Traeth Yr Afon and Merthyr Mawr Warren

We had a few hours to fill across the bridge, so we drove through squalls of rain to Porthcawl.

Were we deterred? NO! Not one little bit.

And it did brighten up quite quickly. 

Traeth yr Afon is a lovely, dog-friendly beach. We decided to wander along to its end, where the River Ogmore enters the sea.

The tide was out and the sand pristine. There were really interesting ripple patterns left by the receding tide ...

... and extensive honeycomb worm reefs, which were new to me. 

They're spongy and intricate and the humans amongst us tried to avoid stepping on them.

Ted, meanwhile, was having a literal ball. 

Right down at the water's edge, the tide was coming in fast. 

Just time to chase a few gulls.

By now we were at the mouth of the river, looking across to Ogmore-by-Sea, which I last (and first) visited about 35 years ago. 

We decided to climb up onto the sand dunes, which are part of the Merthyr Mawr warren.

This is the River Ogmore from the dunes.

As at Kenfig and Rhossili, there's a story about a village lost under the sand dunes. Here it's Treganlaw, the 'town of a hundred hands'.  

I was also reminded of John Betjeman's 'sinkininny church' at Trebetherick in Cornwall. 

We needed to be heading back, however ...  

... taking with us a somewhat squitty dog who, for some unfathomable reason, had decided to revive his pupster habit of drinking sea water. 

You love me really, says Ted.