Ynyslas (, meaning "Blue Island") is a small
Welsh village about 1.5 miles north of
Borth and 8 miles north of
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
, within the county of
Ceredigion. It is sandwiched between a long sandy beach in
Cardigan Bay and the beach in the
Dyfi Estuary. The area between the sea and the estuary beach is made up of the
Ynyslas Sand Dunes which are part of the
Dyfi National Nature Reserve and home to many rare plants and animals. The sands of the estuary beach can be driven onto and parked upon. The nature reserve has a visitor centre with toilets and a small shop. At the start of some
BBC 1 programmes, the idents show people flying kites on sand dunes, and this was filmed at Ynyslas.
The northern end of the
Ceredigion Coast Path extends to the Dyfi Estuary National Nature Reserve at Ynyslas.
Ecology
The
Dyfi National Nature Reserve and the
Ynyslas Sand Dunes are situated where the mouth of the
Afon Leri joins the
Dyfi Estuary at Ynyslas.
Cors Fochno is situated to the east beyond the
Afon Leri. At low tide the remains of an ancient
submerged forest
A submerged forest is the ''in situ'' remains of trees, especially tree stumps, that lie submerged beneath a bay, sea, ocean, lake, or other body of water. These remains have usually been buried in mud, peat, or sand for several thousand years b ...
with stumps of
petrified oak, pine, birch, willow and hazel are exposed on the beach.
Railway
From 1867 Ynyslas had a railway station on the
Cambrian Railways
The Cambrian Railways owned of track over a large area of mid Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with connections to the ...
, with sidings serving the riverside wharves. The
Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway proposed to create a narrow-gauge line to the wharves in the 1890s but this was never built. Ynyslas railway station was closed by the London Midland Region of
British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
on 14 June 1965.
Recreation
Borth Rowing Club stores its boat at, and launches from the Ynyslas Boatyard on the banks of the
Afon Leri.
The 18 hole
golf course at the Borth & Ynyslas Golf Club stretches from
Borth to Ynyslas.
Swimming is not allowed at Ynyslas in the sea or estuary, due to the dangerously strong currents.
Dyfi National Nature Reserve - Ynyslas Visitor Centre, near Aberystwyth
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Ynyslas was the home of the Aberystwyth Beach Cricket Society, under the name the Ynyslas Oval.
See also
* Ynyslas Sand Dunes
References
Coast of Ceredigion
Villages in Ceredigion
Seaside resorts in Wales
Borth
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