Is Harlech Beach Dog Friendly?

Flynn at Harlech Beach
Overview
Difficulty:
Easy
Distance:
As long as you want!
Terrain Type:
Sand, with a 10 minute path through the dunes.
Starts From:
Harlech Beach Car Park, Ffordd Glan Mor, Harlech, LL46 2UB
Closest Vet:

Harlech Beach is a firm favourite of ours – the beach is clean, the water’s clear, there’s bags of space, and the scenery is breathtaking. Best of all, Harlech Beach is a dog friendly all year round, but there are some limitations to this. The beach is zoned during the summer months, meaning that dogs are not allowed on a section of the northern half of the beach between the 1st April and the 30th September. There’s still plenty of beach to choose from though if you’re after a more secluded spot.

How Do You Get To Harlech Beach

Follow the A496 main road into Harlech, and then turn off down FFordd Glan Mor (it has a Premier Convenience Store on the corner). Continue down the road until you reach the large car park at the end. The car park is reasonably priced (I think we paid about £2 for 3 hours) and there are plenty of spaces. There’s also a toilet block here and a row of bins including one for dog waste – we didn’t see any on the beach itself so make sure to get rid of anything you don’t want here.

Once you’re parked up, go through the gate opposite the toilet block and head along the path running through the sand dunes. It’s only a ten-minute walk from here to the beach, but just be aware that you’ll be walking on sand for the majority of this section. When you reach the beach, there’s a sign directly ahead of you that defines the dog friendly areas of Harlech Beach. If you’re visiting between the 1st April and the 30th September, you can take your dogs on the part of the beach to the left of the sign, but not on the part immediately to the right of the sign.

Harlech Beach Sign

What Can You See From Harlech Beach?

The beach itself looks out over the northern most part of Ceredigion bay. The land directly across from you is the section of the Welsh coastline containing the popular resorts of Abersoch, Llanbedrog and Pwllheli. If you look to the north, you’ll see Snowdonia National Park in all its glory.

The promontory emerging to the south of the beach is Shell Island – no prizes for guessing what you can find a lot of here. To be fair, it’s also home to one of Europe’s largest campsites – so if you’re so enamoured with the Welsh coast that you want an overnight stay, it’s one of the most scenic ways to do it (the campsite recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment).

The sand dunes you walked through at the rear of the beach are actually a part of Morfa Harlech National Nature Reserve. It’s one of the most important actively growing sand dune systems in the UK, and home to a range of rare insects, birds, and flora.

Adding to the allure of the scenery, Harlech Castle looms proudly on a nearby hill, overlooking the beach and serving as a testament to the region’s historic significance. This UNESCO World Heritage Site, originally built during the reign of medieval king Edward I, adds an enchanting touch to the landscape.

Morfa Harlech National Nature Reserve

What To Do After

If you fancy brushing up on your history, the aforementioned Harlech Castle welcomes well behaved dogs on leads on the ground floor levels of the site. If you were after some good food and drink instead, you can find it at both the Queen’s Hotel and the Plas Restaurant in Harlech town. When we visited, we actually ended up having a burger from the Premier convenience store at the end of Ffordd Glan Mor – they do a selection of hot fresh food that’s budget friendly.

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