Barkby Beach

The beach at Barkby curves away from Conwy with that particular stretch of Welsh coastline that feels properly dramatic when the light hits it right. You're looking at a decent sweep of sand backed by steep cliffs, with the castle town visible along the shore - proper good for photographs if you time it around golden hour.

It's a working beach rather than a manicured resort job. Families with younger kids will find enough to keep them occupied for a couple of hours - rock pools when the tide's out, space to run around, the usual seaside business. Walkers get more from it though. The coastal path threading along the clifftop offers better views than down on the sand itself, and you can push on towards Conwy's defences or back towards Rhyl without feeling you've done the same bit twice.

No facilities to speak of, which means you'll want to sort yourself before arriving. The approach involves a bit of a hike down from the car area - not steep enough to be a problem, but worth knowing if you're managing mobility issues. Worth allowing two to three hours if you're combining it with a walk along the path proper.

Golden Sands Holiday Park sits just up the coast near Rhyl, about six miles away, so Barkby works well as a morning's activity before or after a caravan-based break. It's the sort of place that rewards a bit of effort to find it rather than somewhere you'll stumble upon by accident. The castle and town walls at Conwy make an obvious pairing if you're in the area anyway.