Great beaches for a barbecue in Wales

Please take care disposing of hot barbecues and respect our lovely beaches by taking your litter home with you.

• Make sure the BBQ is cool or the fire is out before trying to move it or throw it away.
• Never bury used BBQs in the sand – someone may stand on it and burn or cut themselves. Instead, wait until it is completely cool and dispose of in a general waste bin or take it home with you to dispose of.

What we like about Kinmel Bay is that there’s bags of room for beach barbies, and the entertainment is thrown in by the local kitesurfing school. What could be more pleasurable than watching people learn how to kitesurf (which involves an amusing amount of falling over), while you’re eating a sausage? Very little, in our view.

Aberdaron is a popular south-facing beach which lies right at the wild tip of the Llŷn Peninsula, but it’s easily accessible with plenty of facilities nearby in the village. Best of both worlds, then.

Tresaith, a small and sheltered bay, is a family favourite for swimming and rockpooling. The prime picnic and BBQ spots are on the north side of the beach, where a waterfall tumbles down from the cliffs. There's a chance you may spot a dolphin or seal swimming across the bay while you eat.

There are two Broad Havens in Pembrokeshire. The southern one, near Stackpole, is wildly pretty, but for sheer BBQ ease, we’re heading for Broad Haven North. St Brides Bay’s most popular beach is a fabulous stretch of sand with interesting rock pools, backed by a little village with a handy supermarket. 

If you like a bit of space in which to flex your BBQ muscle, then Cefn Sidan’s eight miles of sand should do the trick. It’s backed by Pembrey Country Park, which has its own picnic and barbecue areas, as well as a ski slope and family fun activities.

Three Cliffs is Gower’s prettiest beach, but it’s a hefty walk if you're carrying BBQ stuff. The neighbouring Oxwich is lovely in its own right and it has a car park, which makes life much easier. For the best experience, stock up on meat and fish at Swansea’s covered market, the largest in Wales.

Sand, clifftop walks, big pebbles, rockpools for dabbling in – Dunraven Bay may just be the best picnic/BBQ spot on the south coast. As a bonus, the beach is right on the Wales Coast Path. It's just down the road from the Glamorgan Heritage Coast Centre in Dunraven Park. Bonus: there’s a toilet block and snack bar on the beach.

Barry has two distinct faces: the kiss-me-quick funfair side and Porthkerry - a tranquil 200 acres of woodland and meadows which lead down to a big pebble beach beneath the cliffs. They’ve got a purpose-built BBQ area, or you could find your own spot at the water’s edge.

Its Welsh name means ‘Big Beach’, so there’s enough room for everyone here – and you can drive onto Newport Sands beach, which makes barbecuing a doddle. Top tip: the butcher and fishmonger in Newport are both superb, so that’s your raw ingredients sorted.