Ynyslas Sand Dunes and Borth Sands

The sand dunes of Ynyslas have been formed over the last 400 years by windblown sand. The ecological system is very fragile, so take care to avoid damaging it by not leaving the designated paths. In the mid-19th century, plans to build a railway bridge across the Dyfi Estuary from here were abandoned due to a lack of firm foundations.

The vast expanse of sand on the inland side of the dunes, looking up the estuary of the Afon Dyfi, is known as Traeth Maelgwyn. It earned its name in the 6th century when Maelgwn Gwynedd (the Sir Lancelot of the Arthurian tales) held a meeting of the Welsh princes here to determine their overall leader. It was decided to test the contenders with a competition: the winner would be the one able to sit in his chair the longest as the tide came in onto the beach.

Maeldaf Hen, Maelgwn's adviser, enabled his prince to win by constructing a chair out of waxed bird's wings. The ceremony is re-enacted every year in the Borth Carnival at the end of September.

The Afon Leri is a river that has been turned into a canal. It was redirected towards the estuary in 1824 so that a wharf could be built to take advantage of sheltered moorings. Old ships were sunk to provide a base for the new channel through the peat bogs of Cors Fochno. The river formerly flowed into the sea at Aberystwyth — or rather, at Aberleri.

If you come when the low spring tide is out, you will be transported into another world as you walk along the beach, for you should then see the remains of a petrified forest, including stumps of Scots pine, birch, alder, oak, and willow. Legend has an explanation, describing the lost land of Cantre'r Gwaelod, which was drowned by the sea in the 6th century (its lord, Gwyddno Garanhir, ended up as a fisherman here). Scientists date the forest to about 3500 BC.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.