Conwy Bay ( Welsh ''Bae Conwy''), also known as Conway Bay, is an inlet of the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the C ...

. It is situated at the southeastern point of the coast of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

at Bangor on the northern central coast of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, stretching from Puffin Island to

Great Orme The Great Orme ( cy, Y Gogarth) is a limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, north-west of the town of Llandudno. Referred to as ''Cyngreawdr Fynydd'' by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, its English name derives from the Old ...

in the northeast. Bangor,

Penmaenmawr Penmaenmawr (, ) is a town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, which was formerly in the parish of Dwygyfylchi and the traditional county of Caernarfonshire. It is on the North Wales coast between Conwy and Llanfairfechan and was an ...

Beaumaris Beaumaris ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey fro ...

and

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Crai ...

are notable towns on the bay. With its onshore winds and ebbing tide, the bay is popular with yachtsmen; Conwy Yacht Club hosts an annual regatta in June.

Description

Conwy Bay lies at the southeastern point of the coast of

at Bangor on the northern central coast of

. Puffin Island and the

mark the limits of the bay. The bay is entered between Trwyn-du and Great Ormes Head in the northeast and extends for approximately to the southwest at Bangor, marking the northeast entrance to the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait ( cy, Afon Menai, the "river Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. It varies in width from from Fort Belan to Abermenai Point to fr ...

. Bangor,

and

lie on the bay, with

to the eastern extreme. The

River Conwy , name_etymology = , image = Boats in River Conwy.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = Boats in the river estuary at Conwy , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , push ...

flows into Conwy Bay in the southeast, while the Menai Strait in the west connects it to Caernarfon Bay. The coastline at both sides of the bay is low. A considerable area of the bay is characterised by drying sands, the Dutchman Bank and Lavan Sands being the most prominents banks. To the west of the entrance at Great Ormes Head is the Four Fathom Bank, a shallow area with depths of under , though the dry Conwy Sands dominate much of the estuary area in the eastern part of the bay between Great Ormes Head and Penmaen-bach Point, to the south. to the east of Penmaen-bach Point is the entrance to the Conwy River. The outer estuary of the Conwy in the southeastern corner of Conwy Bay is marked by "extensive sandbanks, mudflats and mussel beds", and is an important habitat for birds such as

dunlin The dunlin (''Calidris alpina'') is a small wader, formerly sometimes separated with the other " stints" in the genus ''Erolia''. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from ''dun'', "dull brow ...

, oystercatcher,

curlew The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been in ...

and redshank.

Water sports

With its strong onshore winds and ebbing tide, the bay is popular with yachtsmen. The bay is home to several yacht and boating clubs. Conwy Yacht Club hosts an annual regatta in June, in preparation for the Conwy River Festival in July.

References

{{Coord, 53, 20, N, 3, 58, W, region:GB_type:waterbody, display=title Bays of the Irish Sea Bays of Anglesey Bays of Conwy County Borough Bays of Gwynedd