A dog walker has expressed his astonishment after witnessing rocks fall from the towering cliffs above during a stroll along a popular Welsh beach. Anthony Preston, accompanied by his partner Vicky and their dog Biffy, visited Southerndown Beach on Saturday morning around 11am.
Also known as Dunraven Bay, this stunning sandy cove lies on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast and is famous for its dramatic, towering sedimentary limestone cliffs.
The couple, from Bridgend, admitted they had previously joked about the possibility of cliff subsidence during earlier visits, even moments before the event. However, they could hardly believe their eyes when it actually happened.
Shock and Awe
Mr Preston recounted: "We go down there quite regularly and we've often looked up and thought, as there are big cracks all the way along. My other half always points it out and says: 'That's going to go soon, that's going to go soon.'
"There's one big overhang down there, and we were literally saying 'it could be any day, it could be years, you never know'. As we were walking along you could hear little bits coming down that would drop occasionally, whether it was the birds disturbing stuff or what, I'm not sure.
"Then there was just a noise. I won't tell you what we said! I just grabbed my phone quickly and took photos.
"We were shocked. The dog was with us and he was trying to pull off trying to run towards it initially.
"There was quite a bit which came down. The beach wasn't that busy. It was picking up as we were leaving but we were the only people down there at the time."
Safety and History
Dunraven Bay is a fantastic location for fossil hunting and exploring rock pools, but visitors are advised to exercise caution. Signs warn against sitting or walking under the cliffs.
The bay was once believed to be an old Iron Age hillfort, later transformed into Dunraven Castle, which no longer exists. Today, ruins of the castle and its former walled garden remain in a setback area away from the beach.
