Merthyr Mawr Warren 2008
Dune. Desert planet. Now where's the Melange?
Overview of the Merthyr Mawr Warren National Nature Reserve (Any More Title Case Words And I will Exceed My Daily Allowance). It is situated on the mouth of the Ogmore river in South Wales, and has the tallest sand dunes in Wales.
Sand field marking the start of the dunes.
Trees holding the sand, and sand holding the trees.
Sand path.
Bunker.
The paths form a network over and around the dunes, and even have sign posts to point towards the sea and car park.
Dune slope.
Bright moss among the darker grasses.
The warren has remains of many rabbit burrows (including a few here in this picture, if you know what to look for), but no sign of the rabbits.
Viper's bugloss (echium vulgare, if you care).
Riding the dunes. With a permit.
Dune heights.
Sand strata.
The bedrock under the dunes (part of what makes them so tall) is limestone, and a series of marshy patches like this mark the line of a hidden (and unexplored) cave system, similar to the drainage system of a turlough, called Burrows Well.
Half-pipe.
Sea dunes.
Looking along the dunes to Porthcawl. Porthcawl is heavily tailored towards tourism, and even has its own funfair. Sadly that also probably explains the vast amounts of...
...debris washed up all along the beach. It's quite unbelievable that this is a nature reserve. The majority of the Porthcawl waste is obvious as the plastic bottles and other supposedly disposable food packaging.
Kitesurfing.
Saltation - wind-blown sand.
Coloured banks of the Ogmore.
Tidal oxbows and delta of the Ogmore.
The debris gets worse here. This appears to be a window frame. There's enough to build an entire ship from the wood, and to build a similar sized plastic alternative from the bottles.
Tide marks of debris. In this picture (though indistinguishable) are a baby's high chair, and the body of an electric ride-on/in car (the children's toy for those with too much money). Crazy. Porthcawl has a lot to answer for.
A flock of Canada geese leaving the dunes for the evening.
Overview of the Merthyr Mawr Warren National Nature Reserve (Any More Title Case Words And I will Exceed My Daily Allowance). It is situated on the mouth of the Ogmore river in South Wales, and has the tallest sand dunes in Wales.
Sand field marking the start of the dunes.
Trees holding the sand, and sand holding the trees.
Sand path.
Bunker.
The paths form a network over and around the dunes, and even have sign posts to point towards the sea and car park.
Dune slope.
Bright moss among the darker grasses.
The warren has remains of many rabbit burrows (including a few here in this picture, if you know what to look for), but no sign of the rabbits.
Viper's bugloss (echium vulgare, if you care).
Riding the dunes. With a permit.
Dune heights.
Sand strata.
The bedrock under the dunes (part of what makes them so tall) is limestone, and a series of marshy patches like this mark the line of a hidden (and unexplored) cave system, similar to the drainage system of a turlough, called Burrows Well.
Half-pipe.
Sea dunes.
Looking along the dunes to Porthcawl. Porthcawl is heavily tailored towards tourism, and even has its own funfair. Sadly that also probably explains the vast amounts of...
...debris washed up all along the beach. It's quite unbelievable that this is a nature reserve. The majority of the Porthcawl waste is obvious as the plastic bottles and other supposedly disposable food packaging.
Kitesurfing.
Saltation - wind-blown sand.
Coloured banks of the Ogmore.
Tidal oxbows and delta of the Ogmore.
The debris gets worse here. This appears to be a window frame. There's enough to build an entire ship from the wood, and to build a similar sized plastic alternative from the bottles.
Tide marks of debris. In this picture (though indistinguishable) are a baby's high chair, and the body of an electric ride-on/in car (the children's toy for those with too much money). Crazy. Porthcawl has a lot to answer for.
A flock of Canada geese leaving the dunes for the evening.