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Home Up Swansea Cardiff Nash Point Llandaff Cowbridge Aberthin Museum of welsh Life Industrial Archaeology Hot Air Balloon Llantwit Major Fonmon Castle The Vale Valleys Churches The Brecons Pen y Fan in summer Laugharne Millenium walks Solva and St. Davids Botanical Gardens Bike Trails Rusty old 'ladies' Pentyrch Open Gardens Concorde's last visit Dyffryn Gardens airborne: below 3000ft Aberglasney Barry Pendoylan Steaming in the rain Heritage Coast Tinkinswood Kenfig Nature Reserve Kenfig in mid June Pen y Fan 2009 Wellington Bomber A touch of winter

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Photo Album

Nash Point on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast.

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  And this is Nash point looking Northwards, seen from the beach at low tide.

Click on the pic to get a more meaningful Panorama.
Nash Point is a stunning (to me) section of coastline which is the result of an upheaval of what were tropical sea beds to plus 150 metres above sea level. Glacial melt water gouged valleys in the plain as it rushed to the sea.
Not so much a beach as a series of rock pavements, complete with a myriad of small pools such as this.
Nash has two light houses, for some reason, this one without a 'top'. I didn't know why until Julia Morris  told me. Read on!

 
Sailing from Haverfordwest during a violent storm on the night of 16th March, 1831 the 34 metre, 108 ton craft came to grief on Nash sands.  The gale force wind was against the tide and this probably overloaded the small 80 hp engine.  
In all, 78 lives were lost, consisting of 63 passengers, including high ranking officers and a General, and 15 crew.  
There was a public outcry and it was this tragedy that led to the Nash Point Lighthouses being built by Trinity House in 1832 to warn shipping of the danger.  
Designed by James Walker, Engineer in Chief, the two towers (which are 302 metres / 1,000 feet apart) originally had fixed lights.  
When navigating the Bristol Channel the pilot would sail so that these were lined up in his sights, ensuring that the vessel would be south of Nash Sandbank.  
At the beginning of the 19th century the low light was removed, although the tower remains..
Nash Point Lighthouse was the last manned lighthouse in Wales to go automatic when it became computer controlled in 1998.  The keepers left two years later.

Looking out to Somerset from the cliff tops nearby.

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The other, just 200 metres away, not only has a working top, but the biggest fog horn below it that I have ever seen. Or heard. I live some seven miles to the rear of it, but always hear it when it sounds in foggy conditions!

Ogmore Castle

Just a few miles along the coast in a westerly direction, one arrives at Ogmore which has the ruins of an ancient castle (Norman) and is curiously enough, the property of the Duchy of Lancaster!

This is from inside looking across the site of the former drawbridge.

Its a cold January day and these lads are about to tackle the stepping stones which in summer, are a piece of cake
Bravo! He is actually walking across in trainers! Not sure what mum will say. A brilliant sky as a backdrop to this view from 'below stairs'.

Swansea Cardiff Nash Point Llandaff Cowbridge Aberthin Museum of welsh Life Industrial Archaeology Hot Air Balloon Llantwit Major Fonmon Castle The Vale Valleys Churches The Brecons Pen y Fan in summer Laugharne Millenium walks Solva and St. Davids Botanical Gardens Bike Trails Rusty old 'ladies' Pentyrch Open Gardens Concorde's last visit Dyffryn Gardens airborne: below 3000ft Aberglasney Barry Pendoylan Steaming in the rain Heritage Coast Tinkinswood Kenfig Nature Reserve Kenfig in mid June Pen y Fan 2009 Wellington Bomber A touch of winter