Cefn Sidan
Encyclopedia
Cefn Sidan, roughly translated from Welsh
, means "Silky Back". This long sandy beach
and its dunes form the outer edge of the Pembrey Burrows
between Burry Port
and Kidwelly
, looking southwards over Carmarthen Bay
in South Wales
.
The sands were treacherous to sailing ships and a number of vessels were certainly lost around Pembrey, including "La Jeune Emma" bound from the West Indies to France and blown badly off course in 1828. 13 of the 19 on board drowned, including Adeline Coquelin, the 12 year-old niece of Napoleon Bonaparte's divorced wife Josephine de Beauharnais. She is buried at St. Illtyds Church, Pembrey. The last large ship to be lost was the four masted windjammer, the SS Paul, carrying a cargo of timber and grounding in a storm in 1925. Today Cefn Sidan forms part of the Pembrey Country Park
leisure and nature complex.
The beach is visually spectacular because of the fine structure of its sand granule
s - however, this makes it unsuitable for making stable structures beyond simple sand castles. On Sunday August 3, 2008 a 16 year old boy whilst digging a tunnel in the sand dunes behind the beach, was trapped after the tunnel collapsed. Swansea Coastguard said the alarm was raised at around 1910 BST, with Burry Port coastguard team on scene within 15 minutes. After helicopter
Air ambulance
transfer to Morriston Hospital
in Swansea
, doctors pronounced him dead.
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, means "Silky Back". This long sandy beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
and its dunes form the outer edge of the Pembrey Burrows
Pembrey Burrows
Pembrey Burrows stretch from Burry Port's harbour area – a former coal port, now a marina – to Pembrey Country Park, a leisure and nature complex that is one of West Wales's leading visitor attraction....
between Burry Port
Burry Port
Burry Port is a small town five miles outside the larger centre of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the Loughor estuary. The town's population is roughly 8,000 although in the 2001 census there were 4209 residents....
and Kidwelly
Kidwelly
Kidwelly is a town in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, approximately north-west of the main town of Llanelli.It lies on the River Gwendraeth Fach above Carmarthen Bay. The town is twinned with French village St Jacut de la Mer.-History:...
, looking southwards over Carmarthen Bay
Carmarthen Bay
Carmarthen Bay is an inlet of the south Wales coast. The coastline includes famous beaches, including the Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands, and is partially covered by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park....
in South Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
The sands were treacherous to sailing ships and a number of vessels were certainly lost around Pembrey, including "La Jeune Emma" bound from the West Indies to France and blown badly off course in 1828. 13 of the 19 on board drowned, including Adeline Coquelin, the 12 year-old niece of Napoleon Bonaparte's divorced wife Josephine de Beauharnais. She is buried at St. Illtyds Church, Pembrey. The last large ship to be lost was the four masted windjammer, the SS Paul, carrying a cargo of timber and grounding in a storm in 1925. Today Cefn Sidan forms part of the Pembrey Country Park
Pembrey Country Park
Pembrey Country Park is a country park in Britain. It is on the coast of south Wales, near the village of Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, and the town of Llanelli....
leisure and nature complex.
The beach is visually spectacular because of the fine structure of its sand granule
Granule
Granule is a generic term used for a small particle or grain. The generic term is employed in a variety of specific contexts.* Granule , visible structures in the photosphere of the Sun arising from activity in the Sun's convective zone...
s - however, this makes it unsuitable for making stable structures beyond simple sand castles. On Sunday August 3, 2008 a 16 year old boy whilst digging a tunnel in the sand dunes behind the beach, was trapped after the tunnel collapsed. Swansea Coastguard said the alarm was raised at around 1910 BST, with Burry Port coastguard team on scene within 15 minutes. After helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
Air ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....
transfer to Morriston Hospital
Morriston Hospital
Morriston Hospital is a 750 bed hospital located in Cwmrhydyceirw near Morriston in Swansea, Wales. Morriston is the largest hospital in the city and county of Swansea and is operated by Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board. Alongside its role as a district general hospital, Morriston...
in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, doctors pronounced him dead.