LANDSCAPE & COMMISSIONED PHOTOGRAPHY
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY LOCATION GUIDES:
Newborough Forest
Summary:
Best at / for: misty mornings, late afternoon winter sidelight
Best avoided: none – always a good location
Parking: free parking at edge of forest.
Access: easy walking required if you’re not going far in.
Notes: follow the Malltraeth estuary path for the best light.
Details:
Newborough Forest is an interesting location at any time. It can be accessed from the paid car park for Newborough Beach and Llanddwyn Island. But if you’re just visiting the forest then the free parking at the pin location on the map here is a better bet.
The forest runs to about 2000 acres and is man-made, having been started in the late 1940s to control sand dune movements. It is predominantly pine forest, but a good variety of deciduous species have also established themselves too. This offers the landscape photographer more options and colour interest.
There are also a good head of red squirrels which are much brighter in colour than some other populations such as at Formby in on the west Lancashire coast.
The ideal visit for the photographer is to park up at the free car park at the southern end of the Malltraeth Cob and follow the forest path with skirts along the edge of the estuary. This route allows more light into the trees, and especially side light in summer evenings and winter afternoons. So there are more options for lighting your images.
The walk all the way down to the sea and Llanddwyn Island takes about an hour, but if you have the time it’s highly recommended. Just be careful with your mapping as it’s easy to head into the forest and end up walking in circles!