Bed and breakfast availability
Abersoch b&b, guesthouse and hotel accommodation

Visit Abersoch and the surrounding villages and stay in bed & breakfast accommodation:

Abersoch, Gwynedd, a small village, lies on the South coast of the Lleyn peninsula, about 7 miles South West of Pwllheli towards Trwyn Cilan (Penkilan Head) and Porth Neigwl. The trout stream of the Afon Soch runs an extraordinary course. It rises some miles to the West near the lumpy hill of Mynydd Cefnamwlch, tries to get into the sea, swings North again, cuts through higher ground. and finally flows out to the open water at Abersoch. These diversions are the product of the landscape reshaping at the end of the Ice Age.

Abersoch has grown fast in recent years; in summer it is a crowded holiday resort, complete with boarding-houses, caravans, and golf course. It offers pleasant opportunities, too, for deep-sea fishing, at least to the extent of spinning for eager mackerel and occasionally for more unexpected hauls. The sands are shallow but extensive. and the yachtsmen have annexed the small shelter at the mouth of the stream, with its old houses at the water's edge. Southward lies the fine, bare peninsula, speckled with small farms, that reaches its climax in Trwyn Cilan. Here the bay of Porth Ceiriad is walled in with perpendicular cliffs that give point to the name of the nearby Porth Neigwl (Hell's Mouth), from the currents that destroyed so many ships. Offshore lie the two islets of St Tudwal, haunted by guillemots and puffins above the cliffs and deep, sea-surged caves. St Tudwal was apparently one Tugdual, a Breton who, like many of his contemporaries in the 6^th century, reached the shores of the Irish Sea, to escape the disturbances in western Europe during the collapse of Rome and to establish faith among the people. He was a bishop of Treguier, and the remains of a 12^th century chapel on one of the islands may represent an oratory he founded. The other island has an abandoned lighthouse. Both islands were bought in 1934 by Clough Williams-Ellis to save them from “development”.

The l7^th century mansion of Castellmarch. just outside Abersoch, has dwindled in status to a farmhouse, but still retains its thick oak rafters. The Castellmarch family produced a long line of lawyers, doctors, and M.P.s. Legend maintains that this was the site of the castle of King March, the King Mark of the Tristan story that inspired Wagner to write his most lyrical opera. King March was cursed with horse's ears, and had every barber who cut his hair put to death, to keep the dreadful secret. But reeds grew thickly on the place where the unhappy barbers lay buried. A piper happened to make pipes out of the reeds, and no sooner did he play on them than they sang out King March's secret shame. This story has arisen from the fact that “march” in Welsh happens to mean a stallion.

West of Abersoch and 11 miles away is Llanengan, with a church considered the oldest in the Lleyn peninsula. Its screen is beautifully carved, though belonging to much later than the time of Tugdual, and it has holy vessels brought from the great abbey that once stood on Bardsey Island. The coffer of solid oak was the strong-box in which the congregation placed its coins of tribute to the church. Also to the West, crouched under the shelter of a small hill, is Llangian, which on past occasions has won the prize for the neatest village in the county. The church here is of 6^th century foundation and dedicated to Gian, a fellow of Tugdual's. It has been restored, but the churchyard contains the ancient stone with the inscription Meli Medici Fili Martini Iacit, “[The mortal part] of Meluc the Doctor, Son of Martinus, Lies Here”. This must be the earliest mention of a doctor in Wales.

Nearby towns: Criccieth, Nefyn, Pllwelli

Nearby villages: Aberdaron, Abererch, Boduan, Botwnnog, Bryncroes, Chwilog, Dinas, Edern, Llanarmon, Llanbedrog, Llandudwen, Llandygwnning, Llanengan, Llanfaelrhys, Llangian, Llangwnadl, Llangybi, Llannor, Llithfaen, Morfa Nefyn, Penllech, Penrhos, Pistyll, Rhiw, Rhos-y-Llan, Sarn Meyllteyrn, Tudweiliog

Have you decided to visit Abersoch or the surrounding villages? Please look above for somewhere to stay in:

• a Abersoch bed and breakfast (a Abersoch B&B or Abersoch b and b)
• a Abersoch guesthouse
• a Abersoch hotel (or motel)
• a Abersoch self-catering establishment, or
• other Abersoch accommodation

Accommodation in Abersoch:

Find availability in a Abersoch bed and breakfast, also known as B&B or b and b, guesthouse, small hotel, self-catering or other accommodation.