Coronvirus: Shell Island campsite closed until 2021
- Published
Shell Island is one of the biggest campsites in Europe, with around 85,000 visitors every year.
The owners of one of Europe's largest campsites say they have made "the hardest decision ever" to not reopen this summer.
Shell Island at Llanbedr, near Harlech in Gwynedd, will stay shut until 2021.
The site, covering the equivalent of 150 football pitches, normally attracts thousands of holidaymakers every week, but has been shut during the coronavirus pandemic.
Restrictions on campsites in Wales are being lifted on 25 July.
The business, which owned and run by the Workman family, said: "This decision as a family and as business has not been in any way easy but we have to think of the safety of our families, staff, local community and our visitors.
"We do not believe that now is the right time to open safely and confidently in such a short period of time for such a short season that is left.
"Things surrounding Covid-19 keep changing daily including localised lockdowns across the UK which would make things extremely hard for us to track."
The owners said the decision will give them time to prepare to reopen Shell Island "even safer than pre-Covid" in 2021.
Shell Island covers 182 hectares (450 acres) next to the former RAF Llanbedr airfield, on a peninsula known in Welsh as Mochras.
Shell Island is located within Snowdonia National Park
It lies within the Snowdonia National Park, and is only accessible by car across a tidal causeway.
Its location sees many visitors return year after year, with many taking to social media to respond to the announcement.
"Totally gutted, but fully appreciate it wouldn't of been an easy decision to make," said one supporter, Gina Hill.
She was one of more 1,400 comments made on the campsite's Facebook page.
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