On the wild Welsh coast overlooking St George’s Channel, Traeth Llyfn beach is so remote you’ll be the sole person on it.
It’s only accessible from the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, a little over half a mile’s walk from Abereiddi to the south or a little further from Porthgain, and, because the beach sits in a secluded crook of soaring slate and shale cliffs, access is tricky.
You’ll need to descend via a small staircase set into the cliff edge, said to have been built by Italian prisoners-of-war, but beware — the steps are cut off at high tide and the undercurrent is strong.
The Blue Lagoon of Abereiddi is worth a visit, too, a sea-flooded old slate quarry that’s now a popular diving spot.
See more of Secret Britain
Carn Euny, Cornwall: The baffling ruin with a tunnel dating back to the Iron Age
Annie Elwes investigates the ruins of Carn Euny.
Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall, Dumfriesshire: 'Mesmerising even to the peregrine falcons that nest in the crags around'
Annie Elwes recommends the waterfall and surrounding wild countryside of the Grey Mare's Tail Nature Reserve.
-
The King's favourite tea, conclave and spring flowers: Country Life Quiz of the Day, April 22, 2025Tuesday's Quiz of the Day blows smoke, tells the time and more.
-
London is the place for me* (*the discerning property buyer)With more buyers looking at London than anywhere else, is the 'race for space' finally over?
-
St Patrick’s Chapel ruins, Heysham: The mythical Lancashire ruins with a heavenly viewAnnunciata Elwes takes a look at St Patrick’s Chapel ruins, a Morecambe Bay landmark.
-
Suisnish, Isle of Skye: The atmospheric ruins of a Clearance villageBeauty now reigns in a tragic spot where hundreds of villagers suffered during the Clearance
-
Covehithe beach, Suffolk, where the cliffs crumble like cakeThe most eroded beach in Britain has a post-apocalyptic feel.
-
Clydach Ironworks, Monmouthshire: Ruins in the gorge that inspired ShakespeareAn oasis of quiet now stands where the steam hammers thudded at this Welsh ironworks, in a river valley that may have moved Shakespeare to write A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
-
Royston Cave, Hertfordshire: A mysterious site full of sacred energyOur Secret Britain series continues with a Hertofrdshire cave whose true nature remains unknown.
-
John Bunting War Memorial Chapel, Scotch Corner: The painstaking transformation of rubble to War MemorialAnnunciata Elwes celebrates the effort that turned a derelict house into a memorial.
-
The Garden of Cosmic Speculation: The surreal space where Lewis Carroll and Willy Wonka meet Capability BrownSurrealism, philosophy, nature and gardening come together at the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, as Annunciata Elwes explains.
-
The Airman’s Grave, Ashdown Forest: A touching and little-known memorial to victims of war and fateA wartime tragedy in East Sussex's Ashdown Forest is among our Secret Britain picks, as chosen by Annunciata Elwes.
