over the bay. The pool recently went under repairs to plug a leak as it wasn't holding water during low tide. The secret UK beach without the crowds – it has a free sauna and the largest tidal pool in the country 4 Mousehole is a charming village in Cornwall Credit: Alamy The repairs were spearheaded by the Friends of Mousehole Rock Pool. Volunteers with the support of local businesses have already emptied the community pool The first phase of the repair work had been due to start in March 2021 but was delayed. It took place on July 10, 2022 with a second repair day was also held later that year to repair the rock pool and again in 2023. More work is needed to maintain the pool as the plans going forward are to restore the access area for pushchairs and wheelchairs. The village of Mousehole, just less than three miles south of Penzance and is especially popular during the summer. However during the winter, Mousehole is considered one of the most magical place to visit because of its Christmas light display. Its annual Christmas lights adorn the harbour, usually from mid December. But there's not just a couple of lights - there's an estimated 7,000 bulbs that light up every evening and around 30,000 tourists head down to the coast to see them each year. And more UK lidos, sea pools and splash pads that are free to get into – perfect for the hot weather. Plus, the 'national treasure' beach lido in the UK's trendiest seaside town – that you can't swim in.
