Abergele-Pensarn Beach

View looking west towards Great Orme

Situated on the North Wales coast, the twin resorts of Abergele and Pensarn have a good two miles of beach that is uncrowded at even the height of summer, with most visitors to the district apparently preferring the bustle of nearby Colwyn Bay and Llandudno.

The upper part of the beach is comprised of pebbles, but large stretches of clean golden sand are exposed at low tide.  However, as the sandy part of the beach shelves very gradually you have to wade quite a way to find swimming depth at low tide.  I always try to time my visits to coincide with high tide - the photos were taken about an hour after high tide. The water reaches up the steep stony part so you only need to wade a few yards to be in several feet of water.  Although facing north, this stretch of the Irish Sea can reach 20ºC (68ºF), almost as warm as the Mediterranean.  Water quality is good although in cloudy weather it takes on the colour of dirty dishwater - fortunately it's a lot warmer than it looks.