The seafront from Dolwen Point, Pendine - Pentywyn - geograph

Pendine ( cy, Pentywyn, "end of the dunes") is a village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, Wales. Situated on the northern shore of

Carmarthen Bay Carmarthen Bay ( cy, Bae Caerfyrddin) is an inlet of the South Wales coast, including notable beaches such as Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands. Carmarthen Bay is partially within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Joint Nature Conserva ...

and bordered by the communities of

Eglwyscummin Eglwyscummin ( cy, Eglwys Gymyn) is a community situated on the south-western boundary of Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales. It is made up of the three ward parishes of Ciffig, Eglwyscummin, and Marros, all surrounding the village of Red Roses, ...

and

Llanddowror Llanddowror is a village and a community in Carmarthenshire, Wales situated from St. Clears. Previously on the trunk road to Pembroke Dock, the village is small, historic and relatively unspoilt. Llanddowror is famous for being the home of its ...

, the population at the 2011 census was 346. There are two parts of the village: the old hill-top settlement around the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

; and the small

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

settlement on the shore. The latter developed into a small

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germa ...

during the 20th century. The seaside resort is best known for adjacent

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 ...

Development

In 2016 Carmarthenshire County Council completed construction of a new building on the Pendine promenade. It was named the Parry Thomas Centre and contains five commercial premises and public toilets. In 2019 construction began on the next stage of the Pendine Tourism Attractor Project, creating an eco activity resort, including a hostel with Passivhaus certification. The Museum of Speed was demolished in 2019 and will be replaced in the new development by the Sands of Speed Museum.

Demographics

Pendine community's population was 346, according to the 2011 census; a 1.4% decrease since the 351 people noted in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

. The community, which covers an area of , lies a few miles south of the linguistic boundary known as the

Landsker line The Landsker Line ( cy, Ffin ieithyddol Sir Benfro) is a term used for the language border in Wales between the largely Welsh-speaking and largely English-speaking areas in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. The English-speaking areas, south of ...

, and is predominantly English-speaking. The 2011 census showed 18.2% of the population could speak

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

, a rise from 13.9% in 2001.

The beach

Malcolm Campbell Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a 1 ...

and J. G. Parry-Thomas set the world

land speed record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regul ...

five times between 1924 and 1927. Parry-Thomas was killed while making a final record-breaking attempt on Pendine Sands in 1927. For part of the summer the

Pendine Museum of Speed The Pendine Museum of Speed was dedicated to the use of Pendine Sands for land speed record attempts. It was opened in 1996 in the village of Pendine, on the south coast of Wales, and was owned and run by Carmarthenshire County Council. The muse ...

has, Parry-Thomas' restored car ''

Babs Babs or BABS may refer to: People * Nickname of Barbara Windsor (1937-2020), British actress * Babs McMillan, Australian actress * Babs Olusanmokun, American actor * Babs Reingold, American artist * Babs Fafunwa (1923-2010), Nigerian educationis ...

'' on display.

Carmarthenshire Land Sailing Club {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Carmarthenshire Land Sailing Club, was formed in 2004 in order to allow Landsailing use of Pembrey Sands (Cefn Sidan) and Pendine Sands, in South Wales. History The Club, was created from the now defunct, Pendine W ...

is allowed to use the beach for wind-traction activities, including

land sailing Land sailing, also known as sand yachting, land yachting or dirtboating, is the act of moving across landform, land in a wheeled vehicle powered by wind through the use of a sail. The term comes from analogy with (water) sailing. Historically, ...

kite buggying A kite buggy is a light, purpose-built vehicle powered by a traction kite (power kite). It is single-seated and has one steerable front wheel and two fixed rear wheels. The driver sits in the seat located in the middle of the vehicle and accelera ...

and

kite landboarding Kite landboarding, also known as land kiteboarding or flyboarding, is based on the sport of kitesurfing, where a rider on a surf-style board is pulled over water by a kite. Kite landboarding involves the use of a mountain board or landboard, whic ...

. Cars were banned from the beach between 2005 and 2010 but are now permitted. The BBC's ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

'' have thrice test-driven on the sands.

MOD Pendine

MOD Pendine is a military range operated by the defence technology company QinetiQ for weapons testing, evaluation and training. The range occupies with of shoreline and a sea danger area of . The range includes three test tracks. Part of the beach is classified as a land danger area and is sometimes cordoned off when the range is active.

References

External links

Pendine and Pendine SandsCarmarthenshire Land Sailing Clubwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Pendine and surrounding area
{{authority control Seaside resorts in Wales Communities in Carmarthenshire Villages in Carmarthenshire Carmarthen Bay