Days Out - Harlech Town - From the beach to the top

Dunes and a golden, sandy beach

Today starts out on Harlech's glorious beach, ideally at both low tide and on a sunny day so the golden sands stretch out far and the ocean glistens as it gently laps against the shoreline. If you have driven then you are likely already in the car park right at the start of our walk, but if you have taken public transport then no worries: you are one single arrow straight road to the beach. Fford Glan Mor is nearly directly opposite where both the trains and busses drop off and is clearly signposted with brown signs for Traeth (Beach). It unfortunately does not have a proper pavement to walk on, but it does have a painted section which operates as one - just stay tucked in, on busy days plenty of cars may be using this road! Before you know it, you will be at the car park and ready to explore...

The entrance to Harlech Beach is a reasonably wide and smooth paved path to begin with, as it guides you through a public route between the fairways and greens of the Royal St. David's Golf Club. Eventually, the flat smooth paths will be replaced by a soft sand substitute that will see you climb and descend through a reasonably easygoing section of dunes. If you do decide to explore around the dunes, remember to proceed cautiously as some are very steep! Outside of the dunes are the smooth stretching sands of Harlech Beach, with the dunes forming an impressive sand and beach-grass wall, awe-inspiringly tall. Beaches are easy to love in most cases, but something about Harlech's beach is extra special, how long you want to spend walking here, or swimming should it be hot enough, is up to you, but we damn-near walked as far as the Dwyryd/Glaslyn estuary at Porthmadog! Even just a splash of some blue skies can make this the perfect way to start your day, you can enjoy the beach before the peak sun kicks in (there is naturally not a lick of shade to be found here), and once you are ready you can retrace your footsteps back over the dunes.

Up the lane, to the lower town

While I mentioned it briefly above, you will need to make your way along Fford Glan Mor in order to rejoin Harlech town, this is a simple enough path to follow, from the gate at the entrance to the beach just head straight on past the car park, keeping yourself as tucked into the painted gutter of a footpath as you can. The golf course lines the right-hand side of the road, and a mixture of homes, a holiday park and the local school line the other side, perhaps not the most exciting views, but the imposing fortress of Harlech Castle will be growing as you progress until it looms above as you link up to the main road.

The lower portion of Harlech town has a handful of businesses you can check out, if you are already in need of a pitstop there are a handful of hotels and a couple of cafés where you can rehydrate however you see fit. Ultimately, our aim is to get to the upper section of the town, around the castle, but a climb is required to do that...

Finding a route to the upper town

So now you're at the bottom of the town, then what? Well, as you can probably guess there is no way up but to climb. Sadly, the winding path up the castle side isn't available, so we are going to have to pick a route out of the roads that circumnavigate the fortification between and from where we currently stand there is probably only one truly viable option: Twtil. Any other road requires you to walk a little further out of the way and doesn't really offer any better way up - most roads here will not have a path the entire way, so you are going to have to proceed with a little caution. It isn't a true country lane, with just enough space for two cars, but you should still employ some of the rules you use there, such as remaining on the outside of corners to make you more visible than cutting up the inside, and this will come in handy considering the lane has a couple of switchbacks between you and your destination.

So let's get underway, The climb won't get any easier! Access to Twtil is just past the level crossing from Fford Glan Mor, you can also cut to the first corner by continuing past Y Branwen Hotel and following the footpath sign up the steps. Then you just need to wind your way upwards, there are driveways and cut-outs you can tuck into when needed along the way and eventually, you will be rewarded with your first up-close views of the castle to let you know you've made it. The views from the upper portion of the town will more than compensate for the taxing ascent!

First Stop -  Harlech's wonderful castle

Following your ascent from the sea-level portion of Harlech, what could be better than continuing upwards and enjoying the main attraction? Harlech's Castle is unmissable from just about any corner of the town, a looming fortification atop its hillside, it contributes so much to Harlech's unique vibe and you must check it out - we've written about the castle before, so instead of retreading familiar ground, you can check that out below...

By this point, you are probably ready for a nice refuel, luckily, Harlech town has a few different options for you right around the castle...

For our visit, the Wilderness Café was a perfect respite, tucked away down a small alley opposite the castle itself, we could stumble our tired legs over there to grab a seat and recharge with a coffee and a beautiful slice of cake. This particular café is also an eclectic collection of offerings, with a huge variety of items for sale plus a book and game corner - it certainly has a unique vibe. Later in the day on our return journey to the beach, we topped our day off with a glorious ice cream from Hufenfa'r Castell, again just up from Harlech Castle and with some of the creamiest and gorgeous ice cream, a perfect end to a long day of walking on a solidly sunny day! We have stopped in Harlech to eat a few times, meals of all sizes and we have never been disappointed, so be sure to explore around and find something amazing.

There is also a smattering of shops around the upper portion of Harlech, worth a quick wander between while you window shop and maybe even leave with a souvenir or two, just follow the relatively flat Stryd Fawr at the top of Twtil while navigating the parked cars and limited pavements - the towns narrow winding streets continue all around here, but aside from this main lane, you won't find much beyond peaceful residential lanes.

Keep Heading Upwards or Stumble Back Downwards

How you wish to spend your day from here on out is entirely up to you, we opted to explore the town a little further up but I would completely understand if you have had your fill of climbing. There is a lovely green space just up from the town, adjacent to the Bron y Graig Uchaf Long Stay Car Park but with a connecting path up the side of the shops on Stryd Fawr, just look for the brown sign. The shade of the trees on a hot day here is lovely. From here on out there are further walks, with a network of smaller paths you can follow using an OS map or even following the lanes up and out into the countryside - there are plenty of options for those after further adventures.

Of course, if you are ready to call it quits and you've either parked at the beachfront or are taking public transport, then you are going to need to retrace your steps back down the hill but at least the down is easier than the up! That concludes our day exploring Harlech town is an absolute gem of a day out, from beach to hilltop and that spectacular castle in between it is difficult not to find something you and your travelling companions will enjoy out of it. If you wish to expand your day then you can find plenty of amazing things to do nearby, with Porthmadog to the north and Barmouth to the south you could easily spend hours and hours exploring this stunning section of Snowdonia.