Abereiddy is a very popular location for photographers and also coasteering. I am lucky to have a permanent base in North Pembrokeshire, my folks live just along the coast from here, so I consider myself much more than just a tourist.

Having a permanent base in North Pembrokeshire is absolutely wonderful. However, it can make you slightly lazy when seeking out a new image or location to explore. However, during the summer we sneaked a week away in Pembrokeshire and stayed in a lovely farmhouse perfectly placed between Porthgain in the North and Solva in the South. Perfectly placed is somewhat of an understatement actually as it took no more than 10 minutes to get to either Abereiddy or Porthgain.

Both are a bit special in their own right, both have huge industrial heritage but have adapted to the modern tourist in very different ways. Abereiddy has become a playground for the adventurous and Porthgain a cultural foodies hotspot.

Abereiddy Light on the rocks

The photograph above represents my first evening spent in the Blue Lagoon, Abereiddy. It is quite a dark, desolate and remote place, the cliffs are eroded and dark. A man-made bridge takes you easily over towards the far side and a slippery slope guides you down to the jagged water’s edge. The shot became obvious, it was just a case of waiting for the right wave, the timing was all luck, no pre-planning (high tide in my favour) just a bimble along the cliff. I did manage another similar photograph, although this one focused on a much more distant view. However, once again the light catch the light cliffs was extremely dramatic.

Having a number of photographs I was happy with always removes the pressure of coming away with a keeper! So I persevered and continued. I moved away from a long exposure but carefully watched where the light was hitting a dark rock, at the very front of the lagoon. I wanted to ensure that my image made me wander to the back of the photograph. The foam trail helped me do this. A conversion to a favourite tone of mine and this would go down as one of my top ten photographs from Pembrokeshire.

Coming away with three shots from Abereidy that I believe are pretty unique to this location makes me happy. Having one real wall hanger, made this a very productive evening.

Footnote. These images were all made pre-lockdown. All of Pembrokeshire is worthy of a visit!

Abereiddy, Pembrokeshire

Abereiddy is well known for it’s Coasteering scene and of course the amazing Red Bull Cliff Diving contest in the Blue Lagoon. It has successfully regenerated the beach from it’s historical past into one of adventure and fun. I love Abereiddy it has a raw photographic beauty, you have to search it out and look amongst the crevices, it’s also sometimes obvious, but always worth a visit. This image was recreated a day after one of the summer storms of 2016. The sunset was poor, which I was very thankful for. This location is tucked away and needs a bit of thinking. The obvious photograph is from the bridge, but explore beyond it’s more fun!