Black rock Sands Beach

The beach at Black Rock Sands is firm, wide and honest - no pretence, just proper sand that won't bog you down when you're walking or driving on it. That last bit matters: this is one of the few Welsh beaches where you can legally drive onto the sand, which transforms it from a standard seaside spot into something genuinely practical for families who want to park metres from the water.

It's backed by dunes rather than cliffs, which means the light stays good throughout the day and you won't feel hemmed in. The beach stretches generously between Porthmadog and the Lleyn Peninsula, making it feel less crowded than it probably is. In summer the car parks fill up by mid-morning, so an early start pays off - you'll have space to breathe and the kids can actually run without navigating crowds.

What you get here is a working beach. Families come to swim and dig. The water's cold even in July, so wetsuits aren't silly. The sand is the real draw though - fine enough for sandcastles, firm enough that toddlers can toddle without sinking. There's nothing fancy: a café, a few shops, loos. That's rather the point.

The surrounding area is caravan-heavy, with half a dozen parks within easy distance - Garreg Goch and Haven Greenacres are barely five minutes away. If you're basing yourselves for a week in North Wales, this works as a day trip from Snowdonia or the coast proper. Porthmadog itself is worth an afternoon for the narrow-gauge railway and the harbour, but you're not coming here for culture. You're coming here to be on the beach without faffing about.