:Abersoch
{{Short description|Village in Gwynedd, Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = Wales
| welsh_name =
| map_type =
| official_name = Abersoch
| unitary_wales = Gwynedd
| community_wales = Llanengan {{Cite web|url=http://cyngorcymunedllanengan.cymru/english/index.html|title=Cyngor Cymuned Llanengan Community Council|website=cyngorcymunedllanengan.cymru}}
| lieutenancy_wales = Caernarfonshire
| constituency_welsh_assembly = Dwyfor Meirionnydd
| constituency_westminster = Dwyfor Meirionnydd
| post_town = Pwllheli
| postcode_area = LL
| postcode_district = LL53
| dial_code = 01758
| os_grid_reference = SH312281
| population = 2,602
| coordinates = {{coord|52.823|-4.506|display=inline,title}}
| static_image_name = Lon_Pen_Cei,_Abersoch_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1473969.jpg
| static_image_caption = Lôn Pen Cei (Pen Cei Road)
| london_distance =
| cardiff_distance =
}}
Abersoch ({{IPA|cy|abɛrˈsoːχ|audio=Abersoch.ogg}}) is a village in the community of Llanengan in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a popular coastal seaside resort, with around 2,600 residents, on the east-facing south coast of the Llŷn Peninsula at the southern terminus of the A499. It is about {{convert|7|mi|km|0}} south-west of Pwllheli and {{convert|27|mi|km|0}} south-west of the county town of Caernarfon.
Etymology
The village takes its name from the river Soch, which reaches the sea in the village. 'Aber' meaning 'estuary', gives us a literal translation of the 'Soch Estuary'. The name of the village is often rendered "Rabar" in the local Welsh dialect.{{Cite book |last=Rhys |first=Guto |title=Amrywiaith 2 - Blas ar dafodieithoedd Cymru |publisher=Carreg Gwalch |year=2022 |isbn=9781845278526 |edition=1 |location=Llanrwst |pages=40 |language=cy}}
Archaeology
In the dry summer of 2018, aerial photography at Fach Farm, some 1100 metres north of the bridge over the Afon Soch, identified crop marks that were reported as a possible Roman fortlet. High-resolution geophysics in 2019 revealed evidence of a complex defended enclosure, unlike Roman military structures but suggesting a pre-Roman date.Driver, T., Burnham, B., & Davies, J. (2020). Roman Wales: Aerial Discoveries and New Observations from the Drought of 2018. Britannia, 1-29. doi:10.1017/S0068113X20000100
Tourism
Built upon the fishing trade, Abersoch was once a small village which grew exponentially after the 1950s with the rise of tourism. The fishing port which was guided by the Abersoch Fishermen's SocietyBirmingham Daily Post - Monday 28 May 1956 (which was replaced with the active Pysgotwyr Llŷn Fishermen's Association){{Cite web|url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04001348|title=PYSGOTWYR LLYN FISHERMen's ASSOCIATION CO Ltd overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK}} is still being used for fishing, however it is no longer the village's major source of income.
It is now a tourist centre specialising in dinghy sailing and other watersports such as windsurfing and jet-skiing. Nearby Porth Neigwl is also popular for surfing; it can hold large swells in the winter which can reach {{convert|1.5|m|ft}}; however, the prevailing south-westerly winds can affect quality{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}.
The village had a lifeboat station from 1869 until 1931. A new inshore lifeboat station was opened in 1965.{{cite web| title = Abersoch station history | website = RNLI | url = https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/abersoch-lifeboat-station/station-history-abersoch | access-date = 10 March 2024}}
Central Abersoch has a variety of small shops as well as bars, restaurants, cafes and hotels. Boat trips around St Tudwal's Islands (one of which is owned by the famous survival instructor, Bear Grylls) to see the seals and other wildlife are available from the village. Abersoch is also popular for its close proximity to Snowdonia National Park, with Snowdon being visible from Abersoch Bay on clear days. There is an 18-hole golf course.
Abersoch was named one of the best places to live in Wales in 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/towns-named-best-places-wales-12719747|title=These towns have been named as the best places to live in Wales|date=10 March 2017|publisher=Wales Online}}
{{main|Gwynedd Council#Second home controversy}}
Because of Abersoch's popularity with tourists, particularly from northwest England and the western Midlands, there has been an increase in the sale of holiday homes in the area, and of the conversion of old properties into holiday lets.{{cite news|url=http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/article.cfm?id=136691&headline=Nearly%20half%20of%20all%20house%20sales%20in%20Dwyfor%20and%20Meirionnydd%20were%20second%20homes§ionIs=news&searchyear=2021|title=Nearly half of all house sales in Dwyfor and Meirionnydd were second homes|last=Wyn Williams|first=Gareth|date=10 July 2021|website=Cambrian News|access-date=31 January 2022|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/uk-higher-regional-inequality-large-wealthy-country-1.862262|title=UK has higher level of regional inequality than any other large wealthy country - Archive - News archive - the University of Sheffield|date=3 September 2019}} This has led locals, through the YesCymru campaign, to protest against rising house prices which push families away from the coastal towns where they were raised,{{Cite web|url=https://jacothenorth.net/blog/tag/yes-cymru/|title = Yes Cymru Archives| date=2 May 2023 }} as a result of high numbers of holiday lets compared with low numbers of families, Abersoch primary school was forced to close.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/12/abersoch-second-homes-holiday-wales|title = Hello £200k beach huts, goodbye primary school – the Welsh village hollowed out by second homes|website = TheGuardian.com|date = 12 March 2022}} Gwynedd Council has called for the Welsh government to step in to limit the number of homes allotted to each area.{{Cite web|url=https://nation.cymru/news/council-calls-on-welsh-government-for-powers-to-limit-numbers-of-second-homes/|title = Council calls on Welsh Government for powers to limit numbers of second homes|date = October 2020}}
Demographics
= Country of birth =
According to the 2011 UK Census, 97.2% of the population was born in the United Kingdom. Although situated in Wales, the majority of the village's population (51.1%) was born in England, with only 44.7% having been born in Wales.{{NOMIS2011|id=1237327407|title=Abersoch Ward (as of 2011)|access-date=2018-05-29}}
= Identity =
The 2011 Census demonstrated that 60.4% of the population had no Welsh identity. 34.0% of the population identified themselves as Welsh only. The surrounding community of Llanengan is considerably less Anglicised.
= Welsh language =
File:Ysgol Gynradd Abersoch Primary School - geograph.org.uk - 598310.jpg
43.5% of the population aged 3 and over noted that they could speak Welsh. 52.1% noted that they had one or more skills in the Welsh language.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks208wa|title=KS208WA (Welsh language profile) - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics|website=www.nomisweb.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-05-29}} Of those who were born in Wales, 85% of the population aged three and over noted that they could speak Welsh.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/lc2206wa|title=LC2206WA (Welsh language skills by country of birth by age) - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics|website=www.nomisweb.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-05-30}}
In June 2021, a Welsh language primary school 'Ysgol Abersoch' was threatened with closure, where the current school-children would be transferred to the closest school at 'Ysgol Sarn bach' which is located 1.4 miles away.{{Cite web|url=https://north.wales/news/gwynedd/council-confirms-statutory-notice-on-ysgol-abersoch-closure-30508.html|title = Council confirms statutory notice on Ysgol Abersoch closure}} In September 2021, despite over 200 objections from the public, the council unanimously voted to shut the school down.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/council-votes-unanimously-shut-ysgol-21704034|title = Council votes unanimously to shut Ysgol Abersoch despite 'ghost town' fears|date = 28 September 2021}} It closed at Christmas, 2021.{{cite news |author1=Sam Wollaston |title=Hello £200k beach huts, goodbye primary school - the Welsh village hollowed out by second homes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/12/abersoch-second-homes-holiday-wales |access-date=March 12, 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=March 12, 2022}}
The neighbouring village of Sarn Bach has a Welsh-medium primary school for 3 to 11 year olds. As of 2017, the two schools between them educated 72 pupils.{{Cite web|url=http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk/School/6612009?lang=en|title=Ysgol Abersoch|website=mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk|access-date=2018-05-29}}{{Cite web|url=http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk/School/6612103?lang=cy|title=Ysgol Sarn Bach|website=mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk|access-date=2018-05-29}} According to the latest Estyn reports conducted in 2017, 39% of pupils in Ysgol Abersoch primary school came from Welsh-speaking homes, with 47% of pupils of Sarn Bach pupils coming from homes where Welsh was spoken.{{Cite web|url=https://www.estyn.gov.wales/provider/6612103?_ga=2.243123525.69222870.1527597616-768333686.1527597616|title=Ysgol Sarn Bach {{!}} Estyn|website=www.estyn.gov.wales|language=en|access-date=2018-05-29}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.estyn.gov.wales/sites/default/files/documents/Ysgol%20Gynradd%20Abersoch%20en.pdf|title=A report on Ysgol Gynradd Abersoch|website=Estyn|access-date=29 May 2018}}
The closest specialist school to Abersoch is Ysgol Hafod Lon in Penrhyndeudraeth.{{Cite web|url=http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk/School/6617010?lang=en|title=Ysgol Hafod Lon|website=mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk|access-date=2018-05-29}}
Ysgol Botwnnog, situated {{convert|5|mi|km}} inland from Abersoch, provides Welsh-medium secondary education to pupils from the village.
File:Abersoch Post office NLW3362818.jpg|Abersoch Post Office c. 1885
File:Harbwr Abersoch 632038.jpg|Harbwr Abersoch (Harbour)
File:Abersoch Beach.jpg|Porth Fawr beach
File:Beach Huts on Abersoch Beach.jpg|Bathing huts on Porth Fawr beach.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/abersoch-beach-hut-sale-unbelievable-21462524|title = The Abersoch beach hut on sale for an 'eye-watering' six figure sum|date = 2 September 2021}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage|Abersoch}}
- [http://www.abersoch.co.uk Abersoch website]
{{gwynedd}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Ports and harbours of Wales