Major Barmouth beach event cancelled as course left underwater

The soggy aftermath of Sunday's storm surge
-Credit: (Image: Dominic Vacher)


Storm Ashley put a dent in an eagerly anticipated beach motocross event in Gwynedd. Yesterday’s racing (Sunday, October 20) at Barmouth beach was cancelled when a specially built course was left underwater.

Organisers had worked furiously to re-route the course on Saturday morning when the beach was part-waterlogged. The event began late but spectators were treated to some spectacular racing on a day of warm sunshine.

But on Sunday, a storm surge combined with high tides left the course more suitable for jetskis than motocross bikes. Organisers Wilden MXC had little choice but to call off the action, leaving some people to question the wisdom of holding an autumn beach event during spring tides.

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A spokesperson said: “On Saturday we saw a delayed start, but with a bit of tweaking to the track we got underway and got three full blocks of racing in. Every rider from 65s to experts and quads braved the sand and rode amazingly. Sunday and up to 9.30am we were ready to go. But Mother Nature decided it wasn’t to be and the tide came in taking half the track, leaving us with no options.”

The Barmouth event is one of the UK’s few annual beach races and this year it was held a week later than last year. Held on a two-mile track constructed in front of Barmouth RNLI station, the thrilling spectacle gives a major late-season boost to the resort’s tourism season.

But this weekend’s flooding raised a few eyebrows. One man said online: “Just so ridiculous planning it at this time of year, it’s not the first time it’s been ruined. Why not do this earlier in the year? It would be a big tourist attraction.”

Taping off large parts of popular beaches in summer would be a big call for holiday resorts that depend on buckets-and-spades tourism. Neither would summer racing suit the motocross community for whom beach competitions are the icing on the cake after a packed season on traditional circuits. Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone

How the two-mile race track looked on the eve of this year's event
How the two-mile race track looked on the eve of this year's event -Credit:Dominic Vacher

Although the UK has only a handful of beach races, fitting them into a hectic racing schedule can be tricky. As sand is tough on bikes, riders prefer beach racing to be end-of-season events before their machines are rebuilt over the winter.

Moreover, host resorts also welcome the chance to attract late-season trade. On social media, a Llandanwg B&B owner said, Barmouth's beach race doesn’t need an earlier date as it is already a “massive” tourist draw for the area.

She added: “There wasn’t a parking place to be had in Barmouth yesterday afternoon (Saturday) and the trains were full coming in from both directions.” Organisers said they will be back next year and they are already looking forward to it. Get all the latest Gwynedd news by signing up to our newsletter - sent every Tuesday

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