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I have to say I was pleasantly surprised...I'd driven around the area many times on my way to Ogmore but never actually made the effort to go down and see for myself.

This truly is one of the area's hidden gems. The village itself is beautiful with scattered ancient thatched cottages hidden away amongst the trees.

It has a real timeless quality to it and I half expected a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ drama unit to come running out at any moment.

The river Ogmore flows alongside and if you follow your nose down the road you'll eventually come to a dead end and a car park in the woods.

The parking is privately owned but costs around £2 for a car for the day.

First up, we hit the dunes!

My first tip - beware the deckchairs. People come here to erect deck chairs, literally 10ft into the trail at the base of the first dune and stay put for the day!

Why? I have no idea, as it would be easier to stay at home or drive to the beach but there we go. Each to their own...

Now on this particular trip I was dragging my heavily pregnant wife along, needless to say we didn't attempt the summit but it's quite a sight, and rumour has it - the Welsh rugby team have come here to train in the past.

Instead we opted for a gentle walk down along the river towards Newton beach.

As far as the eye can see there are dunes and hills with the sea in the distance, gently shimmering (if you go on a sunny day) whilst the river meanders down past Ogmore castle to your left.

There's plenty of wildlife here too and lots of wild strawberry plants but watch out for the nettles! I'll be going back once the fruit develops...

Blue skies and whispy clouds:

Whilst we're on the subject of nettles...I didn't find many dock%20leaves which struck me as slightly odd as you normally find one growing alongside the other.

Is this down to the soil being too sandy? Perhaps someone could enlighten me in the comments area below.

I also spotted what I thought was the top of a children's box kite flapping around in a nearby bush.

I removed it and considered giving it to my nephew as a cheap Xmas present but then realised there were more of them further along the dunes...

"Can you guess what it is yet?"

Orienteering markers...Hmmm

I turned around to see dozens of bewildered kids running around the dunes with maps and compasses looking for these 'kites' which I'd accidentally moved...sorry about that kids! ;)

The journey ended with a quick tour of Candleston castle, which dates from the 14th century and must've been a lovely family home at some point.

Gull

Take a walk on the wildside

Other places to visit on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales Nature