Dunes LRB3

The word ‘dunes’ conjures up a scene like the Sahara Desert with sculptured ridges of bare loose sand continually on the move in giant ripple structures. The reality in Britain is very different, with most of the dunes colonised to various degrees by specialised plants except for the mobile seaward margins. Llangennith Burrows comprises dunes in many stages of stabilisation. In this picture is a part of the system where bare sand marks damaged visitor pathways and play areas among the marram grass on the tall mounds. The darker coloured vegetation marks taller woodier plants like birch and willow species occupying a hollow where the water table is closer to the surface.

This is the third in a series following my steps on a short stroll from Hillend along the shore at Rhossili, returning via Diles Lake and the marsh side of the dunes.