Sunny Sunday Walks

It had been quite some time since I’d picked up my camera to do any photography and even longer since I’d written a blog post, so when our friend’s asked us if we wanted to go for a walk that afternoon, I knew I had to take my camera to document our walk and write a blog post about it. So here we are. I have to say I’m so pleased with these photos considering we were out in bright sunlight and that’s not always the best light to shoot in.

Arriving at Ynyslas

With the sea to your left and mountains to your right, Ynyslas is a real beauty of a place showcasing some of Wales’ best landscapes. It is also where the counties, Ceredigion and Gwynydd meet, with the Dyfi estuary separating Ynyslas from Aberdovey.

Parking is on the estuary beach so you do have to be careful of the tide but there’s often a sign informing you of when high tide is. During high season, people from Natural Resources Wales greet you upon arrival and ask for a payment of £2 (this covers parking no matter the length of your stay).

As it was the start of the summer season, we paid our £2 (thankfully they offer a contactless option – who carries cash with them anymore?!), found our friends’ car and parked up next to them. Having put suncream on Toby, Ezra in the sling wrap and bought an ice cream for Sam, we headed to the beach.

Through the Sand Dunes

From the car park, there are 3 routes to the beach; one that takes you alongside the estuary, one through the sand dunes and one that takes you via the visitor centre and then along a board walk. My favourite route is through the sand dunes. I love to look back along the way to look at the view – mountains in the background, the visitor centre just to the right and a caravan park in the distance. Plus if you look to your left, you can see across the estuary to Aberdovey.

On the Beach

Once you’ve made it through the sand dunes, the beach opens up and you’re greeted with a vast expanse of sea and sand. When the tide is high, there is very little beach to walk along, but when the tide is low, you can walk for miles to the sea. On this particular day, the tide was on its way out so there was plenty of beach to enjoy and there were certainly plenty of people enjoying it – hardly surprising when it was such a beautiful afternoon and the country has been in lockdown on and off for 15 months!

Anyway, we enjoyed a walk to the sea and Toby enjoyed building sand castles (just by hand – Muma didn’t take the bucket and spade 🙄) and collecting shells. We talked, we walked, we built. We buried feet in the sand, floated shells down a stream and paddled in the sea. We even found some crabs. 🦀

All in all, it was an enjoyable afternoon at the seaside.

*Note to self, always take a bucket and spade to the seaside when you have a toddler!