Barmouth, United Kingdom

The best approach to BARMOUTH (Abermaw) is from the south, where the Cambrian coast rail line sweeps across the Mawddach Estuary from tiny Fairbourne, over 113 rickety-looking wooden spans. Fashioned as a sea-bathing resort in the nineteenth century, Barmouth also offers lovely, breezy rambles on the cliffs of Dinas Oleu, above the town, and a great walk around the mouth of the estuary. Check out the Tŷ Gwyn Museum (July– Sept daily 10.30am–5pm; free), a medieval tower house housing a Tudor museum, and the Tŷ Crwn Roundhouse, on the hill behind (same times) which once acted as a lockup for drunken sailors.

Buses from Harlech and Dolgellau stop on Jubilee Road, near the train station. Accommodation is plentiful, and best at the Bae Abermaw Hotel, Panorama Hill (Tel:01341/280550, Web: www.baeabermaw.com ; Price: £110), a former Victorian hotel that has gone all contemporary, or the seafront Wavecrest Hotel, 8 Marine Parade (Tel:01341/280330, Web: www.barmouthbandb.com ; Price: £50). Two miles north of Barmouth, Llwynd Farmhouse in Llanaber (Tel:01341/280144, Web: www.llwyndu-farmhouse.co.uk ; Price: £70) is one of the finest farmhouse B&Bs in Wales. The closest of a long string of campsites is Hendre Mynach, Llanaber Road (Tel:01341/280262, Web: www.hendremynach.cu.uk ), a mile north of town and just off the beach.

Basic cafés are plentiful, though for just a little more money you can get mammoth French sticks, good pizzas and decent veggie meals at Isis on The Quay. Nearby, in Church Street, The Last Inn, a fifteenth-century coaching inn in a former cobbler's shop, serves good pub meals.