The county is not renowned for its beaches but has one famous site
06:24, 18 Oct 2025Updated 07:34, 18 Oct 2025
Chief reporter on North Wales Live and Daily Post. Former business editor on the Daily Post and previously worked on weekly newspapers in North Wales and Manchester.
Passionate about Cymru, rugby, Everton FC, and almost any flavour of nut. Full time cabbie to 3 daughters.
The Point of Ayr Lighthouse at Talacre
When you search up ‘best beaches’ in one Welsh county – then Tripadvisor only throws up one option. Talacre is the sole sandy representative in Flintshire, an area with plenty of coastline but only one actual beach.
For me living in Conwy then a seaside visit meant either picking one of the many options in my home county or heading west to Gwynedd or Anglesey.
I had vague memories of visiting Talacre many years back and actually had a brief (unsuccessful) summer job as part of the construction of Point of Ayr gas terminal next to the beach in the 1990s.
It’s a place I had written about plenty of times – from the iconic lighthouse to sea rescues and as I was passing nearby last week I decided to pay it a visit.
I parked up next to a business park nearby and took a 10 minute walk through the small resort to the beach. There was a real end of season feel to the place although there is perhaps a final half term flurry coming and this was a weekday so I’m sure weekends are still busy.
Coming from a tourist area I’ve always quite liked that winding down period after a busy summer season and the feeling you’re getting your favourite spots back after the hordes have departed. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
It meant there was only a smattering of people on the short walk – with me exchanging greetings with most of them.
Prior to reaching the beach you go through the significant sand dune network that runs from Prestatyn to Talacre. Unfortunately parts of the dunes at Gronant and Talacre have been under pressure for some time.
Sand dunes at Talacre
Restoration work is taking place between Natural Resources Wales, Eni (who own Point of Ayr terminal) and Presthaven Holiday Park. NRW say they have led on the creation of areas of new bare sand habitat in the open glades, that will hopefully boost rare plants and invertebrates that depend on this habitat. This will also be of benefit to the natterjack toad population.
In the absence of grazing, contractors have mowed areas of the dune grassland to help keep the vegetation short that will allow orchids to flourish. Small fences and signs keep people away from the protected dunes with a path and gap between them to enter the beach.
The sandy beach and dunes at Talacre
Signage close to the beach gives more details on the natural habitat and also a very different time in this area during the Second World War.
During that time the beach and dunes were used as an aircraft firing range, where Spitfires would practice air-to-air and air-to-ground target practice against wooden targets. The skies above were a common place for “dogfights,” and apparently spent ammunition can still be found on the beach.
Red flags were used to warn residents when to stay clear of the area. Children would often collect spent shell casings from the sand to be sold for scrap.
The area itself was also heaving with evacuees escaping bombing in Liverpool. They set up home in huts and rail carriages in the sand dunes at Talacre, hopefully away from the target practice areas!
As you go through the dunes and onto the sands the winds pick up. It’s a blustery autumn day although it’s such a wide open expanse that I imagine most days here could be defined as ‘blustery’.
Entrance to the beach at Talacre
The tide was out so the sea is a good distance away – adding to the huge space on offer to those who’ve come down. If you had wanted a dip then it would have taken 5/10 minutes to reach the water.
It reminds me of Morfa Conwy but there is one iconic landmark that most people in North Wales could instantly recognise.
That’s the famous Point of Ayr lighthouse which features on almost every picture from this beach. It was built in 1776 to guide ships entering the Dee estuary with Chester once an important port before the development of Liverpool on the back of the transatlantic slave trade.
It was built after the loss of two Dublin vessels in 1776 and designed by Henry Turner. As the tower was built on the sand, it was supported with screw piles drilled beneath it into the sand. The tower had three floors and a coal store in the basement. The lighthouse initially displayed two lights. The main light had an elevation of 63 feet and shone towards Llandudno. The lower light shone towards the River Dee.
The Point of Ayr Lighthouse at Talacre
The uppermost part was replaced in the early 1820s, soon after the structure came under the management of Trinity House (which remains the lighthouse authority for Wales and England).
In 1844 Trinity House erected a metal pile lighthouse to replace the stone tower. The screw-pile lighthouse was later replaced in 1883 by a lightvessel and no longer remains.
The original Point of Ayr Lighthouse was sold in 1922 to private ownership and is currently owned by the nearby holiday park.
Like any historic building it is apparently haunted, in this case by an old lighthouse keeper who is said to still lookout over the beach today in what sounds like a Scooby Do style plot.
There was no sign of him when I was there and the beach was mainly inhabited by walkers and in many cases their dogs as well.
I took a walk in the direction of Prestatyn before time constraints meant I had to turn back.
It’s such large space I can’t imagine it ever getting packed down here although as I left a man heading in the opposite direction asked ‘Is there any room on the beach?’ – which I assumed was a joke and I told him ‘It’s not Benidorm’.
I don’t know how different it would be in peak summer with the tide in but on day like this it felt like a beach for walking and exploring – although I imagine it’s a cracking spot for sandcastles too.
Flintshire may only have one beach on Tripadvisor but I’m in agreement with the vast majority of reviewers who rate this place as ‘excellent’.
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