Surely one of the most beautiful, varied and intrigueing stretches of water in the world, plus one of the most deadly.
This is the Menai Straits, that otherworldly narrow body of water that separates the Isle of Anglesey from mainland Wales, and through which extreme tides race twice daily.
The most famous part of the Menai Straits is the 'Swellies', in-between the two engineering marvels of the Thomas Telford suspension bridge and the Brittania Bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson.
I've photographed around the two bridges many times, but there's much more to the Menai Straits to be enjoyed.
Such as this spot towards the southwestern end of the straits, where thing are a little calmer and you can look out across the water to the high peaks of Snowdonia just a few miles inland from the coast.
I find the nicest time to visit is around sunset, when the mountains glow in the warm evening light and the world seems to slow down in anticipation of the coming night.
And it was at just such a time, on an ebbing tide, that my wife Liz and I last spent some time here.
Just standing still, letting our senses absorb the sights, sounds and wonderful aromas as flocks of oystercatches danced on the shoreline looking for a meal on the freshly revealed beach.
But of course, I was also here for another purpose; to record the hundreds of still images needed to create this time lapse video showing the receding tide slowly revealing a crumbling concrete path to a decaying wooden jetty that pointing across the waters to the town of Caernarfon and the mountain peaks beyond.
But even so, standing still for an hour or so in such beautiful surroundings does your soul good!
Filename - menai straits tide timelapse_03
Camera - Canon EOS 6DMK2
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 24mm
Exposure (start of sequence) - 1/30 sec @ f/4, ISO100
Exposure (end of sequence) - 1/2 sec @ f/4, ISO100
Filters - 2 stop neutral density graduated filter used to reduce the brightness of the sky relative to the land.
Polarising filter used to reduce glare and enhance colours.
Shooting interval - 4 seconds
Music - 're The Ocean' by Andy Litherland
Location - Menai Straits, Anglesey, North Wales
This clip - HD 720p, 30fps (4K and 1080p HD formats also available)
Clip duration - 29 seconds
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2026 unless otherwise stated.