Pendine
Encyclopedia
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, 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...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
lying on 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....
.
History
The village consists of two parts: the old hill-top settlement around the parish churchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, and the small harbour settlement on the shore. The latter developed into a small seaside resort during the 20th century. The seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
is best known for Pendine Sands
Pendine Sands
Pendine Sands is a length of beach on the shores of Carmarthen Bay on the south coast of Wales. It stretches from Gilman Point in the west to Laugharne Sands in the east. The village of Pendine is situated near the western end of Pendine Sands....
, where Malcolm Campbell
Malcolm Campbell
Sir Malcolm Campbell was an English racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times during the 1920s and 1930s using vehicles called Blue Bird...
and J.G. Parry-Thomas
J.G. Parry-Thomas
John Godfrey Parry-Thomas was a Welsh engineer and motor-racing driver who at one time held the Land Speed Record. He was the first driver to be killed in pursuit of the land speed record....
set the world land speed record
Land speed record
The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
five times between 1924 and 1927. Parry-Thomas was killed while making a final record-breaking attempt on Pendine Sands in 1927.
The parish lies a few miles south of the linguistic boundary
Landsker Line
The Landsker Line is a term commonly used for the language boundary between the Welsh-speaking and English-speaking areas in southwest Wales. The English-speaking areas, known as Little England beyond Wales, are notable for having been English linguistically and culturally for many centuries...
and is predominantly English-speaking.
Places of interest
The village is home to the Pendine Museum of SpeedPendine Museum of Speed
The Pendine Museum of Speed is dedicated to the use of Pendine Sands for land speed record attempts. It was opened in 1996 and is located in Pendine, on the South coast of Wales....
which houses Parry-Thomas' restored car Babs. The museum is only open at specified times. See web link below.
Other information
On some occasions, part of the beach is used by the QinetiQQinetiQ
Qinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
for firing practice.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
show Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
have twice test driven on the Sands. Cars were banned from the beach between 2005 and 2010 but are now permitted again.
Carmarthenshire Land Sailing Club
Carmarthenshire Land Sailing Club
Carmarthenshire Land Sailing Club, was formed in 2004 in order to allow Landsailing use of Pembrey Sands and Pendine Sands, in South Wales.-History:...
is allowed to use the beach for wind traction activities, including Land sailing
Land sailing
Land sailing, also known as sand yachting or land yachting, is the act of moving across land in a wheeled vehicle powered by wind through the use of a sail. The term comes from analogy with sailing. Historically, land sailing was used as a mode of transportation or recreation...
, kite buggying and Kite landboarding
Kite landboarding
Kite landboarding also known as Land kiteboarding or flyboarding, is based on the ever-growing sport of Kitesurfing, where a rider on a surf-style board is pulled over water by a kite. Kite landboarding involves the use of a mountain board or landboard, which is essentially an oversized skateboard...
.