Mobile dunes of Barmouth

Blown in from the Channel Isles?

Strong winds, stormy seas and Bermo’s seafront road was closed by an impromptu sand dune. As for the Jersey Lifeboat - I’m not sure how that ended up here.

I think the dunes at Bermo are a relatively recent phenomenon following construction works near the harbour. They are steadily moving up the coast, the natural, free and uninhibited way. Not locked down by plantations of marram grass or other human intervention.

Tourists might prefer to walk straight from their hotels onto the beach but the dunes provide a brilliant natural coastal defence.  By being mobile they can shift, grow and adapt as sea levels rise. We probably need to remobilise other dunes along the coast to regain this natural protection just as they did in Holland and Denmark.

Mobile dunes, which are now very scarce, also provide a dynamic environment favoured by a very specific range of plants and wildlife.