Morfa Bychan is a village located in

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

, with a population of over 500, with an almost equal number of people born in England or Wales.

The village

Situated on the

Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn or , ) extends into the Irish Sea from North West Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and historic region and local authority area of Gwynedd. ...

just west of

Borth-y-Gest Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ffes ...

and

Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ff ...

, Morfa Bychan can be reached from Porthmadog via the Borth-y-Gest/Morfa Bychan road or a country lane off the

A497 List of A road A roads may be *motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian). * main roads or highways, in a system where roads are graded A, B ...

. Morfa Bychan has a small supermarket, a fish-and-chips shop, a gift shop and a children's playground. The village also contains Porthmadog Golf Club and is near to the Glan Morfa Trout fishery.

Traeth Morfa Bychan

Morfa Bychan has a beach known as Traeth Morfa Bychan which stretches for two miles from the eastern end of the National Trust's Ynys Cyngar on the Afon Glaslyn (River Glaslyn) estuary along Tremadog Bay to Criccieth beach which is accessible at low tide. It is unusual as cars are allowed onto it, although this means that there can be problems with irresponsible drivers. The sea along Traeth Morfa Bychan is shallow, with a gentle gradient making it ideal for swimming and paddling. Dogs are allowed on the eastern and western sections of the beach but are banned from the central section. It also has designated bathing and boat-launching areas. The

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

of Traeth Morfa Bychan are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Part of the 1971 film ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' was filmed at Traeth Morfa Bychan. The cover picture from the

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes), plus Nic ...

album '' This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' was taken at Traeth Morfa Bychan.

Ynys Gyngar

There is also a small beach below the National Trust's Ynys Cyngar, the original point where Madocks was going to site a port before moving it to

Caravan parks

There are a number of caravan parks at Morfa Bychan including Greenacres, Garreg Goch, Cardigan View and Glan Morfa Mawr, the largest of which is Greenacres. There is also a touring and camping site just outside the village by Black Rock Sands.

Notable people

Barri Griffiths - wrestler in

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

as Mason Ryan. David Owen (harpist) - harpist and composer of Dafydd y Garreg Wen

Photo gallery

File:Black_Rock_Sands.JPG, Black Rock Sands Beach looking towards Both-y-Guestm,Ynys Cyngar and the Afon Glaslyn estuary. File:Black Rock Sands (11927509374).jpg File:Ynys_Cyngar,_near_Porthmadog_-_geograph.org.uk_-_11426.jpg, Ynys Cyngar. File:Ancient_dunes,_near_Porthmadog_-_geograph.org.uk_-_11427.jpg, Dunes at Traeth Morfa Bychan.

References

External links

360 Panoramic View Of Black Rock Sands (Morfa Bychan)www.geograph.co.uk : Photos of Morfa Bychan and surrounding area.
{{authority control Villages in Gwynedd Porthmadog Seaside resorts in Wales