Barry Island — Local services in Great Britain

Sorry Stace - but Gavin made a huge mistake in choosing Barry over Billericay. To some, arriving here on a late August Sunday evening after a blown-out week of camping on the bare Pembrokeshire coastline would be a welcome reminder that civilization does still exist in Wales. However, to us, this is not a civilization we want anything to do with.

You'd expect chip shops to be bustling for competition all along the seafront, but alas our options were reduced to one very mediocre last resort. As a display of utter obliviousness to our current public health situation, the only open chippy dealt solely in cash.

We should have known what to expect after an initial escapade to a local corner shop in search of a refreshing ginger beer and pink grapefruit sanpellegrino, only to endure the humiliation of scrabbling for change (due to a £5 minimum spend) resulting in a single drink between us.

Back on the seafront, you'd expect the amount of free cash signs would indicate an easy remedy to this failing, but under investigation there didn't seem to be a single operating machine. We therefore had to be subjected to a torrent of abuse held by the money grabbing arcade machines, all to pay £1.89 for the pleasure of withdrawing our funds.

Recovering from this sensory overload we were finally able to access the greasy output from the lonely chip establishment only to find they had run out of onion rings, an issue which they had failed to remedy by appropriate signage. To add insult to injury they shortchanged us - a final nail in the coffin in our opinion. Thank God we took the hit to come here so we can warn others not to make the...

We recently visited Barry Island and had a fantastic time exploring the beach, promenade, arcades and fairground. There were slopes down to the beach which was spacious and immaculately clean with great views. There were lots of cafes including John's, K9+1 and Whitmore & Jackson. The promenade was flat, making it accessible to wheelchairs and pushchairs. It was lined with eateries including Marcos, Boofy's and O'Sheas. There was also Cadwaladers ice-cream parlour, souvenir shops selling buckets and spades, post cards, rock and inflatables, arcades, a crazy golf and grassed areas with benches.

Around the Island there were several amusement arcades including the Carousel Entertainment Centre, Treasure Island and Stardust. There was also the Pleasure Park (fairground) where you could ride the walzer, teacups, dodgems, roller coasters, the log flume and so on. Within the fairground there were plenty of stalls and places to buy chips, candyfloss, burgers and warm doughnuts.

Other attractions nearby include Sully Tortoise Sanctuary (open every Sunday between 10 & 12, May to September for season membership holders only), Jacksons Bay (sheltered beach), Friar's Point, Porthkerry Country Park, Fonmon Castle, the Knap, Barry Town Centre and the docks. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and would highly recommend, because it was easy to park, there were great public transport links via bus and train, it was suitable for everyone, there was lots to do and the beach was a great place for a picnic (cheap day out for families), fish and chips...

Lovely long sandy beach suitable for bathing and you can hire floats and paddle boards. Sea rated 'good', I believe, but there's room for improvement! Watch the current it tends to make people drift across ways and out to sea if not concentrating and children need supervision. Tell your children to remember the nearest big number painted on the wall near where you are sitting so they don't get lost. Gets very crowded by day in good weather but big car parks( ticket machines to pay and display) Steer clear of fun fair unless you're wealthy as the rides are all by token, purchased beforehand. £1 per token and the log flume alone is £4 per head! Steep for a family in my humble opinion! Lots of fast food and a stall on the promenade selling fresh seafood. Go to Marco's Cafe if you want to see where ' Gavin and Stacey was filmed. Nice place in its own right anyway. Ambience....Blackpool on a much smaller scale! I...