Traeth Llyfn beach, Pembrokeshire: 'A beach so remote you’ll be the sole person on it'

The remote Traeth Llyfn beach is a Secret Britain spot accessible only by the adventurous.

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The Coast Path leading around to Traeth Llyfn, Abereiddy, near St Davids in Pembrokeshire.
The Coast Path leading around to Traeth Llyfn, Abereiddy, near St Davids in Pembrokeshire.
(Image credit: Alamy)

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.

The rock formations on the sand at Traeth Llyfn.

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.

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Annunciata Elwes
Annunciata Elwes

Annunciata is director of contemporary art gallery TIN MAN ART and an award-winning journalist specialising in art, culture and property. Previously, she was Country Life’s News & Property Editor. Before that, she worked at The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, researched for a historical biographer and co-founded a literary, art and music festival in Oxfordshire. Lancashire-born, she lives in Hampshire with a husband, two daughters and a mischievous pug.