A chilly morning of October found us waking up in a caravan in the middle of a green Welsh meadow. The clear, star-flooded sky of the preceding night was now covered by dense grey clouds. The quiet was strict. Even the countless sheep all around the caravan didn’t bother to bleat, but only grazed nonchalantly. In spite of the ominous sky, there would be no rain, according to the forecast. It’d be an excellent day to do some hiking along the dramatically placid coast that defined the small promontory we were situated on. We set off. Destination: Whistling Sands Beach.
At the westernmost edge of Wales’ northern part, near a village called Abardaron, there lies a quaint, remote beach known as Whistling Sands. The beach’s coordinates are 52.8360, -4.7239. Apparently, the beach owes its name to the very fact that the sand does whistle. I’ve been to countless sandy beaches but I’ve never heard of any one of them whistling. I was pretty curious to find out whether and how this one would.
We made it to the parking area and followed the trail for some 200 m downhills until we reached the beach. I concentrated my auditory faculty but heard naught other than the sea splashing and the wind hissing – nothing too special about it – I would have asked for my money back if I’d given any.
The beach was nevertheless astoundingly beautiful. A couple of families were down there, heavily dressed, having a picnic of sorts. We also got down to the shore and got to promenade towards the northern end of the beach. We experimented a bit with different ways of stepping and were like “whistle mother**er, whistle!” And indeed, we found the trick. It did whistle.
You basically need to drag your feet over the sand surface to get the loudest of it. And it got loud; to the point of overtaking the combined efforts of the sea and wind. I admit, have never encountered such a phenomenon. As for what causes that whistling sound, not quite sure, sorry. I’m pretty sure that ancient folks must have had their set of stories featuring grumbling spirits of long-dead ancestors and stuff. But I’m rather inclined to assume that some particular, glassy component of the sand produces the sound when under friction. In fact, after checking it out in Wikipedia, in order for the sand to whistle, it must contain silica, grains of between 0.1 and 0.5 mm in diameter, and a certain degree of humidity.
We climbed the slope by the beach’s north edge and found some manmade stuff: walls and something resembling a grave. Then we moved back to the south end got on a nice narrow trail leading the way along the inclined shore. Absolutely beautiful route. Epical views of the vast Irish Sea and the skerries, bluffs, and small pebble beaches along the coast.
Soon later, we left that small trail and headed straight up the slope where we encountered a broader path. We followed that south for a little longer and left the coast altogether for taking a path inlands through the pastures. Sheep and cows grazed quietly and unconcernedly all over the place.
We ended up on the top of a low hill named Mynnyd Carreg. A cylindrical stone structure stood there on the top; maybe some sort of shelter or old fortification work. The view from that vantage point was outright spectacular and covered a large part of the peninsula. The parking area was also visible from up there. So we headed straight-line back down to the car.
Photo Gallery
View (and if you want use) all my photographs from the Whistling Sands.
Whistling Sands Walking Route Map
Accommodation and Activities in The UK
Stay22 is a handy tool that lets you search for and compare stays and experiences across multiple platforms on the same neat, interactive map. Hover over the listings to see the details. Click on the top-right settings icon to adjust your preferences; switch between hotels, experiences, or restaurants; and activate clever map overlays displaying information like transit lines or concentrations of sights. Click on the Show List button for the listings to appear in a list format. Booking via this map, I will be earning a small cut of the platform's profit without you being charged any extra penny. You will be thus greatly helping me to maintain and keep enriching this website. Thanks!
More content and info on Whistling Sands:
- Discover Porthor – National Trust
- Porthor Beach (Whistling Sands) – Trip Advisor
- PORTH OER (WHISTLING SANDS) – Visit Snowdonia
