FAQs

Boats cross to Bardsey Island from Porth Meudwy a small working fishing cove just beyond Aberdaron on the Llyn Penninnsula. You can visit for a day trip or book accommodation to stay. For day trips please contact Colin Evans of Mordaith Llyn on 07971 769895

Regular boats cross to Bardsey from April to September. As the boat needs to navigate Bardsey Sound with its many treacherous currents please be aware that trips are often cancelled or delayed to ensure the saftey of everyone.

The boat cost is payable directly to Mordaith Llyn, please see Mordaith Llyn website for current prices.

The landing fee is payable directly to the Bardsey Island Trust. Landing fees for 2026 are £7.50 for adults and all children under 18 are free.

Members of the Bardsey Island Trust also entitled to unlimited landing fees as part of their membership.

Payment is taken on arrival when disembarking the boat and can be made by cash or card. A member of our team will be ready to welcome you to Enlli and take your payment at the Cafn. Landing fees include a free map of the island and a welcome talk by our staff.

The boat crossing normally takes around 20-30minutes depending on the tide and sea state.

Parking for day visitors is possible at the top of the track that leads down to Porth Meudwy, it is approximately a 15minute walk to the shore where the boat departs. For staying visitors parking information is provided when placing a booking.

No, unfortunately it is not possible to bring dogs to the island due to the ground nesting birds, seal colony, and the working farm.

Yes, there is a café that offers hot drinks, cakes, breakfasts and sandwiches. Hot meals, including fresh Enlli lobster are also available but must be ordered in advance. Please contact Meriel Roberts for bookings.

The Bardsey Island Trust does not provide a mooring for boats. It is possible to anchor in Rhonllwyn the bay on the southern side of the island, however we request that boats stay clear of the grey seal colony and avoid damaging any lobster pots in the area.

A landing fee per person is payable directly to the Bardsey Island Trust. Landing fees for 2026 are £7.50 for adults and all children under 18 are free. Payment can be made at the Trust’s shop or to a member of our team and can be made by cash or card.

Members of the Bardsey Island Trust also entitled to unlimited landing fees as part of their membership.

Parking is available at the National Trust car park for Porth Meudwy. It is a 10-15minute walk downhill to Porth Meudwy beach where the boat departs from, so allow plenty of time for this walk.

There is a public toilet (a compost toilet) in Plas yard, which is a 10-15minute walk from Cafn where the boat lands on Enlli. Please note that there is no toilet in Porth Meudwy, we recommend using facilities in Aberdaron before travelling on to Porth Meudwy.

Other facilities on Enlli include a cafe at Ty Pellaf (5-10minutes from landing) which serves hot and cold drinks, cakes, light lunches and hot meals (which must be ordered at least a day in advance). Please contact Meriel Roberts to make any enquiries for the cafe by visiting the cafe Facebook Page.

The boat journey takes approximately 20minutes there and 20minutes back, with potential sightings of dolphins, Manx Shearwaters and Puffins along the way. Once on Enlli you will have 4 hours until the boat leaves, Colin will give you your departure time. This is plenty of time to explore the island. If you are able a walk up the Mountain is recommended for views across Cardigan Bay, sometimes its possible to see all the way to Pembrokeshire in the South or the West Coast of Ireland to the West. You can also visit the Chapel, School House and Abbey Ruins during your visit, popular places for those on pilgrimages or who have come to the end of the Cadfan Way pilgrim path.

You might see a whole range of wildlife on a day trip to Enlli. Keep your eyes peeled on your crossing for foraging sea birds on the East side cliffs, Puffins, Guillemots, Shags, Razorbills and Fulmars all nest here. When you arrive on Enlli you’ll be greeted by the noisy Atlantic Grey Seal colony in Henllwyn. Around Enlli you’ll see Wheaters, Meadow Pipits, Choughs and plenty of other birds. We recommend calling into the Bird Observatory at Cristin to find out what birds have been seen recently.

The renting week is from Saturday to Saturday, April to October.

A limited number of short breaks are available, please contact us for details.

• A 50% deposit is required to secure your booking.
• Full balance payment is due 12 weeks prior to the start of your stay.
• Bookings can be made by completing this booking form. (please don’t message us to book by text, Whatsapp or on social media as these messages aren’t monitored regularly).

Please Note: Bardsey Island is a working farm, with cattle and sheep grazing in the fields near houses and footpaths. Please consider this when booking.

For group bookings, please submit a booking request for each property. If you are visiting as a group and would like information or assistance on which properties are most suitable please contact us by email.

The capacity for each property is shown during the booking process. Infants under 2 years of age sleeping in a cot are not counted in the maximum (except for Carreg Bach, which is unsuitable for infants). You can request cots and high chairs as part of your booking.

Under no circumstances may the number of occupiers exceed the maximum occupancy stated on our website. We reserve the right to refuse admittance if this condition is not observed.

As long as you do not exceed the maximum capacity permitted in your accommodation, and the boatman is able to provide the crossing, it is possible for guests to join or leave an existing booking mid-week.

Please liaise directly with Colin Evans, the boatman on 07971 769895 regarding arranging a mid-week arrival or departure.

The boat crossing leaves from Porth Meudwy, which is just to the west of Aberdaron.

The boat fare is additional to the house price and is operated by Mordaith Llŷn. The cost for 2025 is £55 per person return.

Weather permitting, crossings take place on Saturday for weekly visitors. If crossings are delayed because of the weather, you will cross on the first possible fine day.

Boat arrangements will be confirmed the night before your stay. Please call 07971 769895 after 6.30pm to hear a pre recorded message giving details of you time of crossing.

Cars can be parked at owner’s risk at Cwrt farm for a fee of £20 per week. This charge is payable to the farmer, G Roberts, on arrival by cash or cheque. You don’t need to book in advance.

You will be met at Cwrt farm car park and your luggage will be transported to the boat on a trailer; there is a ten-minute downhill walk to the cove at Porth Meudwy from the farm. You may have to wait at the cove for some time before you are able to cross.

The post code for Cwrt farm is LL53 8DA.

Please note: If you reach Cwrt – National Trust, which has a gravel courtyard, you have just passed Cwrt Farm. You’ll need to reverse or turn around, it’s the next gate up. Some Satnavs pass the farm, so please look out for Cwrt on the right hand side, the name is embedded in the gatepost on a slate plaque.

There is no guest WiFi on the island, however, you may pick up a 4G or 5G signal on some parts of the island.

Please bring your own food and drink with you as there is no grocery shop on the island. However, the café at Tŷ Pellaf farm, run by the Roberts family, serves various drinks, ice cream, snacks and homemade cakes daily. Tŷ Pellaf is licensed to sell alcohol, reducing the need to bring your supplies with you. A full breakfast, at a time to suit you, is available as well as evening meals or takeaways on specific nights (on request).

For more information, or to book in advance, please contact Tŷ Pellaf Café by phone 07811743154 or e-mail wgroberts@hotmail.co.uk.

As well as running the café, the farm sells fresh free-range island eggs, crabs and lobsters boiled or fresh straight off the boat. Please get in touch in advance to check availability and place an order.

Please keep baggage to a minimum as the boat has only limited hold capacity. Ensure your luggage is in small, easily handled boxes and bags. Boxes and bags should be easy to transfer on and off the boat and should be sealed and weatherproof for the journey. We kindly ask you not to pack everything into a large, heavy suitcase.

Remember to label your luggage clearly with the name of your house you’ll be staying in. Unmarked luggage may be delayed or go astray.

Please bring the following items for your stay on the island:

• Suitable footwear and clothing for all weather
• Bedding including, Duvet cover for each bed (duvets are provided), Bed sheets, Pillowcases
• Warm pyjamas, as there is no heating in bedrooms
• Towels and washing kit
• Tea towels
• A good torch and spare batteries
• Medication – if you use any medication please ensure that you bring extra supplies to last at least another week.
• Sufficient food and drink, although you don’t need to bring water unless we ask you to (if there has been a drought). There is no grocery shop on the island, except what is available from the farm and café, where evening meals and breakfasts can be booked in advance.

Please note: No visitor pets are allowed on the island. This includes assistance dogs. Only working dogs or residents’ dogs are allowed on the island by permission from the Bardsey Island Trust and Natural Resources Wales. As a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and a National Nature Reserve, with ground nesting birds it’s really important that we protect this special environment.

We take every care to make the island as physically accessible as possible, however there are some steep and rough paths on both the mainland side and once on the island. The path from Cwrt to Porth Meduwy is a little steep so please allow plenty of time for this prior to your crossing. Please contact the team at Mordaith Llyn Cyf / Ltd to advise them of any additional accessibility needs, they have lots of experience supporting visitors to the island.

Once on the island, there are steep, narrow and uneven paths around the island that can make it challenging for wheelchair users to visit. We cannot offer transportation in an island vehicle to day visitors. Transport may be available for staying guests upon arrival to the island but please do ask in advance to make sure the team are able to support.

Given the nature of the buildings, some of our accommodation is more suitable for visitors who require additional support with accessibility. Please contact us to discuss your trip and we will help find the right accommodation.

Our team and the island residents will do everything we can to make your visit as inclusive and accessible as possible, including delivery of takeaway meals from the café. If you or a person in your group require an adjustment to make your time with us more enjoyable, please do contact us to discuss how the team can assist.

If you wish to make changes to your booking e.g. change the date or accommodation, an administration fee of £30 will be charged. A change of booking date can only be made for another date within same calendar year, date changes to the following year are treated as cancellations.

Changes to the booking date cannot be made within the four weeks prior to your planned arrival, should you wish to amend your holiday dates during this period, it will be treated as a cancellation.

In the event that you have to cancel your booking, please contact us by email. We will make every effort to re-let your booking. If we are successful, we will be happy to refund your deposit or balance payment with a deduction of a cancellation fee for administrative costs. If, however, we are unable to re-let your booking we will not be able to issue you a refund.

Yes, you can either set up a regular payment from your bank to our account or use our online giving platform. You’ll need to complete the membership form.

A lifetime membership means you’ll only ever pay once but will receive our membership publications and access to priority booking for ever. We offer two levels of lifetime membership, a general Individual Lifetime membership of £1500 and a Senior Lifetime membership of £1000 (60 or over).

Each year we open our bookings to our membership 4 weeks before it is opened to the public. You’ll receive an email with instructions and the dates of priority membership going live, with an access code to a members only page on the website. We’ll use your membership details to correlate bookings made through this page and our membership database.

Yes, you can donate monthly through our online giving platform Localgiving.

Yes, if you are a UK tax payer we can claim Gift Aid on your donations. Please make sure you’ve ticket the Gift Aid box when making this donation so that we’re able to claim it.

Yes we do. If you’d like to leave a gift to the Bardsey Island Trust in your will please contact us and we can discuss this with you. Please email post@enlli.org

Yes! Thank you for considering fundraising for the work of the Bardsey Island Trust. You can use our online giving platform Local Giving, and set yourself up as a fundraiser. If you’d like to fundraise for a specific project please contact us on post@enlli.org and we can arrange a call to chat with you about this

We have a full list of our current Trustee’s on our website here. Our trustees are also listed on the Charity Commission and Companies House websites.

We generally have between 10-15 trustees. We regularly need new trustees with a wide range of skills and experiences. If you’re interested in becoming a Trustee please send us an email on post@enlli.org

Wednesday – arrive – meet wardens and settle into accommodation,
Thursday – Work with the Island Manager on land work and maintenance tasks.
Friday – day off
Saturday – Changeover with Accommodation Wardens
Sunday – day off
Monday – Work on tasks set by Island Manager
Tuesday – Work with Accommodation Wardens in the gardens
Wednesday – Work with the Island Manager on land work and maintenance tasks.

Typical tasks include painting windows, signs and gates, grass cutting and collecting, weeding cobbles, maintaining the orchard, clearing and cutting paths on the mountainside, woodworking and beach cleans.

Please read the following information carefully before applying. The accommodation is basic and and certain times of year can be cold.

Accommodation: During the holiday season you will stay in Beudy Plas. Pre and post season you will be able to stay in the letting houses (seen on the website).

Beudy Plas has one bedroom with two single beds and a kitchen located in the yard.

Your accommodation will be provided with suitable cleaning fluids and equipment for your use.

We kindly ask that you maintain a high level of cleanliness during your stay and leave the accommodation as you found it.

Outdoor shower (if there is enough rainwater)

Boat fare and Parking

Please find guest information below. The boat fare is £60 return per person and parking at the farm is offered free of charge for volunteers. It will probably be easier to pay these in cash on arrival.

Please call Colin Evans, the boatman, after 6.30pm on the evening before you leave to find out your departure time. Tel: 07971 769895. The Bardsey Office is unable to confirm the boat crossing times, we have no more information other than what can be found here. Also, please check that you have informed us of the correct number of passengers expected for the boat journey.

Have a safe journey and the wardens will pop around to welcome within the first hour of your arrival to give you all the latest information on your accommodation and answer any questions you may have.

Before you email us with a further enquiry, please visit our FAQ page for answers to many frequently asked questions.

Arrival at Cwrt Farm

Please drive up the farm entrance, past the farmhouse on your right and park your car in the field behind the house.

Please do not approach the household’s doorway, payment for parking can be made by depositing cash or cheque to G Roberts into the collection bucket that will be clearly visible. Please bring the correct amount (£20 per car per week), as no change will be given.

Please note that there are no public toilets at Cwrt. The nearest public toilets at the National Trust car park in Aberdaron. Why not pop into Islyn bakery and Spar for your shopping at the same time!

Once you’re parked up, the luggage tractor and trailer will arrive shortly, and you will be instructed on what to do next.

Luggage

Please pack your luggage carefully, bearing in mind that you will need to be able to lift each bag/box above shoulder height to get it on and off the boat and that it may also get wet! A few smaller waterproof bags are better than one big case. Please keep it to approx. 30kg per person.

Plastic storage boxes are ideal – here’s an example

In order to reduce the amount of handling, we kindly ask that you pack ONLY WHAT YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED.

Don’t forget to clearly label each bag and box with the name of the house where you’ll be staying otherwise they may get mislaid in transit.

We’ve produced this handy checklist of things to make sure you enjoy your stay and don’t forget anything:

• Medication – make sure you have plenty of any prescribed medication/epi-pens/insulin etc, and extra in case of a delayed return crossing.
• Food and drink – there are no grocery shops here so make sure you’ve packed all the food you need and a little bit extra in case you get stranded a day or two. Each house has a small fridge and freezer compartment.
• There is ample drinking water on the island, you won’t need to bring any with you. The farm has soft drinks, wines, beers and spirits for sale by the bottle as well as eggs, lobster and crab. You can also book a takeaway evening meal and/or breakfast by prior arrangement. Tel: 07535 064943 or e-mail wgroberts@hotmail.co.uk. Please also contact them beforehand to order fresh produce.
• Bed sheets and duvet covers for single beds if staying in Beudy Plas
• Pillowcases
• Tea towels and towels
• Slippers or indoor footwear is recommended as the floors can be cold.
• Suitable work-wear – raincoat, waterproofs, walking boots, wellies.
• Head torch – each house has some solar powered lighting provided but it’s recommended that you bring a head torch for the evenings and night-time trips to the toilet!
• Solar charger and battery pack – we have very limited electricity provided by solar, we recommend bringing a solar charger or fully charged battery pack if you have one; we are able to charge small items like phones or cameras for you if it’s sunny/windy enough.
• Cash – there are a few gift shops and a café, and as we don’t have an ATM do bring plenty of cash or a cheque book.

What we supply

• Washing up liquid
• Dish-washing sponge and cleaning cloths
• Your kitchen has all the utensils you need.
• Toilet roll
• Pillows and duvet for each bed
• Hot water bottles
• Work gloves and tools (Although-feel free to bring your own)

Please note: We are no longer accepting applications for 2026 volunteers.

If the dates/opportunities do not fit into your schedule, please get in touch and we might be able to accommodate you for shorter periods.