Cold Knap is one of the beaches in my town of Barry. "The Knap" or "The Pebbles" as it is known by the locals is a pebble beach, compared to the sandy beaches in town, and has the second highest tides in the world . The height between high and low tide, can be as much as a staggering 15 metres!! A much quieter beach, the Knap is probably prefered by sunbathers in the summer as the beach is quite a suntrap. Named 'Cold Knap' probably because of the breeze that comes in off the sea, but don't let that fool you, when the weather is scorching hot, and you are sunbathing, the cooling sea breeze makes the sunbather unaware of how burnt they are actually getting. This is from personal experience, as many a summer I have come away from the Knap beach sporting a lovely shade of 'lobster red' - ouch!!!

The Knap beach stretches around to Porthkerry, and is a popular alternative to the noise and bustle of Barry Island. Parking is now free on the car terrace at the top of the beach, and the good south westerly breezes make this a very popular beach with windsurfers. There are very few food outlets nearby, so this is a beach to take a picnic to.

Taking photographs over the Knap is fantastic, especially at sunset, maybe I take too many, but the colours in the sky can be spectacular! Here is what I consider a good selection of photographs that I have taken from my favourite local beach!