Barmouth with kids - through our eyes!

Barmouth is a great place to bring your children up or to visit for the day, or even longer on your family holiday. Barmouth is visited by hundreds of families each year - too many to count! The beach here is fantastic and a classic place to while away the days on holiday but what else is there to do?

Here's a quick guide to some of our favourite places within walking distance from the train station....

Places to eat

The Bath House on the promenade has a convenient sheltered outdoor patio area which provides great shelter on those windier days! There's room for pushchairs and dogs are welcome too!

Davy Jones' Locker on the harbour is open all year round and busy with visitors and locals alike. There's just enough room inside for a pushchair, but the outdoor seating is also sheltered - whether you need respite from the sunshine or the sea breeze. P.S. dogs are welcome here too!

The Captain's Table is a family-friendly place to eat both during the day and in the evening. It's not a huge place so it's best to book a table. The menu is simple but with enough choice and if your child cannot spot something which takes their fancy, always ask and you'll find that the chef is pretty flexible with his dishes and will aim to please! Space is a bit tighter here than in a pub but the owners will accommodate you as much as they can!

Super shops

The Weigh-Out is a must for any visitor and local! You can find pretty much any ingredient for day to day cooking and baking and the 'pic and mix' sweets are a huge temptation! If you're like me and love muesli but hate dried fruit, you can mix your own and enjoy to your heart's content! The massive gobstoppers are a hit with the children although I don't think I'd manage one!

Luv It is probably my favourite shop in our town. It stocks lots of different gifts, everything from stylish holiday trinkets to bigger presents perfect for special occasions. I especially love the scarves that they stock - I am seldom without a scarf and I'm collecting quite a range!

Fudgeridoo has a great selection of fudge, all homemade with the spectacular additions of anything from Smarties to Oreo cookies! The shop is also spectacularly pink in colour and has some lovely items, mainly for the girls in your life but anyone can enjoy the fudge! Their sister shop Knickerbockers, just around the corner, also sells fantastic ice cream - try the lemon curd ice cream, delicious!

Secret places

Barmouth's play park is hidden away down a side road (Park Road) and not really visible from the main road. Although pretty small, there's a variety of equipment suitable for ages up to about 12. The old tennis courts are currently undergoing a revamp to provide more equipment for older children as well as all-weather pitches for football and basketball. Watch this space for more updates!

Just a little further along from the park, you'll find a great outdoor space called Wern Mynach. This is an area of Barmouth that allows nature to grow wildly! There are well maintained footpaths suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs, with benches placed around the area - perfect for a picnic in the sun! There are many, many different flowers and plants here, see if you can spot as many as we did!

A new heritage trail has just launched in Barmouth. This uncovers many of the secrets of Barmouth in an easy-to-follow format. Even if you have visited the area many times, I'd still encourage you to have a look and I'll bet you still learn something new!

Coming soon!

Our family (and many others!) literally cannot wait until Barmouth's newest, family-friendly venue opens for children to play indoors in a safe environment. Bendigedig is due to open at the end of March so we'll update you once we have had a play and found out for ourselves how good it is!

And on top of what I've shown you here, we also have the Bronze Bell Shipwreck museum (up a small flight of steps above Davy Jones' Locker but worth a look if you're interested in maritime history), the library (visitors most welcome!), Barmouth & Dyffryn United football club (check the fixtures and catch a game while you're here) and our world famous bridge, perfect for a family walk over the estuary!

Image via http://bit.ly/O3j8LQ

So, if you're planning a visit to the Welsh coast anytime soon, pay us a visit and say hello! The kettle's always on!