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Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales
Open ledger · AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V00 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V00

Ledger AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V00

Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales 12

Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman

Ledger AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V00

Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales 12

Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman
The Archive of Days presentsBeta

THE SUBMERGED SHORE

Whitesands Bay

Submerged forest, saints’ stories and modern shortboard surfing beside St Davids.

Scroll to follow the shoreline through time

Whitesands can reveal the remains of a Mesolithic submerged forest after rough seas.

The beach’s first history is therefore a coastline in motion, with former land now within the intertidal zone.

Sources for this chapter

TRADITION AND PILGRIMAGE

A departure point in the land of saints

St Patrick’s Chapel stands in the dunes.

Tradition says Patrick departed for Ireland from this shore, a story carried as local religious memory rather than a securely dated voyage.

Sources for this chapter

1833–1945

Wrecks and wartime closure

Several recorded wrecks lie beneath or near the sand.

During the Second World War the beach was restricted by mines and dune sand was taken for the nearby St Davids airfield.

Sources for this chapter
Penmaen Dewi (St David's Head) from Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales
Open ledger · AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V01 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V01

Ledger AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V01

Penmaen Dewi (St David's Head) from Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales 13

Penmaen Dewi (St David's Head) from Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Penmaen Dewi (St David's Head) from Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman

Ledger AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V01

Penmaen Dewi (St David's Head) from Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales 13

Penmaen Dewi (St David's Head) from Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Penmaen Dewi (St David's Head) from Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman

THE SURF YEARS

Porth Mawr enters Welsh competition

With reliable sandbanks and clean Atlantic exposure, Whitesands became one of Pembrokeshire’s main surfing beaches.

Its shaped peaks supported shortboard progression and a strong local competitive generation.

Sources for this chapter

THE LIVING MAP

The mapped place

Whitesands Bay is recorded at 51.893° N, 5.303° W. A surf map fixes a name to one stretch of moving water, but the place changes with tide, swell direction, wind and the shape of the seabed.

Sources for this chapter
Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales
Open ledger · AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V00 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V00

Ledger AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V00

Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales 12

Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman

Ledger AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V00

Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales 12

Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman

TODAY

A city beach without a city shore

Whitesands is the principal beach for nearby St Davids, with lifeguarding, bus access and a seasonal visitor economy.

Beneath that modern apparatus, storms still uncover older landscapes and wrecks.

Sources for this chapter

THE LEDGER

Sources and credits

This exhibition is built from local, institutional and sporting records. The source ledger keeps the claims visible and leaves space for correction as further local evidence emerges.

Sources for this chapter

Artefacts in order of appearance

  • Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales 12

    AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V00 · original · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Penmaen Dewi (St David's Head) from Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) near Tyddewi (St David's), Sir Benfro, Cymru, Wales 13

    AOD.UK.WHITESANDS.V01 · original · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Editorial record

Full UK edition. Historical claims are linked to the local, public and sporting records used to write the exhibition. Cartography is generated from the PeakWave location catalogue.