Marros Sands is a beach in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

between

Amroth Amroth is a village, parish and community northeast of Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Located on Carmarthen Bay, Amroth is noted for its long sandy beach which stretches the length of the village. It regularly earns a Blue Flag award. and is t ...

and

Pendine Pendine (, "end of the dunes") is a village and Community (Wales), 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 Unite ...

and to the south of the small settlement of Marros. The beach is separated from Amroth beach to the west by Telpyn Point and from Morfabychan beach to the east by Ragwen Point. The land to the north of the beach is formed from cliffs and hillside that slopes steeply up towards Marros Beacon. There are caves towards the western end. The beach is mostly a storm bank of stones and gravel above

Mean High Water A chart datum is the water level, water surface serving as origin (mathematics), origin (or coordinate surface) of depth (coordinate), depths displayed on a nautical chart and for reporting and predicting tide heights. A chart datum is generally ...

with a large mostly sandy beach appearing when the tide is lower. It was described in 1844 as "a fine sandy beach, a few miles in length, and well-adapted for sea-bathing from the shallowness of the water for a considerable distance from the shore" and more recently as "relatively unspoilt" when compared to the tourist honeypots nearby. An area of submerged

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

forest 100 m wide and 2 km long and dating from 4000/6000 years ago can be seen at low tides. It was particularly visible in 1976.

Flint knapping Knapping is the shaping of flint, chert, obsidian, or other conchoidal fracturing stone through the process of lithic reduction to manufacture stone tools, strikers for flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing w ...

remains have been found on the beach and on Top Castle on Marros Beacon above the beach. Historically blue

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

and other materials were extracted from the beach. The cliffs at Marros Beach give their name to rocks of the

Marros Group The Marros Group is the name given to a suite of rocks of Namurian age laid down during the Carboniferous Period in South Wales. These rocks were formerly known as the Millstone Grit Series but are now distinguished from the similar but geograp ...

. On 8 December 1886 ''Rover'' a 71 ft

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

carrying a cargo of culm from

Saundersfoot Saundersfoot (; 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 National Park and on ...

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

was deliberately beached on Marros Sands in a Force 11 gale to avoid sinking. Its wreckage was further exposed by the storms of early 2014 and subsequently surveyed. Due to its seclusion and quietness the beach is sometimes used by

naturists Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

. Along with

Pendine Sands Pendine Sands () 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 () is close to the western end of the beach. In the early 1900s t ...

the beach forms part of the Marros-Pendine Coast

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

References

{{coord, 51, 44, 14, N, 4, 36, 00, W, type:landmark_region:GB_dim:2000, display=title Coast of Carmarthenshire Beaches of Carmarthenshire Nude beaches