8. Barmouth, Gwynedd
At first glance, Barmouth is a shabby fairground arcade, a candyfloss-and-Carling type of town. It can feel tacky, inflated dinghies bobbing on shop walls above stacked displays of plastic paraphernalia. But it’s also the seaside town of my childhood, and layers of repeated visits have distilled down into memories of a pure and perfect sunny beach holiday – running past the rock shop and over the railway line down to the sand, the elation of sunshine on bare legs, digging sand near a cluster of folding chairs carefully set out behind striped windbreakers. The beach has wide flat sand at the estuary mouth, then turns to half a mile of dunes before splitting into short stretches between groynes. The hills and edges of the mysterious Llŷn peninsula lie far away across the water.Advertisement
Look inland and you see mountains: both Cadair Idris and the Rhinogs are easy to reach for days out in wilder land. South of town, the wooden planked railway viaduct offers a wonderful view over the Mawddach estuary. From the bridge you can bike the 16-mile loop of the spectacular Mawddach Trail between Barmouth and to Dolgellau.
The arts centre and coffee shop in the Ebeneezer Chapel on the High Street has nice gifts and cakes but for a good meal head towards the harbour. The Last Inn on Church Street is good for local fish or black beef. And the Mermaid Fish Bar on nearby Jubilee Street does the best chips in town.