Bays, beaches and sand dunes
The beaches of Pembrokeshire are popular places. They all benefit from a large tidal cycle which means that they offer a large range of habitat providing a multitude of options for inter-tidal marine creatures.
Some exposed beaches have a limited fauna while others are extremely rich, especially if they also have areas of exposed rocks.
Sandtop Bay
There are some bays and inlets where there is little sand, but often a shingle beach or a rocky shore, where the exposure to wave action is usually high but nevertheless the rock pools and inter-tidal zone will be rich in plants and animals.
Some bays are backed by shingle banks which protect low lying marshland habitats behind them.
Beach and Dunes, Freshwater East
Most beaches in Pembrokeshire are backed by cliffs or very limited sand dune systems but there are a few extensive dunes and some exciting flowers and areas of rich biodiversity. Some are protected as part of National Nature Reserves or as Special Protection areas but all are suffering erosion from the sea and have retreating seaward fronts – in winter often cut into sheer sand cliffs by wave action.
