Anglesey
Luxury Holiday Homes on the Llyn Peninsula
5 properties found
Our Llyn Peninsula cottages
Llyn Peninsula cottages from Birch Stays: four homes on the quiet arm of North Wales, sleeping from 8 to 20 guests. Three are at Nefyn, a short walk from the beach and the coast path to Porthdinllaen. The fourth, Coastal Manor, is a Georgian country house in five acres near Pwllheli. All of them take dogs, one has a private hot tub, and you book directly with us.
Why choose the Llyn Peninsula
Because it is the coast without the crowds. The Llyn Peninsula (Pen Llŷn in Welsh) runs 30 miles out into the Irish Sea, with the sea on three sides and the mountains of Snowdonia behind. Most of it is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and most visitors drive past it on the way to somewhere busier.
For holiday cottages, Llyn Peninsula means space and quiet. Our holiday cottages in Llyn Peninsula, North Wales, suit families who want a beach on foot, groups who want a big house with room to spread out, and anyone who'd rather share a cove with a seal than a car park. They don't suit anyone who wants nightlife; for that, the Victorian seaside is at Conwy and Llandudno.
Nefyn and Porthdinllaen
Nefyn is a Welsh-speaking village on the north coast of the peninsula, with a long sandy bay below it and the headland of Porthdinllaen at the far end. It has a small supermarket, a pub and a fish and chip shop, and the coast path runs along the cliff above the beach.
Cliff Top sleeps 8 guests in four bedrooms, 0.2 miles from Nefyn Beach. It has sea views from a large private garden, an Aga, a log burner and a fire pit, parking for three cars, and takes up to two dogs. It's the pick of our cottages with sea view. Llyn Peninsula sunsets go down over the bay in front of it.
Gwynt y Môr and Ceg y Bae are two neighbouring cottages a short walk from the beach, each sleeping 8 in four bedrooms, each with a ground-floor bedroom and shower. Gwynt y Môr has a private hot tub in an enclosed garden. Book the two together as Y Nyth and they sleep 16 guests across eight bedrooms, side by side.
Pwllheli and the south coast
Pwllheli is the peninsula's market town, with a marina, a long beach and the railway station at the end of the Cambrian Coast line. Abersoch, 14 minutes south, is the sailing and surfing village, and Criccieth's castle sits on its headland along the coast towards Porthmadog.
Coastal Manor is 1.5 miles from Pwllheli: a Georgian country house in five acres, sleeping 20 guests across ten en-suite bedrooms. There's a dining table that seats all 20, a bar, a piano room, a library and a wood-burning stove. It's the house for a milestone birthday or a family that only gets together once a year. If it's luxury cottages Llyn Peninsula side you're after, this is the one: Georgian houses here don't come much bigger. A hot tub can be hired in through our concierge.
The homes differ in size, not in standard: every one is held to the same Birch standard, whether it sleeps eight or twenty.
The beaches
Nefyn's beach is the one on the doorstep: a long curve of sand under the cliffs. At the far end, Porthdinllaen is a tiny fishing hamlet on the sand, cared for by the National Trust, with a pub on the beach itself.
Further west, Whistling Sands (Porthor) squeaks underfoot when it's dry. Aberdaron, 27 minutes from Nefyn, is the beach at the end of Wales, looking out to Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli).
On the south coast, Porth Neigwl (Hell's Mouth) is the long surf beach. Abersoch is the sheltered one with the boats. Llanbedrog has the beach huts and a short walk up the headland to the Iron Man sculpture. Porth Ysgo is the quiet cove most people never find.
Gwynedd restricts dogs on parts of some beaches in summer; the signs at each beach say where and when.
Walks
The headland walk above Nefyn is the one to do first: along the cliffs to Porthdinllaen, across the golf course, and on past the lifeboat station to watch the seals. Go at low tide and come back for a drink at the pub on the sand.
For a bigger view, Tre'r Ceiri on Yr Eifl is an Iron Age hillfort near the summit, its stone walls and hut circles still standing, with the whole peninsula below. Garn Boduan, above Nefyn, is the shorter hillfort climb with the same kind of view. At the far end, the coast path from Aberdaron runs along the clifftops towards Bardsey. The best short walks in North Wales has more.
Cafés, pubs and restaurants
Tŷ Coch at Porthdinllaen is the pub on the beach, reached on foot across the sand or the golf course, and it gets busy on a sunny day. The Sun Inn at Llanengan near Abersoch is the local favourite for a pub supper. Nefyn has a brewery, Cwrw Llŷn, whose beers turn up in pubs across the peninsula. For dinner, Dylan's at Criccieth has the view and the seafood. See the best places to eat in North Wales.
Nefyn's small supermarket covers the top-ups; do the big shop in Pwllheli, 14 minutes away. If you're having groceries delivered, book a slot before 4pm, which is when the delivery vans stop coming out this far.
Things to do on the Llyn Peninsula
- The headland walk from Nefyn to Porthdinllaen, the pub on the sand and the seals off the lifeboat station
- Tre'r Ceiri, the Iron Age "town of the giants" on Yr Eifl, on a clear day
- Aberdaron and the clifftop view to Bardsey Island; boat trips run across in summer
- Whistling Sands, which really does squeak
- Surfing or a lesson at Porth Neigwl
- The Iron Man on the headland above Llanbedrog
- Criccieth Castle on its rock, and an ice cream on the front
- Portmeirion, the Italianate village on the estuary that looks like a corner of the Mediterranean
- Snowdon, 45 minutes away, for a mountain day
Getting to the Llyn Peninsula
The Llyn is further than it looks, and the last stretch is on country roads. From Chester, Nefyn is about an hour and fifty minutes; from Manchester, nearer two and three-quarters. Pwllheli and Nefyn are 14 minutes apart, and Abersoch is 14 minutes from Pwllheli and 21 from Nefyn.
By train, the Cambrian Coast line ends at Pwllheli, with connections via Machynlleth or Bangor. Once you're here, you'll want a car: the beaches and coves are spread out and the buses are infrequent.
Why book direct with Birch Stays
Book direct and you'll deal with us, not a call centre. Our team will answer the phone and can tell you, honestly, which home has the better view of the bay. When you're ready to book, pay 30% to hold your dates. The balance is usually due 60 days before you arrive, but it varies by home, so check the listing for your dates. If anything about the home changes before then, you'll hear it from us first.
