Beddgelert Forest, near Beddgelert
Huge forest in the heart of Eryri (Snowdonia)...
Newborough Warren is one of the largest and finest dune systems in Britain.
The dunes, coastal marshes, sandy and rocky shores have been shaped over thousands of years by the wind and sea and are home to a dazzling array of plants and animals.
Newborough Warren and Ynys Llanddwyn was declared the first coastal National Nature Reserve in Wales in 1955.
The Corsican pine trees that make up Newborough Forest were planted between 1947 and 1965 to provide timber and to stabilise the shifting sand dunes.
Today it is a popular area for recreation and home to wildlife, especially red squirrels.
The Cefni Estuary and the pools behind the Pen Cob embankment are a sanctuary for birds and other wildlife and there are views across the estuary over an expanse of coastal marsh, open sand and sea.
You can walk anywhere on the beaches and on the network of footpaths or you can follow one of our waymarked walking trails.
There is also an Animal Puzzle Trail for younger visitors, two family friendly cycle trails, a trim trail and two waymarked running trails.
Walking trails start from several of our car parks at Newborough.
The walking trails are waymarked from start to finish.
Look out for the information panel at the start of the trail.
Find out about walking trail grades.
Please note:
This trail offers a family adventure taking in the forest, dunes and island.
The Saint, Sand and Sea Trail gives an insight into Newborough’s unique geological and cultural features, as well as its history and the legend of Saint Dwynwen.
You can make your way over to the island of Ynys Llanddwyn at low tide.
Audio trail
Learn more about local history and the legend of Saint Dwynwen on our Saint, Sand and Sea MP3 audio trail.
The audio trail is divided into sections which correspond to numbered posts along the Saint, Sand and Sea walking trail.
Pick up a family activities pack from the dispenser and let the children take the lead as you search for the animals and clues along the trail.
The trail starts from the beach car park and continues on sections of stoned forest road and some sandy but uneven tracks before returning to the car park.
Enjoy this circular walk through forest, dune and farmland.
Follow the trail across the picnic site to the viewpoint over the hidden forest lake.
There you'll find information on the birds which live here, or stop at one of the picnic tables and look out for the red squirrels in the trees.
Llyn Parc Mawr is one of the best places in Newborough to catch sight of one of our rarest mammals, the red squirrel.
On the trail find out more about their life in the forest from our information panels.
On the way you’ll see some great views of the wildlife lake and the pine forest.
Walk through the forest and alongside the Cefni estuary with its great variety of wildlife.
From our two viewing points see if you can spot the elusive osprey hunting for fish in the summer, or take a look alongside the saltmarsh for its variety of plants such as the common reed, Britain’s tallest native grass which was used for thatching.
Enjoy the views from the Warren across to the mountains and along the coastline and the amazing display of wildflowers.
There is a short boardwalk from Beach car park to a viewing platform over the dunes.
The boardwalk is 53 metres long and is accessible for wheelchair users and pushchairs.
The shifting sands at Newborough mean that the boardwalk is often covered with sand, especially after bad weather.
We use a mini-digger to clear the boardwalk but it can soon be re-covered with sand, even within the same day.
Please note:
Our two cycle trails are ideal for all the family.
All our mountain bike trails are waymarked from start to finish and have been graded for difficulty.
At the start of the trail there is an information panel – please read this before setting off.
Pick up a family activities pack from the dispenser in the car park.
Then follow the waymarkers and search for the information panels to answer the nature challenge questions.
Accessibility information
This trail is suitable for people using adaptive equipment.
Adaptive equipment includes adaptive cycles, adaptive wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
We have produced a film about this trail to help you work out how suitable it may be for you before you visit.
To watch the film, go to Trails for users of adaptive equipment
This waymarked circular route is mainly on forest roads and has views of the estuary.
It goes through areas of mixed forest from mature pine trees to wet willow woods, and passes by ponds, unusual rocks and wildflowers.
Accessibility information
This trail is suitable for people using adaptive equipment.
Adaptive equipment includes adaptive cycles, adaptive wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
We have produced a film about this trail to help you work out how suitable it may be for you before you visit.
To watch the film, go to Trails for users of adaptive equipment
Two running trails are waymarked from the Beach car park in Newborough.
The 5km running trail, which is based on the route of the popular weekly Parkrun event, provides a great introduction to running.
The Commonwealth Running Trail follows part of the official race route of a championship trail race which took place here in 2011.
An easy introduction to trail running based on the route of the popular weekly Parkrun.
Follow the blue waymarkers through the forest on a mixture of well-surfaced forest roads and narrow paths on loose sand with some exposed tree roots. There are no steps or gates along the route.
Enjoy the woodland scenery at your leisure or practice improving your speed and endurance around the trail.
The Commonwealth Mountain and Ultra Distance Running Championships took place in North Wales in 2011. The 55 kilometre Ultra Distance trail race was held in Newborough and today you can run (or walk!) part of the official race route.
Waymarked from the beach car park, the running trail goes through the peaceful forest, the vast dunes of Newborough Warren and onto the island of Ynys Llanddwyn.
The route includes stoned forest roads, narrow paths on sand with exposed tree roots, loose sand and shingle, uneven grassland and rocky terrain.
Parkruns are free, weekly, community events that take place all around the world.
The Newborough Forest Parkrun takes place every Saturday at 9am.
It is a free event but you need to register before you first come along.
The Newborough Forest Parkrun is organised by volunteers and everyone is welcome, whether you walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate.
For more information about the Newborough Forest Parkrun, including how to register and how to become a volunteer at the event, go to the Parkrun website.
The Trim Trail is designed to improve your fitness and health while you’re enjoying the beauty of the forest.
There are 11 exercise stations, two of which are accessible with a wheelchair.
Each exercise station has an instruction panel and resting bench nearby.
Test your map-reading skills by navigating between the wooden marker posts (known as "controls" by orienteers) on one of the three permanent orienteering courses in Newborough Forest.
The courses are suitable for beginners who can understand a map and experienced orienteers and it’s up to you how quickly you complete a course.
The courses are graded to British Orienteering Federation standards and were designed by Eryri Orienteers.
All three routes start north east of the main parking area and finish in the clearing south east of the main parking area.
The Orange course is of medium difficulty and is suitable for beginners who can understand a map.
There are 9 controls to visit on the course.
The Green course requires technically difficult navigation and is suitable for experienced orienteers.
There are 12 controls to visit on the course.
The Blue course requires technically difficult navigation and is suitable for experienced orienteers.
There are 18 controls to visit on the course.
There are two waymarked horse riding trails from the Pen Cob car park.
Please note:
You can get a weekly or an annual horse riding permit.
A weekly permit costs £4.
An annual permit costs £10.
Proof of third party public liability insurance of a minimum of £5m is required.
Apply for or renew a horse riding permit online
After you have submitted your application we will contact you within ten working days to confirm receipt and arrange payment.
Postman's Trot
Enjoy the unique and beautiful surroundings of Newborough Forest on horseback.
Woodland Trot
Discover views, wildlife and heritage along the route.
National Nature Reserves are places with some of the very finest examples of wildlife habitats and geological features.
Newborough Warren’s dunes and beach and the island of Ynys Llanddwyn are a National Nature Reserve, which also includes large areas of saltmarsh and coastal sand flats.
The high dunes and seasonally flooded dune hollows (known as slacks) here are the result of the ever-evolving landscape shaped by thousands of years of storms, tides and nature.
Ynys Llanddwyn island is rich in heritage, folklore, geology and wildlife.
The rocks on this tidal island are amongst the oldest in Wales – look out for the distinctive outcrops of pillow lava on the beach.
Find out more about National Nature Reserves
The sand dunes are a rich mix of damp hollows, grassland and developing dune woodland of willow and birch.
The once mobile dunes have in recent years become ‘fixed’ and covered in plants as a result of air pollution, changing weather patterns and fewer rabbits and grazing animals.
This means a huge decrease in the amount of bare sand, a habitat crucial to the survival of some of our rarest plants and insects, such as the petalwort liverwort and the vernal mining bee.
To address this, we have started re-creating areas of bare sand along the coastline using large machines and much of the dunes are grazed with ponies and cattle to keep the dune vegetation short and rich in wildflowers. Rabbits used to do this until myxomatosis caused their numbers to decline.
During the summer months the dunes are carpeted in thousands of colourful flowers including rare orchids and are buzzing with insect and birdlife. Listen for skylarks high above the reserve and the chattering of whitethroats, stonechats and linnets in the dunes and open woodland.
During the autumn and early winter migratory wildfowl such as Brent geese, shelduck and wigeon are joined on the saltmarsh and estuary by redshanks and plovers. The pools behind the Cob embankment are visited by birds such as pintail, wigeon, teal and lapwing which come here to escape the harsher winters of the Arctic.
Llyn Parc Mawr is one of the best places in Newborough to catch sight of one of our rarest mammals, the red squirrel.
By the mid 1990s red squirrels had almost disappeared from the forest but they were re-introduced in 2004 from the Welsh Mountain Zoo.
We manage the forest with them and other wildlife in mind – red squirrels like the mix of pines and other trees species which we grow here to provide them with food and shelter.
Try our waymarked Red Squirrel Walk from the Llyn Parc Mawr car park and visit our lakeside viewpoint to get a feel for this unique area and its wildlife.
Ynys Llanddwyn island is home to the ruins of an ancient church dedicated to Dwynwen, the patron saint of lovers in Wales.
In Welsh, Llanddwyn means ‘the church of Saint Dwynwen’ and the story of Saint Dwynwen, patron saint of lovers of Wales, is associated with the island.
Dwynwen was the daughter of a 5th century king. She is said to have retreated to Llanddwyn after falling in love and she set up a religious enclosure here.
Over the years this beautiful island became a popular place of pilgrimage and today people celebrate Saint Dwynwen's Day on 25 January all over Wales.
You can learn more about the legend of Dwynwen on our audio trail which you can download to use on the Saint, Sand and Sea walking trail.
The Wales Coast Path goes through Newborough.
The Wales Coast Path provides a continuous walking route around the coastline of Wales.
Go to the Wales Coast Path website to find out more.
We do not organise visits for schools or other educational establishments to Newborough.
If you wish to organise a self-led educational visit, we can allocate a parking bay for your minibus or coach.
You will need to complete a risk assessment form and provide other details before your visit.
Please contact us at least two weeks before your visit by emailing the North West Permissions Team.
There are dog restrictions at Newborough.
There is an information panel and map in Beach car park that shows where these restrictions apply.
Facilities include:
The Bikequest Nature Challenge and the Corsica Bike Trail are suitable for people using adaptive equipment.
Adaptive equipment includes adaptive cycles, adaptive wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
We have produced a film about each of these trails to help you work out how suitable they may be for you before you visit.
To watch the films, go to Trails for users of adaptive equipment
As well as being a popular place to visit, Newborough is still a working forest.
Some areas may be closed for safety when trees are being felled or timber removed.
We want you to have a safe enjoyable visit to Newborough, so please read the guidance below.
Please check the top of this page for any changes to these opening times.
The toilets in Beach car park are normally open:
There is an ice cream van and a catering van in Beach car park at these times:
Please note that these times are subject to weather conditions.
Newborough is 13 miles from Bangor.
It is in the county of Anglesey.
It is on Ordnance Survey (OS) map 263.
Take the A55 from Bangor towards Holyhead.
Go over the Britannia Bridge onto Anglesey and take the A4080 to Newborough village.
Turn left, following the brown and white signs for ‘Ynys Llanddwyn Island’, and you will reach our car parks and toll booth.
The nearest major train stations are in Bangor and Holyhead.
There is an unstaffed request station stop at Bodorgan, which is about four miles from Newborough village.
For details of public transport visit Traveline Cymru's website
There are seven car parks:
Beach, Airman’s and Cwningar car parks have entrance and exit barriers and an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera.
The ANPR camera reads your vehicle registration number on arrival and you pay the parking charge on departure.
You are charged for the length of time you park:
You pay by card or cash at the exit barrier as you drive out of the car park.
Points to note
A season ticket allows you to park in Beach, Airman’s and Cwnhingar car parks.
The season ticket also allows you to park at Coed y Brenin Visitor Centre.
A season ticket costs £70 per year and it covers two vehicles registered at the same address.
Season tickets are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase.
Your vehicle registration number will be added to the system so that the ANPR camera will automatically recognise it – you do not need to display your season ticket when you visit.
There are three ways to buy a season ticket:
Please note:
Parking is free of charge for Blue Badge holders.
Please park in one of the spaces for Blue Badge holders and display your Blue Badge in your vehicle.
To leave the site without charge, scan your Blue Badge bar code at the exit barrier pay station.
There is an intercom at the exit barrier if you encounter problems on departure.
Residents of Newborough, Dwyran, Llangaffo and Malltraeth can apply for a resident pass to get free parking at our Newborough car parks.
Other residents of Anglesey can purchase a season ticket for our Newborough car parks at the discounted rate of £35 (see the season ticket section on this page).
How to apply for a resident pass
You need to register your vehicle with us to ensure the camera recognises it and allows you to leave the car park without paying.
To register your vehicle:
How to renew your resident pass
Resident passes are valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
You must contact us to renew your resident pass every year.
To renew your resident pass:
There are no staff based at Newborough.
The toll booth at the Beach car park barrier is staffed on Wednesdays and on Saturdays only from 9am to 11am. The staff member can issue season tickets and give out leaflets and orienteering maps.
Contact our customer team for general enquiries during office hours, Monday to Friday.