Fairbourne Spit (also known as Penrhyn Point) is a long spit of

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a soil texture, textur ...

and

shingle Shingle may refer to: Construction *Roof shingles or wall shingles, including: **Wood shingle ***Shake (shingle), a wooden shingle that is split from a bolt, with a more rustic appearance than a sawed shingle ***Quercus imbricaria, or shingle oak ...

at the mouth of the River Mawddach where it reaches

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay ( cy, Bae Ceredigion) is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geo ...

, on the west coast of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The gravel probably originates from

Llwyngwril Llwyngwril () is a coastal village, in Llangelynnin community, two miles north of the village of Llangelynnin and eleven miles south-west of Dolgellau. It is in the county of Merionethshire, Wales, although currently administered as part of the u ...

to the south, while the sand and dunes at the north end of the spit are partly deposited from the river, which is a long-term sink for sandy sediment. The narrow-gauge Fairbourne & Barmouth Railway (built in 1895) runs the length of the spit and, at the very end of the headland a ferry service makes the river crossing to Barmouth. In the 2010s the spit is one of the locations around the coast of Wales that will no longer have its sea defences repaired, threatening

Fairbourne Fairbourne is a seaside village in Gwynedd, Wales. Located on the coast of Barmouth Bay in Arthog community, to the south of the estuary of the River Mawddach, it is surrounded by Snowdonia National Park. It is in an area that had been listed by ...

and the surrounding area with regular flooding.

References

External links

Fairbourne Spit and Penrhyn Point photo
{{coord, 52.710, -4.055, type:landmark_region:GB_dim:3000, display=title Spits of Wales Coast of Gwynedd Landforms of Gwynedd

See also

References

External links