Talacre Tourist Information

Talacre is a small and friendly town on the Flintshire coast of North Wales. Its sandy beach and dunes along with the broad estauary of the River Dee make it very popular with summer holidaymakers.

The small town is situated four miles northeast of Prestatyn on a headland known as the Point of Ayr. The surrounding area of Holywell is an ancient pilgrimage site to St Winefride's Well, one of the Seven Wonders of Wales.

Talacre was a far livelier town during World War II when it was used as a firing range for training fighter aircraft. The village was also used for testing anti-radar devices and at one time the whole of the village was completely covered with silver foil!

Present Day Talacre

This former mining community has less than a thousand residents but it swells rapidly during the summer months with holidaymakers. Many of the local residents are bilingual and pride themselves on speaking fluent Welsh as well as English.

The small town of Talacre has some local shops and a couple of pubs which serve food. Other services can be found just down the road at the much larger town of Prestatyn.

The lovely beach is marked at one end by the 17th century Talacre lighthouse, now abandoned. It is known for its apparent ghostly figure seen occasionally in front of the glass dome wearing old fashioned lighthouse keeper's clothes.

The beach remains uncommercialized without even a life guard service but this unspoilt natural charm is what draws many to enjoy this scenic area. The local sand dunes are a special nature reserve where rare Talacre toads have recently been reintroduced.

Things to do in Talacre

Award-winning Talacre Beach has miles of clean sands and dunes as well as an RSPB Nature Reserve for birds. It is perfect for families to dig, play and swim with plenty of space for ball games and flying kites in the sea breeze.

Snowdonia is within easy reach and provides mountain climbing, hiking, horse riding, cycling and scenic drives around the beautiful Snowdonia National Park. Walkers staying in Talacre can hike along Offa's Dyke footpath through the stunning scenery of the Clwydian Mountains or enjoy the attractions at Greenfield Valley Heritage Park.

The nearby towns of Flint, with its mediaeval castle, and Mold with a lively street market are excellent days out in the area. The area has many historic castles and its stunning Welsh mountain and coastal scenery can be enjoyed from several nearby golf courses at Prestatyn, Rhuddlan and Pennant Park Golf Clubs.

Further along the coast, the resort of Rhyl offers traditional seaside attractions, arcades and rides.

Talacre is best known as the butt of Paul O'Grady's jokes as being a "typically British seaside holiday resort" but it is certainly none the worse for its ribbing and continues to draw many families each summer to enjoy its lovely beaches.