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 textural class of s ...

and shingle at the mouth of the

River Mawddach The Afon Mawddach ( en, River Mawddach, italic=yes) is a river in Gwynedd, Wales, which has its source in a wide area north of Dduallt in Snowdonia. It is 28 miles (45 km) in length, and is much branched; many of the significant tri ...

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. Geograp ...

, 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 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 A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

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 Barmouth ( cy, Abermaw (formal); ''Y Bermo'' (colloquial)) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in the county of Gwynedd, northwestern Wales, lying on the estuary of the Afon Mawddach and Cardigan Bay. Located in the Historic coun ...

. 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, Barmouth Bay in Arthog Community (Wales), community, to the south of the estuary of the River Mawddach, it is surrounded by Snowdonia National Park. It is in an ...

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