Courtney
17 November 2021
A day out at the beach is good but a day out at the beach with your four-legged friend is fantastic! Just watching her scamper off after a ball, fetching a stick or just leaving those cute little paw prints in the sand is enough to turn any frown upside down. There's always plenty of smells to entice a dog at the beach, and when things get a little hot, a splash in the surf is a welcome reward. Read on to find out where you can take your dog for some beachy fun in and near Aberdyfi.
Aberdyfi/Aberdovey Beach
Aberdyfi (also known as Aberdovey) Beach is a long, unspoilt and sandy beach stretching for well over 4 miles from the seaside village of Aberdyfi up and towards Tywyn Beach to the north.
Commonly described as the place where the Welsh mountains meet the sea, it lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park. A walk along this beach rewards visitors with a vista of beautiful and natural scenery, and a view all along the coastline of Cardigan Bay. The beach is backed by golden-coloured sand dunes and the Aberdovey Golf Club, a links course that has been voted one of the best golf courses in the UK.
Walking is a popular pastime in and around Aberdyfi on both the beach and surrounding mountains. For lovers of water, sailing, kitesurfing, paddleboarding and windsurfing are popular in the Dyfi Estuary, and the Dovey Yacht Club also holds races in the summer months which add to the splendour of the village. The local tides can be quite strong, and swimmers must be aware that there are strong currents in the estuary and amongst the surf further along the beach between Aberdyfi and Tywyn.
A large pay-and-display car park can be found in Aberdyfi and there’s direct access onto the beach via a ramp and a small number of steps. Public toilets are located next to the tourist information centre, and shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants are located along Aberdyfi’s Terrace Road, alongside the beach.
Aberdyfi has two village railway stations (Aberdovey & Penhelig Halt). The main station is located next to the golf course and is only a short walk from the beach.
Dogs are not allowed on marked-off areas of the beach next to the car park between 1st April and 30th September. The rest of the beach from the dunes to Tywyn is dog friendly all year round and dog litter should be collected and disposed of from all areas.
Tywyn Beach
Tywyn Beach has a huge expanse of sand that stretches from Tywyn in the north down to the Dovey Estuary (Dyfi in Welsh) and harbour village of Aberdyfi 4 miles to the south.
The name Tywyn means ‘sand dunes’, although the first section of beach in front of the town is backed by the wide promenade and is divided up into a number of wooden groynes. To the north of Tywyn, is a shingle beach and path which leads to the village of Tonfanau and scenic walks around Dysynni Broad Water. To the south of Twywn, there are extensive low-lying dunes that meet with the Aberdovey Golf Club before swinging west into Aberdyfi.
Tywyn Beach is popular with surfers because of its westerly Atlantic swells, and the waves tend to be best around high tide and towards the southern end of the beach.
The recently opened Wales Coast Path runs through Tywyn and by taking this path you will have some outstanding views of Cardigan Bay along with Snowdonia and the Cambrian Mountains to the south. If you keep your eyes peeled, you may even be lucky enough to spot the resident pods of bottlenose dolphins, which are among the largest population of dolphins in Europe.
The beach, which has been granted the Seaside Award, has amenities that include toilets, parking, a shop and a cafe on the promenade. Dogs are welcome on the southern section of the beach all year round, however, the section along the promenade does have restrictions between April and the end of September.
Dog-friendly cottages in Aberdyfi
If you want to bring your poochy pal to one of these amazing beaches, then you may want somewhere to lay your head at the end of a day of chasing balls and digging holes in the sand. Our self-catering, dog-friendly cottages in and around Aberdyfi provide the perfect base for a coastal holiday with your four-legged friend.
Dog-friendly Aberdyfi cottages
Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of writing,
please ensure you check carefully before making any decisions based on the contents within this article.