One beach in south west Wales has dark secrets dating back hundreds of years hiding beneath its eight miles of award-winning golden sand. Cefn Sidan, near Kidwelly, was the first beach in Wales to be selected for the prestigious Blue Flag status awarded for the highest quality of water, safety and environment which, given the coverage of raw sewage dumped in Welsh waters over the last 12 months, is a welcome sight.
It’s also seen its sands draw comparisons to California’s Golden Coast. However, despite its beautiful appearance, beneath the surface lies a treacherous past. This stretch of coastline along Carmarthenshire’s shipping lanes, which trace as far back as Roman times, is said to be the final resting place of more than 300 shipwrecks, with 182 of them dating back at least as far as 1668, when records first began.
One of the most notable remaining wrecks can be found at the western end of the beach. The SV Paul, a large windjammer, left Nova Scotia for St Anne’s Head, Pembrokeshire on October 30, 1925 but ran into severe gales en route. After losing her sails and anchors, she ran aground some 35 miles away on Cefn Sidan beach, along with an expensive cargo of tropical hardwood timber.
