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Reviews of Shell Island Camp Site
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Shell Island Camp Site
Shell Island
Llanbedr
Gwynedd (Browse area)
LL45 2PJ
Tel: 01341 241453
Visit their website Check Digital TV coverage See Weather Forecast
   
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Pitches: 800
Open: 08/04/2024 to 11/09/2024
08/04/2025 to 11/09/2025
Rating: 
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 Tent Pitches |
 No Caravans |
 Motorhome Pitches |
 Small Campervans |
 No Glamping Units |
 No Statics for Hire |
 No Statics for Sale |
 No Seasonal Pitches |
 No Electric Hookups |
 No Hardstandings |
 No Fully Serviced Pitches |
 Show Full Facilities |
| Who's it for |
 Families Welcome |
 Not Members Only |
 No Rallies |
 Not Naturist Site |
 Dogs Welcome |
 No Dogs Allowed |
 Groups Welcome |
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| Facilities |
 Toilet Facilities |
 Hot Showers |
 No Washing Up Area |
 No Bathroom |
 No Baby Changing |
 Laundry On Site |
 Drinking Water |
 Disabled Friendly |
 Chemical Disposal |
 No Battery Charging |
 Gas Exchange |
 Recycling Facilities |
 No Kitchen Facilities |
 No Freezer / Fridge |
 No Motorhome Point |
 Wifi Access |
 Shop On Site |
 Bar On Site |
 Restaurant or Cafe or Takeaway On Site |
| Activities |
 Kids Playground |
 TV Room |
 No Games Room |
 Evening Entertainment |
 Fishing On Site |
 Wild Swimming On Site |
 No Indoor Pool |
 No Outdoor Pool |
 Horse Riding <5 miles |
 No Cycle Hire |
 No Golf |
 No Tennis |
 Beach On Site |
 Watersports On Site |
 No Boat Launch |
| Other Features |
 Sea Views |
 Not Working Farm |
 Campfires Allowed |
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 Coastside Pitches |
 Public Transport <5 miles |
 Offroad Dog Walk On Site or Direct Access |
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Reviews:
301 in total, now showing 191 to 200
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| Date of Visit: August 2009 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Popsut001 |
2 reviews from this member |
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 We had heard some reviews before going but decided to see for ourselves. The staff were friendly, could pitch up where ever we wanted (would have been easier being told where to go as there are so many pitches and fields to chose from). Lots of stuff to do during the day, the kids favourite was the crabbing and the sand dunes, which we spent a few afternoons running up and down. There was that much to do we didn't leave the campsite for the 4 nights we was there.
Now for the bad points. The facilities were rubbish. There was only 1 main block with all the facilities. Which considering the size of the camp is terrible. They did have portaloo's on nearly every field, but they were disgusting! We ended up having to drive to the toilets everytime we need to use the loo, shower or wash up! The facilities weren't the best and if you didn't get to the showers by 8am you would have to queue.
I would visit Shell Island again but I now know what to expect. 
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| Date of Visit: June 2009 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Bedofflames |
5 reviews from this member |
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Went for 4 nights in June. Arrived and checked in but was just left to it with a map. Staff not very friendly. Drove around for ages looking for the right pitch. Finally choose one over looking the sea. Was nice and quiet where we were and had enough space around us. The location is amazing with the beach and sea views. Seeing the sunset over the sea while you are cooking a BBQ and having a beer is so relaxing. Lots of places to drive to and visit we went to Porthmadoc, harlec and barmouth all lovely places.
Only downside of this site was the facilities that looked like they needed a dam good overhaul. Everything looked tired and run down. Cafe food was ok ate there once reasonably priced. Shop stocked everything you could need. There was a pub, gift shop and camping shop there as well. Didn't really spend a lot of time around here as was a bit like a butlins holiday camp!
Toilets were dirty the whole time we were there went once and they said they were being cleaned, when I went back it didn't look like anything had been done. Toilet in the shower block however are much better, Showers were off on day 2 of our trip due to a power cut and boiling hot on days 3 and 4 but generally clean.
All in all the location is amazing and very relaxing. Spending time in the sea and on the beach, walking high on the sand dunes, Campfire on the beach at night were all perfect, Lovely pitch. I drove to the toilets when needed as was camped away from them. Next time I will definitely take a portaloo as I don't fancy using their toilets again.
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| Date of Visit: July 2009 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Shellybean |
2 reviews from this member |
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We arrived at the Island late afternoon midweek, the reception staff were friendly and informative. Campers are allowed to select their own pitch. After setting up our tents we went to have a look at the facilities the toilets were filthy, and stayed that way all of our stay. The showers were constantly busy no-one was checking if day visitors were using them. The water was only just luke warm. The shop was very well stocked. We had a look in the cafe but chose not to buy as the prices were too high. On our walks around the campsite we found drivers were not sticking to the speed limit at all with a total disregard to children. The portaloos were emptied regular but were not cleaned once at all in our five day stay the smell was horrendous.
We found that the beach was nice but the litter was letting down the potential. Glass was a terrible problem in the sand dunes and needs serious attention.
The harbor side would possibly be the better of sides to stay on. There were a lot of single sex groups, music very loud into the night some people need to learn that tents are,nt soundproof! There is a rule that tents should '20' metres apart yet another rule that was,nt heeded. Dogs randomly wandering around not on leads. We did see the security staff drive around on the saturday evening however they did,nt seem to mind the volume of noise people were making!
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| Date of Visit: July 2009 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Jayne1203 |
3 reviews from this member |
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3 families and a couple all with vw campervans, and we also took our Coleman Matrix 6 for the kids to sleep in.
Fantastic site, huge! Plenty of choice on where to camp, either trees, dunes, hill top, beach or over looking the estuary and causeway. Kids can go crabbing in the estuary, and we took our inflatable kayak onto the estuary when the tide was in. We could have had a fire on the beach, but fires are permitted as long as they are off the ground.But unfortunatly the weather had other plans and it rained and blew from afternoon through the evening and into the night. We had good company and lots of food and drink. The shops were handy and there was a camping equipment shop for all those forgotten items. Toilets were clean, and so were the showers. The views from all sides of the huge camp were fantastic, even if Snowdon was under a blanket of cloud. Dolphins were seen in the bay, and lots of sea birds to see.
Great place to fly a kite, no EHU, but taps within easy walking distance from any tent.
There is a pub and restaurant, but we didn't use those facilities. Portloos also available, and they were clean and not smelly.
£40 for two nights for the four of us (2 adults and 2 kids) Good value we thought. I want to go again, so I can really explore all that shell island has to offer.
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| Date of Visit: June 2009 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Deyna |
2 reviews from this member |
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I've been back to this site since I was a child in the '70s and is just as good now as it was then. Although I haven't been for a couple of years, I live just over an hour away and have done a few jobs there. Having attended recently compelled me to let anyone thinking about going that they should.
There is no electric hookup available but that's where the downside ends. There is plenty of places to explore with towns such as beautiful Barmouth, Harlech and Porthmadog within easy distance.
The site has a very strict, zero tolerance policy about music and radios being turned off at a certain time which is great as there's nothing worse than enjoying a glass of wine while thud, thud music is playing (showing my age now).
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| Date of Visit: June 2009 |
Unit: Trailer Tent |
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| Reviewer: Lcollins |
3 reviews from this member |
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Have visited this site a few times over recent years, this being the first time with children. The beach and dunes are great, especially if you are lucky to have good weather.
The facilities are ok, toilets can be a bit dirty. We tried to pitch furthest away from the facilities as it does tend to get very crowded and noisy (if this is the case, I'd advise take your own toilet because there's nothing worse than trekking for miles during the night!) There are plenty of showers. There is a cafe, but couldn't comment on this cause we usually cook ourselves.
Generally, we've had some good weekends here and the children enjoyed it, especially the beach.
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| Date of Visit: June 2009 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Laughingbear |
7 reviews from this member |
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Shell Island should be renamed “Shameless” Island
The Site
We were concerned about the tide times and whether we’d be able to get to the site before the tide came in and cut us off for hours but we were assured that the tide doesn’t always cover the causeway entirely. Check in was no problem (at 13:00) but later arrivals were suggesting the queues were quite long and slow.
The single toilet block near the reception was nearly always busy but appeared clean enough. The other toilets on site were port-a-loos and they did get rather nasty towards the end of the day. In peak season they won’t get away with just a daily refurb on these!
During our stay, the café was never busy but that may be down to the prices (chips and cheese @ £3.95!). The bar was ok and there was outside drinking area which really should have been much tidier, a broken parasol (one of those heavy duty type) lay across some tables and looked like it’d been there for some time with no indication that it was going to be moved in the near future. The beer terrace overlooked a ‘scrap’ area where broken / scrap (an old pool table) lay in wait to be removed. Not nice at all when considering the potential for this site.
The Dunes
The dunes are the centre piece for the site. They are great for kids to play in and sledge / slide down but the quantity of litter was high. A serious problem to be addressed is the amount of broken glass and beer cans. This should / could be resolved with more maintenance and more litter bins.
The Clientèle
According to their own site rules, “Shell Island is a Families and Couples Camp site. We do not accept Single Sex groups, or Youngsters camping by themselves without parental supervision.” The site security team drove round once while we were there but failed to address the music that boomed out till 3-4am on the Friday and Saturday. There were lots of single sex groups (mainly lads) who’d be much better off in a field in the middle of nowhere that would equally suit their needs rather than be in a nature reserve with families and couples.
Overall
Having been to the site some 20 years ago we were really disappointed on our revisit with how it’s changed for the worse. The site has to decide what it wants to be. It should cater for families or groups, not both unless they managed correctly and segregate with some distance between them rather than having a policy of pitch where you like.
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| Date of Visit: June 2009 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Peepdip |
15 reviews from this member |
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I had to think long and hard about giving a review on this site. Why? Because I don't want everyone to know about it! As so many have already spread the word I guess another review isn't going to make much difference.
I love Shell Island
Despite the fact it does have proper facilities (shower blocks, toilets, a pub, cafe and shops) it feels like real camping instead of the holiday park stuff. The sea, the sand and hopefully the sun too, but even on a large site like this you can find splendid isolation or huddle with the masses - whatever you prefer.
We have an annual SingleWithKids Camp Fest at Shell Island each year (avoid the first week of June if you don't want to holiday with hundreds of children!) but even then the other parts of the site seem quiet and deserted.
My favourite site by far, good value and a fantastic setting.
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| Date of Visit: June 2009 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Ninapoppy |
5 reviews from this member |
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Just returned from a short stay at Shell Island - only 1 night and that was more than enough.
Although the website suggested that the campsite was only half full I would think it would be absolute chaos if it were full.
We arrived and checked in and then found out that there was a 'party' going on - ie. Live entertainment, music etc, blaring from a stage and loudspeakers from 2pm until 11pm at least.
We followed advice from friends to head straight away from the reception area and camp at the far ends of the island, but wherever we went there was litter, dog mess, broken bottles on the beach, empty cans in the dunes, fag buts everywhere and God knows what else.
There is no attempt made to keep the site clean.
We camp with just a tent, so some reliance on facilities like loos, showers etc are needed, especially after a day on the beach and the 'facilities' are truly a disgrace for such a large site. Shabby, dirty, smelly, woefully inadequate, are just some of the phrases that spring to mind. And, far from being a peaceful retreat, people drive everywhere so it is actually busy and noisy ALL the time.
It is such a shame because this is a truly magic spot, and would probably be great if you were entirely self-contained, maybe in a camper van, well out of the busy season.
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| Date of Visit: May 2009 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Loxxxton |
1 review from this member |
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I have spent many days camping around the country in my misspent youth but with the advent of marriage and family my camping days had stopped.
After some discussions with my wife we decided the time was right to give camping a go with our children (8, 5 and 3).
Shell Island was our first attempt.
The place is fantastic!
It is very much a site of two halves.
If you camp near to the facilities then you will spend your time with the great unwashed hoards that gather to use the amusement arcade the pub and the shops. It’s a bit like Butlins but shabbier.
If you camp as far away as you can into the sand dunes then it is the most spectacular and beautiful place around.
You have to be aware that this is not a manicured and well tended place with exactly fenced off pitches with electric hook ups. It feels like you are on a real adventure.
We took our own Portaloo and enough food and cooking equipment to be entirely self sufficient for our planned 3 night 4day stay and had a wonderful time.
Yes there are issues with litter, yes noise can be a problem at times and yes if you don’t take your own toilet it can be a bit of a nightmare, but, my word all this is made up for by the location, the scenery and the freedom to have fires and barbeques and one of the best beached and sand dunes I have ever seen.
I agree with other reviews that you do get a feeling of pioneer spirit and certain smugness if you choose to stay in the remote parts of the island. Knowing that for the majority they have not had half as an exciting experience being ‘closer in’
Will we be going again?
I asked my 5 year old if he had enjoyed his first camping trip.
He said NO!
I asked why?
He said because he had to go home afterwards!
We’ll be going back as soon as we can
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Common Questions
Is Shell Island Camp Site child friendly? YES, it accepts children & has a playground View all facilities
Where is the nearest shop to Shell Island Camp Site? There is a shop on site View all facilities
Is Shell Island Camp Site dog friendly? YES View all facilities
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