A lifetime of Islands: Island 222 - Shell Island/Mochras, Gwynedd, Wales

Shell Island is also known as Mochras but whether it is actually an island or not is debatable. It is certainly accessed via a tidal road, although this only gets covered over by water at high spring tides and then not for very long. However to the south of the island it is joined to the mainland by sand dunes and low lying land. The island is located a couple of miles to the west of the village of Llanbedr.

The River Artro currently flows out to sea north of Shell Island but before 1819, when it was diverted by George Finch, the 9th Earl of Winchilsea, it used to enter the sea to the south of the island. He altered the course to improve access to the wharf at Pensarn, which was the shipment point for slate from the local quarries. Large scale Ordnance Survey maps of 1887-1949 still show the former course of the river cutting back into the dunes to the south of the island but stopping short of cutting it off.

I wasn't going to count it as an island for the above reason but it is listed in my book Islands of England and Wales by Donald McCormick (1974) and having gone to all the trouble to visit it (the roads in Mid and North Wales, even the A roads, are incredibly windy and it takes ages to get any distance) and paid £5 for a day pass I am going to count it.

Shell Island is currently run as a very large campsite - 300 of the 450 acres are available for camping and it claims to be the biggest campsite in Europe. However it doesn't feel that big, as it is divided into smaller areas, which are divided up by stone walls, hedges and undulations. The island was bought in 1958 by the Workman family who still run it today. Campers choose where they want to camp and I can't imagine that it is ever completely full, as it is so large. There are 6 toilet blocks dotted around the site and there is a comprehensive road system giving access to the whole island, making it the ideal island for the disabled or lazy visitors! According to the leaflet you have to arrive in a car, you cannot arrive by train. I am not sure why?

The island gets its name from the shells that can be found on its beaches. I could see shells on the beaches but was a bit disappointed that they don't seem to be any more plentiful than on other beaches I have visited. The best beach in my opinion is the one at the south end of the island, which is sandy. There is a harbour for small boats at the north east end of the island and the island is also popular with anglers.

The Holiday Centre in the middle of the island has a bar, restaurant, snack bar, launderette, gift shop and supermarket. However apart from a few essentials like bread and milk the supermarket mainly seemed to stock junk food.

I enjoyed my 2 hours on the island in June 2014 and if I liked camping, which I don't, I think it would be a great place to camp. It was raining when I first arrived but the sun soon came out. Being lazy and in a hurry I explored most of the island in my car using the excellent road network. Away from the Holiday Centre it was a very peaceful place.