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Kenfig Pool

Geography of Glamorgan
The Kenfig Pool at Sunset
The Kenfig Pool at Sunset

Kenfig Pool (Welsh: Pwll Cynffig) is a national nature reserve situated near Porthcawl, Bridgend. Wild storms and huge tides between the 13th and 15th centuries are mainly responsible for creating the Kenfig dunes near Porthcawl, as they threw vast quantities of sand up over the Glamorgan coast. This buried the nearby borough of Kenfig, and its castle, of which only the ruined keep survives. At 70 acres the second largest (after Llangorse Lake) freshwater lake in south Wales. Kenfig Pool lies at the heart of the national nature reserve and is a valuable stopping point for migrating birds. The lake's maximum depth is about 12 feet. An island, built by the aristocrats living in nearby Margam to encourage wildfowl (which they would shoot) to nest there, has long since sunk beneath the waters.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Kenfig Pool (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Kenfig Pool
West Street,

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Wikipedia: Kenfig PoolContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

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N 51.5194 ° E -3.7362 °
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West Street
CF33 4PR , Cornelly
Wales, United Kingdom
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The Kenfig Pool at Sunset
The Kenfig Pool at Sunset
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SS Samtampa
SS Samtampa

SS Samtampa was a 7,219 ton steamship wrecked on Sker Point, off Porthcawl and Kenfig, Wales, in the Bristol Channel on 23 April 1947. At the time of the shipwreck, the Samtampa was operated by the Houlder Line.There were 47 fatalities in the incident, 39 from the ship and 8 volunteer crew of the lifeboat RNLB Edward, Prince of Wales (ON 678) from The Mumbles Lifeboat Station who died attempting to save the crew of the Samtampa. The lifeboat had returned to base, but had been sent out a second time. An oil spill from the tanks of the wrecked ship created an area of calm water, which the lifeboat coxswain, William Gammon (previously a winner of the RNLI Gold Medal), attempted to use to their advantage to enable them to pull alongside, and those who died were choked by the oil rather than drowning. The ship had sailed from Middlesbrough and most of the 39 crew hailed from the Teesside area. A memorial to the victims of the Samtampa tragedy is in Porthcawl Cemetery and a commemorative plaque can be found marking the "final resting place of The Mumbles lifeboat" at Sker Point. The location of the wreck was 51°30′01″N 03°44′26″W In recognition of the sixtieth anniversary, a church service took place in Porthcawl on Saturday 21 April followed by a smaller service at Sker Point. On Sunday 23rd April 2022, Porthcawl Runners hosted a 75th anniversary fun run on Mumbles Seafront. A year later, they held a similar run at Porthcawl Promenade, slightly longer in length, but with twice as many entrants. So, far the events have raised over £3000 for the RNLI and it is hoped that with its growing popularity, the event will take place every year. The Samtampa had been launched as the SS Peleg Wadsworth, a liberty ship built by the New England Shipbuilding Corporation at South Portland, Maine, and launched on 12 December 1943. Sent to Britain under the Lend-Lease program, the ship was renamed, and managed by the Houlder Line on behalf of the Ministry of War Transport.