Enjoying the sunshine on Llansteffan Beach

It was such a beautiful sunny day on Monday, a real remnant of summer (temperatures were around 21 deg C/70 deg F) and it seemed a shame to waste it, so we drove to our nearest beach, at Llansteffan.  That is about 8 miles from Carmarthen and 18 from home.  As you can see the tide was at a very low ebb.  This is looking inland up the Towy.

Looking across the Towy now.  You can just see the remains of Iscoed Mansion on the middle left.  This was General Picton's home and where he finally retired to in 1814, after the Peninsular Wars.  Unfortunately his retirement was short as after Napoleon escaped from Elba, General Picton was summoned back to the Army and sadly killed at Waterloo on 18th June 1815.  There is a big memorial to him on Picton Terrace in Carmarthen.  HERE is a very interesting link which shows many pictures of the sadly derelict house.  Many many years ago (1972 I think) when I was on holiday with a penpal who lived near Ferryside - which is the village in this photo (and below), we walked around Iscoed - it was completely abandoned at that point and a little scary with its towering brick walls, echoing with Jackdaw flight.

Below - low water, and a smudge in the distance which is Pembrey woods and beach.

The corpse of a rather large jelly fish which the tide had brought in.

As I said, it was a VERY low tide.  This is where the Cockle Pickers go, in season.  In 1994, we had Cockle Wars here, when pickers from out of the area came to pick and there was fighting on Ferryside beach when rival gangs from out of the area arrived.

As we rounded the first headland into Scott's Bay, there were a few people about, some walking their dogs.

What a lovely spot to live.  St Anthony's cottage (there is a well dedicated to him close by).  HERE is a link to Llansteffan in general and some lovely views.

Sedimentary layers (level ones) in the cliffs.

And here a lot more interesting geologically - squeeze up by primeval upheaval.

Wharley Point, which is far as we walked.  Here beyond the rocks are the low waters of the River Taf, and Ginst Point, the very last tip of Pendine Burrows (and the long long beach where the land speed records were held in the early part of the 20th C.   Where, in fact, Parry-Thomas died in his famous "Babs" when attempting the land speed record on 3rd March 1927.

Back later with more photos, as I have bread to make and time has fled by already this morning.

Later . . .

In places the sand was very fine and you sank right in, so we kept close to the rocks on the way out, and returned closer the sea on a higher drier spit.

Carmarthen Bay is very shallow, and although there were stretches underwater from the Taf and the Towy, the rest of the Bay was just wet sand or wet mud.

Above, looking across to where the very end of Pembrey sands is marked by a lighthouse.

Sandstone rock revealed by a rockfall many years ago.

The very top of the remains of Llanstephan castle just showing up on the headland.

Not a soul in sight . . .

There was quite a large area like this, so I wondered if this was where the Cockles were raked up from.

Ferryside in the distance.

Looking back across Scotts' Bay to the headland we'd just been round.

The changing colours of the trees at the beach edge - this area known as The Sticks and mentioned by Dylan Thomas.  I have a book somewhere in the house by an artist who came and painted this area in close-up, noting all the wildlife, but since then there has been a landslip and it has gotten very scrubby and overgrown.

Then back across the sands to the car park in front of the houses.  What a lovely spot to live.

HERE  is a link to a very long but very interesting piece about Fish Weirs off this area, and some maps showing the coastal outline.  I have bookmarked it to return to and read at my leisure - hah, what is that?!