Happy Donkey Hill
  • Welcome
  • About
  • Cottages
    • The Farmhouse
    • The Dairy
    • The Stables
    • Millers Cottage
  • Things To Do
    • Adventure Sports
    • Beaches
    • Cycling
    • Dog Walking
    • Fishing
    • Places To Visit
    • Horse Riding
    • Walking
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu

There are lots of Beaches to explore around Happy Donkey Hill

Cardigan Bay – the coast of Ceredigion

The Ceredigion coast has golden sands, award winning beaches, cliffs, coves and caves, tiny ports and harbours and a rollicking seafaring history to discover. The coastal Special Areas of Conservation are havens for wildlife which you can enjoy with a wildlife spotting boat trip. Enjoy fresh air on a coastal walk, or have a go at a range of watersports.

Ceredigion beaches and holiday resorts

Ceredigion’s best beaches and sandy coves are award-winning beaches with coveted Blue Flags and Green Coast awards. The most popular bathing beaches are patrolled by RNLI lifeguards during the summer months.

Ceredigion’s main coastal holiday towns are Aberystwyth, Aberaeron, New Quay and Cardigan and smaller seaside resorts include Llangrannog, Aberporth and Tresaith.

Walking the Ceredigion coast

As a key part of the Wales Coast Path, the spectacular shores along the Ceredigion coast path stretch some 60 miles around the magnificent sweep of Cardigan Bay. The landscape and scenery is varied, ranging from coastal cliffs, wooded and flower covered slopes to pebble beaches, hidden coves and waterfalls and sandy stretches backed by dunes and wildlife rich marshes. Much of this landscape is protected, including sites managed by the National Trust and local Wildlife Trusts.

The outstanding beauty of Cardigan Bay was acknowledged when it became the UK’s first designated Marine Heritage Coast some 25 years ago.

Ceredigion’s coastal wildlife

Two areas of the coast of Ceredigion have been designated Special Areas of Conservation. Discover what makes these areas so special at the Cardigan Bay Boat Place in New Quay – there are guided walks and fun beach activities led by the warden every weekend from May onwards.

A choice of Wildlife spotting boat trips are available from New Quay from around Easter to late autumn and from Cardigan throughout the year. A boat trip is the best way to enjoy safe views of bottlenose dolphins, porpoises, seals, coastal birds and sea caves.

Or take a walk along the coast path – there are great vantage points where you can look out for dolphins and seabirds at Mwnt, Aberporth, Llangrannog and New Quay.

Watersports

Ceredigion is a great place to try out watersports, whether you want to challenge yourself with a new sport, or enjoy having fun with the whole family. Ceredigion locals love the Cardigan Bay surf which can be both gentle and challenging, depending on the beach, tides and weather conditions.

Ceredigion has a tradition of boatbuilding and there are sailing clubs at each of our harbour towns, and regattas to watch and take part in, starting with New Quay’s ‘Frostbite’ series in February.

Celtic rowing is also a popular sport, with seven clubs regularly competing, and taking on Irish rowers every two years in the 90 mile Celtic Challege across the Irish Sea between Arklow in Ireland and Aberystwyth.

If you take out your own boat to explore the Ceredigion coastline, please check weather and tides and adhere to the Ceredigion Marine Code of Conduct drawn up to protect the wildlife.

Beaches

Patch

The sandy beach at Patch (near Gwbert) is the nearest beach to Cardigan town and is south-west facing. The tide around this rugged part of the coast can drastically change giving it a great reputation for sailing, sea-fishing and extreme sports.

Read more on Patch …

Mwnt

Mwnt has been voted a top beach on countless occasions. Acclaimed by the Daily Mail  in 2011 as one of “Europe’s top ten loveliest, hidden beaches”, and selected by Country Life as  a great place for a picnic, Mwnt was also recognised as one of their ‘Special Places’ in 2014 by the National Trust, who manage the beach.

Read more on Mwnt …

Aberporth

Aberporth, a pretty seaside village, overlooks two beautiful, sheltered, sandy beaches (Dolwen and Dyffryn). It is a favourite holiday destination for families and is also popular for sailing.

Read more on Aberporth …

Tresaith

Tresaith has a fabulous Blue Flag and Seaside Award winning sandy beach, which also features rock pools and even a waterfall. The village name has legendary origins, and it is the setting of a historical novel ‘The Welsh Witch’. ​​​

Read more on Tresaith …

Penbryn

The mile long sandy beach at Penbryn owned by the National Trust lies 10 miles up the coast from Cardigan. This stunning location with a woodland backdrop was used for filming for the James Bond film, ‘Die Another Day’.

Read more on Penbryn …

Llangrannog

Originally a hidden village above the old port, Llangrannog is now one of Ceredigion’s most popular beach destinations for a seaside holiday and with surfers. The lovely sandy beaches nestle below the cliffs and are crossed by the Wales Coast Path.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Read more on Llangrannog …

Cwmtydu

Cwmtydu is very prettily set with a quiet beach and natural harbour that was once a traditional smugglers’ hideaway. The beach is flanked by cliffs with caves that were once used to hide French brandy and precious salts.Read more on Cwmtydu …

New Quay

Once a thriving port, shipbuilding and fishing centre, New Quay is now a popular seaside destination for bucket and spade holidays as well as fishing, wildlife and watersports enthusiasts.

Read more on New Quay …

Aberaeron

Aberaeron has two popular pebble beaches with soft sand becoming exposed at low tide.  The beaches are located north and south of Aberaeron’s colourful harbour and are perfect spots for gazing out over Cardigan Bay.

Read more on Aberaeron …

Aberarth

The pretty hamlet of Aberarth nestles in a quiet, tiny natural harbour It was once a busy 12th century seaport through which the Cistercian monks imported Bath Stone from Bristol for the building of the magnificent abbey at Strata Florida.

Read more on Aberarth …

Llanon

An area very special to the people of Ceredigion. Llanon’s name stems from its association with Saint Non, the mother of St David, the patron saint of Wales and who was born about 500 AD and was brought up here.

Read more on Llanon …

Llanrhystud

The pebble beach at Llanrhystud is popular in summer for boating, fishing, watersports, or picnics.  The beach is a narrow shingle bank at high tide, but at low tide, it becomes wide and sandy ideal for windsurfing, swimming and general leisure activities.

Read more on Llanrhystud …

Tanybwlch

The large sweep of the pebbled Tanybwlch beach, near Aberystwyth is overlooked by the imposing Iron Age hill fort, Pen Dinas with its prominent memorial in the shape of a upturned canon that commemorates Wellington’s victory at the battle of Waterloo.

Read more on Tanybwlch …

Aberystwyth South Beach

Quieter than the town’s North Beach, Aberystwyth’s long South Beach is located between the castle and harbour breakwater. The beach is traditionally a good place to spot marine wildlife and has a spectacular view down the coast.

Read more on Aberystwyth South Beach …

Aberystwyth North Beach

Aberystwyth’s North Beach and seafront is a focal point of the town and a favourite attraction for visitors and locals alike. The mile-long Promenade is popular with walkers, joggers, skaters, roller-bladers, bikers – and those who just want to relax by the seaside.

Read more on Aberystwyth North Beach …

Clarach

Clarach lies approximately a mile along the Ceredigion Coast Path from the centre of Aberystwyth over Constitution Hill, or about three miles through a nature reserve and the road through the village of Llangorwen. The sandy, sheltered cove is one of Ceredigion’s most popular beaches.

​​​Read more on Clarach …

Borth

Because of its shallow waters and fabulous three mile expanse of golden sand, Borth’s award-winning beach is particularly popular with surfers, kite surfers and families with young children.

Read more on Borth …

Ynyslas

Located about north of Borth Aberystwyth, the stunning Ynyslas sand dunes reaching onto the Dyfi Estuary and Cors Fochno are part of the Dyfi National Nature Reserve and home to many rare plants and animals.​​​​​​​​​

Read more on Ynyslas …

River estuaries

The Teifi and the Dyfi – the two great rivers that form Ceredigion’s natural boundaries to the south and the north- have wide estuaries  and are natural havens for wildlife.

The whole length of the Teifi river and its tributaries have been designated as a Special Area of Conservation.  The Teifi marshes on the river’s estuary are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and has one of the largest expanses of common reed which can be easily explored along a boardwalk. The nature reserve is managed by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, and has a purpose built centre where you can learn more about the reserve and its population of kingfisher, herons, otters and even a herd of water buffalo, which are used to keep pools free of vegetation so that amphibians and insects can also thrive.

The largest area of saltmarsh in Ceredigion lies along the Dyfi estuary at Ynyslas and Ynyshir.  ‘Ynys’ means ‘island’, here coupled with the words ‘glas’ meaning green or fertile, and ‘hir’ meaning long.  The names clearly indicate that some of the land is often covered by water – both salty and fresh.

The saltmarshes are awash with sea pink in spring, whilst marsh samphire and sea aster can also be seen in summer. The wet grasslands are a great place for spotting lapwings, redshank and other waders. The RSPB reserve at Ynyshir is host to migrant flocks of Manx Shearwaters in late summer, and in winter, Greenland white fronted geese – the only site in England and Wales they visit. There are trails and a boardwalk across the reserve leading to seven hides.  Nearby is the Dyfi Osprey project, where you can watch these magnificent ‘ sea-eagles’  through a webcam.

Credits

The information provided on this page was from Discover Ceredigion, for more information visit the Discover Ceredigion website.

Things To Do

Mwnt to Cardigan Island Coast Path

Walking

Cardigan River

Places To Visit

Horse

Horse Riding

Fly Fishing

Fishing

Dog Walking

Dog Walking

Cycling in the Countryside

Cycling

Ynyslas Sand Dunes

Beaches

Sea Watersports

Adventure Sports

Facebook

Happy Donkey Hill

Faerdre Fach,
Llandysul,
United KingdomSA44 4EG

01559 364766
07376047444
07778190784
happydonkeyhill@btinternet.com

About Happy Donkey Hill

At Happy Donkey Hill, we aim to offer a relaxing getaway, for groups of friends, family get togethers and romantic breaks, therefore we unfortunately do not accept children under the age of 10 years

© Copyright - Happy Donkey Hill | Terms and Conditions | Website Designed & Developed By BIZmo
Fishing Fly Fishing Cycling in the Countryside Cycling
Chat Now Through Facebook
×
Scroll to top