Barry
Y Barri
Barry Island, a pleasure beach and a sitcom afterlife.
Photo: Jeremy Segrott from Cardiff, Wales, UK / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Barry is the largest town in the Vale, and its seaside quarter, Barry Island, is a classic Welsh pleasure beach — a wide arc of sand, a funfair and a promenade — given a second life as the setting for the sitcom Gavin & Stacey. Behind the resort front it is a busy working town with a long dockland history.
Staying near Barry
A lively, family-friendly and good-value base at the eastern end of the heritage coast, with the beach and funfair on hand and Cardiff and Cowbridge close.
What's here
Whitmore Bay and the Barry Island promenade and funfair; the Gavin & Stacey filming locations; Porthkerry Country Park and its viaduct; and the pebble beach at the Knap.
When to visit
Summer for the beach and funfair; the resort is quieter but still open around the shoulder seasons.
See what's available in Barry
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Common questions
Is Barry Island worth visiting?
Barry Island is a traditional seaside resort with a wide sandy beach (Whitmore Bay), a promenade and a funfair, and it draws visitors as the filming location for the sitcom Gavin & Stacey. It is an easy, family-friendly day out close to Cardiff.
What is Porthkerry Country Park?
Porthkerry Country Park, on the edge of Barry, is a wooded valley leading to a pebble beach beneath a tall Victorian railway viaduct. It offers walking, picnicking and a quieter alternative to the Barry Island resort front nearby.