Ceredigion Coast
Ynyslas Dunes and the Dyfi Estuary
Great dune system at the mouth of the Dyfi, with a submerged forest on the beach at low tide and Aberdyfi across the water.
- Distance
- 3.1 mi / 5 km
- Time
- 1 hr 40
- Ascent
- 20 m
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
Boardwalks and paths cross the dunes to the estuary and the beach, with a loop back through the slacks. Flat but soft underfoot in the sand.
Worth knowing
- The submerged forest, stumps of oak and pine drowned some five thousand years ago, appears on the beach at very low tides after storms.
- Orchids in the dune slacks in June, including marsh helleborine.
- The estuary is a UNESCO biosphere reserve and holds Greenland white-fronted geese in winter.
What you’ll see
Dune slacks and their flowers, the submerged forest, the estuary and Aberdyfi opposite.
Background
The drowned forest is the origin of the Cantre’r Gwaelod legend, the lost lowland hundred said to lie beneath Cardigan Bay.