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| Our aim here at the British Coast Guide is to create a portal to the coast, providing visitors with introductions to areas of the coast they will not know about. Using video, both of our own production and those of tourism boards and locals. Around this presentation we would love to promote your business... |
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The heart of Gwynedd is the mountain range of Snowdonia, but around its periphery are some fascinating coastal resorts, attractions and places of interest. The Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of tidal water, some 16 miles long that separates the Isle of Anglesey from the mainland. At its northern end is the University city of Bangor, and nearby are the road and rail bridges connecting to Holyhead, the port for Ireland. The ‘old’ road bridge was constructed by Thomas Telford in 1826, the first suspension bridge, and the Britannia railway bridge followed 24 years later, built by Robert Stephenson. The Britannia Bridge was destroyed by fire in 1970, and was rebuilt to carry both rail and road traffic in a ‘double deck’ configuration.
At the southern end of the Menai Strait is Caernarfon, with its medieval fortress, in which Prince Charles was invested as Prince of Wales in 1969. The town also houses the Regimental Museum of the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
Extending thirty miles into the Irish Sea, separating Caernarfon Bay from Cardigan Bay, is the Lleyn or Llyn Peninsula, encircled by a way-marked 146 mile coastal path running from Caernarfon to Porthmadog. Bardsey Island has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries, a monastery having been built there in 542 AD. Along the north and south coasts of the Lleyn are beaches and resorts, principal among them is Pwllheli. This part of Wales is Welsh-speaking, and the Welsh Nationalist party Plaid Cymru was founded in Pwllheli in 1925.
Tremadog Bay is guarded by castles at Criccieth and Harlech, and inland there are a number of narrow-gauge railways. Portmeirion is famous for its pottery, and the Italianate village was famously the location of the 1960s television series The Prisoner. Beaches stretch along the coast below Harlech Castle, down to Barmouth, and beyond to Tywyn and Aberdovey.
See our Featured Accommodation OR a Selection of Great Places to Visit
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Porthmadog, the base from which to explore all of Snowdonia |
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Picturesque Aberdyfi lies on the northern shore of the Dyfi Estuary |
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Tywyn is a small seaside town and it's beach stretches for four miles. |
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Barmouth boasts a wide expanse of sandy beach which stretched for nearly two miles. |
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Harlech is an attractive cluster of stone-built houses within narrow streets which are dominated by Harlech Castle. |
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Criccieth is an unspoilt, popular, historic little town which faces south over Cardigan Bay. |
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Regarded by many as the capital of the Lleyn Peninsula. |
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Abersoch has been dubbed the Welsh Riviera. |
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Aberdaron lies two miles short of the end of the Lleyn Peninsula. |
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Whistling Sands is a squeaky beach on the end of the Lleyn Peninsula. |
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A time lapse walk around the Foryd, a beautiful stretch of coast/estuary just to the south of Caernarfon (also a SSSI/Nature Reserve). I created the soundtrack using Apple's Garageband software on my computer. |
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Bangor is a friendly city on the Menai Strait with unique character and landscape and panoramic views of the sea from Bangor Mountain |
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Caernarfon has a superb setting with the mountains of Snowdonia as a backdrop and wonderful views across the Menai Strait to Anglesey. Its crown jewel is Caernarfon Castle, a 13th Century palace. |
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Nefyn is a small seaside resort on the north coast of the Llyn Peninsula in Gwynedd, North Wales. Nefyn is best known for it's beautiful unspoilt seafront, clean sea and sandy beaches |
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