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Wales Online
06-07-2025
- Wales Online
Hidden forest slowly being revealed by the tide is linked to a Welsh Atlantis
Hidden forest slowly being revealed by the tide is linked to a Welsh Atlantis This Bronze Age forest slowly rising from a Welsh beach is said to be linked to the 'Welsh Atlantis' The sunken forest can be seen at low tide (Image: Ashley Kennedy ) Wales has many surprising features and unusual quirks hidden among its ethereal landscapes. We have romantic castle ruins, Roman remains, Holy Wells, neolithic burial chambers, and a grave for a fictional house elf. One of the more curious is 'Borth Forest', an ancient, Bronze Age forest slowly rising from a Welsh beach, said to be linked to the 'Welsh Atlantis.' This prehistoric forest, which was buried under water and sand more than 4,500 years ago. In early 2010, a large area of fantasy-film-looking tree stumps was finally exposed. Then, over the winter of 2011/12, another significant area became exposed at Upper Borth, south of the RNLI Lifeboat station. The forest was then further uncovered by storms in 2014 and Storm Hannah in 2019. The submerged woodland between Ynyslas and Borth in Ceredigion, just south of Eryri, was lost beneath the waves thousands of years ago and is now slowly being revealed. It's thought the woodland died around 1500BC and was preserved by the acid conditions in the land's peat, becoming the stuff of legends, folklore, and songs. Recent images show more of the north side than many have seen before (Image: Welsh Photographs ) These gnarly stumps of oak, pine, birch, willow, and hazel trees, preserved in the local peat, have been further stripped back by high tides and crashing waves that battered the region six years ago. Geologists believe a layer of clay and silt, some 60 to 100 feet deep, lies beneath the jagged stumps. Article continues below This sediment possibly holds vital information about what came before the forests and grasslands, including salt marshes, mud flats, brackish waters, and whatever life thrived there. It's an awe-inspiring sight and a tangible reminder of the thousands of years of ancient history right below us. For years, there has been much speculation that these haunting remains are a mythical submerged kingdom and are a Celtic 'otherworld'. According to Discover Ceredigion, the petrified forest has become associated with a 17th-century myth of a sunken civilisation known as 'Cantre'r Gwaelod', or the 'Sunken Hundred'. Legend tells us that Cantre'r Gwaelod was the rich and fertile 'lowland hundred' and sixteen cities governed by Gwyddno Garanhir, whose palace, Caer Wyddno, was reputedly near Aberystwyth. It's an awe-inspiring sight (Image: Welsh Photographs ) The land stretched across what is today the marine-life-rich Cardigan Bay and lay below sea level, protected by sea walls. Seithennyn, a friend of the king, was the guardian of the sea defences, charged with the all-important role of shutting the sea gates every night. One night, Seithennyn, who liked his drink, was at a feast in the king's palace and forgot to shut the sea gates. It was a stormy night, and the high spring tides broke through, flooding Cantre'r Gwaelod, forcing its people to flee to the hills, and creating Wales' very own Atlantis. The fantastical tale is first recorded in the 'Black Book of Carmarthen' along with stories of Arthur and Merlin. This precious manuscript is being kept by the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What's On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here As Wales Online reported, excavation work on the site has found a Mesolithic tool, flints and a skeleton of an auroch, an ancestor to domestic cattle, found by a local butcher in the 1960s. Human and animal footprints and scatterings of burnt stones from ancient hearths have also been unearthed. Borth's ghost trees at dusk (Image: Ashley Kennedy ) In January 2014, after weeks of storms pummelling the Welsh coastline, a wattle walkway became visible for the first time used by local people to cope with an increasingly waterlogged landscape. The surreal-looking sunken forest soon became a social media sensation, with locals and tourists posting photographs of the ancient remains, which were studied closely by academics. Alun Hubbard, from the Department of Geography and Glaciology at Aberystwyth University, told Wales Online that installing sea defences in Borth in 2012 could be a factor in more of the trees becoming exposed, along with Global warming. Professor Hubbard said, "Of course, climate change is leading to extreme events in places. Borth is very vulnerable to high seas and extreme events, so we might see more in the future. Borth is an ephemeral geographic formation. Its coastal erosion and position allowed it to be there. The sea will take it away again." Article continues below For now, at least, you can still see this mythical woodland at low tide and wonder what mysteries are lost beneath the waves.
The Independent
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Girl's fake permission slip is talent show winner
A young girl's unannounced talent show performance has gone viral on TikTok, accumulating over 9.8 million views. The girl independently signed herself up for the talent show without her sister's knowledge, as shared by user Ashley Kennedy. Her performance featured a series of somersaults and a cartwheel, set to a remixed song. Online viewers widely applauded her for her 'CEO-level confidence' and praised her stage presence. The viral clip prompted many social media users to share their own anecdotes of fearless childhood talent show acts.
