Carmarthen Bay ( cy, Bae Caerfyrddin) is an inlet of the South Wales coast, including notable

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

es such as

Pendine Sands Pendine Sands ( cy, Traeth Pentywyn) is a beach on the shores of Carmarthen Bay on the south coast of Wales. It stretches west to east from Gilman Point to Laugharne Sands. The village of Pendine ( cy, Pentywyn, link=no) is close to the west ...

and

Cefn Sidan Cefn Sidan, translated from Welsh, means "silky ridge". This long sandy beach and its dunes form the outer edge of the Pembrey Burrows between Burry Port and Kidwelly, facing southwestwards over Carmarthen Bay in South Wales. Cefn Sidan beac ...

sands. Carmarthen Bay is partially within the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of three national parks in Wales, the others b ...

. The

Joint Nature Conservation Committee The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the public body that advises the UK Government and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international nature conservation. Originally established under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, J ...

list Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries as a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

Geography

The River Loughor flows into the bay at the Burry estuary, and the rivers Tywi, Taf and Gwendraeth flow into the bay at the Three Rivers Estuary.

Caldey Island Caldey Island ( Welsh:''Ynys Bŷr'') is a small island near Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, less than off the coast. With a recorded history going back over 1,500 years, it is one of the holy islands of Britain. A number of traditions inherited ...

lies in the bay near

Tenby Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...

. The northwestern corner of the bay is separately named as Saundersfoot Bay. Towns and villages in the bay include, from east to west: Llanelli, Burry Port (''Porth Tywyn''),

Pembrey Pembrey ( Welsh: ''Pen-bre'') is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated between Burry Port and Kidwelly, overlooking Carmarthen Bay, with a population of about 2,154 in 2011. The electoral ward having a population of 4,301. It is in t ...

(''Penbre''),

Kidwelly Kidwelly ( cy, Cydweli) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, southwest Wales, approximately northwest of the most populous town in the county, Llanelli. In the 2001 census the community of Kidwelly returned a population of 3,289, inc ...

(''Cydweli''),

Ferryside Ferryside ( cy, Glan-y-fferi) is a village in the community of St Ishmael, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is south of Carmarthen near the mouth of the River Tywi. Originally a ferry crossing, then becoming a fishing village, it has developed as a ...

(''Glanyfferi''),

Llansteffan Llansteffan, is a village and a community situated on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tywi, south of Carmarthen. Description The community includes Llanybri and is bordered by the communities of: ...

Laugharne Laugharne ( cy, Talacharn) is a town on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tâf. The ancient borough of Laugharne Township ( cy, Treflan Lacharn) with its Corporation and Charter is a unique survival ...

(''Talacharn''),

Pendine Pendine ( cy, Pentywyn, "end of the dunes") is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Situated on the northern shore of Carmarthen Bay and bordered by the communities of Eglwyscummin and Llanddowror, the population at the 2011 censu ...

(''Pentywyn''), Amroth,

Wisemans Bridge Wisemans Bridge (Welsh; Pont-yr-ŵr) is a coastal hamlet between Amroth and Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The small beachfront community, which is part of the parish of Amroth, was once an important centre for the mineral industry in Wes ...

(''Pont-yr-ŵrddoeth''),

Saundersfoot Saundersfoot ( cy, Llanusyllt; Old Welsh: ''Llanussyllt'') is a large village and community (and former electoral ward) in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is near Tenby, both being holiday destinations. Saundersfoot lies in the Pembrokeshire Coast Natio ...

and

(''Dinbych y Pysgod''). There are fine beaches at

, Laugharne, Llansteffan and Ferryside.

Biodiversity

The

list Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries as a

. This is a public body that advises the Welsh Government on international nature conservation. The area conserved includes sea inlets, tidal rivers, estuaries, mud flats, sand flats, lagoons (including saltwork basins), salt marshes, salt pastures, salt steppes, shingle, sea cliffs and islets. The sand and mud flats have large numbers of

bivalve molluscs Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

including the edible cockle. The large shallow inlets and bays provide habitat for a great variety of marine invertebrates. The saltmarshes have biodiverse communities of

glasswort The glassworts are various succulent, annual halophytic plants, that is, plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes. The original English glasswort plants belong to the genus ''Salicornia'', but today the glass ...

(''Salicornis'' species),

dwarf eelgrass Dwarf eelgrass is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Zostera japonica'', native to the western Pacific Ocean and naturalized in the eastern Pacific *''Zostera noltei ''Zostera noltii'' is a species of seagrass known by the co ...

(''Zostera noltei''),

sea rush Sea rush is a common name for several rushes in the genus ''Juncus'' and may refer to: *''Juncus kraussii'', native to the Southern hemisphere *''Juncus maritimus ''Juncus maritimus'', known as the sea rush, is a species of rush that grows on c ...

(''Juncus maritimus'') and

marsh-mallow ''Althaea officinalis'', the marsh mallow or marshmallow, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, which is used in herbalism and as an ornamental plant. A confection made from the root since ancient ...

(''Althaea officinalis'') and all the wildlife they support. A primary reason for the listing is the presence in the bay of the

twait shad The twait shad or twaite shad (''Alosa fallax'') is a species of fish in the family Clupeidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and is an anadromous fish which lives in the sea but migrates into fresh water to s ...

(''Alosa fallax''), a migratory fish.

Wind turbine testing in the 1980s

An area of the Carmarthen Bay coastline near Burry Port was used in the 1980s to test wind turbines. The first turbine to be installed in the area was switched on in November 1982. Five turbines of different designs were tested at the site, installed between 1982 and 1989. The project was concluded in the late 1990s, the turbines were removed, and the land was eventually integrated into the

Millennium Coastal Park The Millennium Coastal Park was originally a project undertaken by Llanelli Borough Council to transform a 12 miles stretch of industrial wasteland on the south Carmarthenshire coast into green parkland. The project was then taken over by Carmart ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Biodiversity In Carmarthen Bay Area
Bodies of water of Carmarthenshire Bays of Pembrokeshire Bays of Swansea Bays of Wales