Wednesday 6 October 2010

Viaduct and Estuary - Barmouth

Estuaries are magical places, neither land nor sea, snaking channels and shining sands, flocks of birds flying overhead or looking for lunch as the tide ebbs away.

The Barmouth Estuary in Wales is where the River Mawddach ends its journey after rising in the mountains of Snowdonia in North Wales.  The card is of the mouth of the estuary where the seaside town of Barmouth sits along with the railway viaduct, which is happily still in use.  Built in 1867 by the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railways it runs for 900 yards and on the landward side there is a footbridge which is also still used, for a small toll.

My Father was staying near here  in 1972 and he noted on the back:
"One could soon reach here from our walking centre.  The collection of bungalows in the distance is Fairbourne, a fine place for bathing - if the weather was right.  A miniature railway runs from here to the edge of the sands where the Ferry picks one up for Barmouth"
The miniature narrow gauge railway and ferry still run.  Isn't Barmouth lucky, two railways.

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1 comment:

dakotaboo said...

Magical place. I've been a couple of times but only ever driven through and never stopped. I think Julia Bradbury walked through here on one of her Railway Walk series.