Aberdaron was the last rest stop for pilgrims heading to Bardsey Island, the legendary "island of 20,000 saints". In the 18th and 19th centuries it developed as a shipbuilding centre and port, and there are the ruins of an old pier running out to sea at Porth Simdde, which is the local name for the west end of Aberdaron Beach. After the Second World War Aberdaron gradually developed into a popular holiday resort.