North Wales is home to many hidden treasures, but few are as creepy as the abandoned railway buried beneath the dunes near Fairbourne.
Once a scenic track offering breathtaking views of the coastline, it’s now mostly hidden under layers of shifting sand.
What’s left of the line has become a magnet for curious visitors looking for an adventure.
The railway, known as the Balloon Loop, was part of the Fairbourne Railway, a beloved narrow-gauge track that has been running since 1895.
While the main line still operates, the loop was closed in 2013 after years of battling nature.
The Balloon Loop was built in the 1980s to make train operations smoother. The circular track allowed locomotives to turn around without needing to uncouple.
But nature had other plans. When the loop was laid, its track bed was on a stony foreshore.
Within a few years, that began to change. Dunes built up and sand started to swamp the new track. Two decades later, volunteers with shovels and spades were being put to hard manual labour most days just to keep it open.
David Rowbotham, a Talyllyn Railway volunteer who helps out at Fairbourne’s annual May gala, also told the Daily Post: “Sand and oil don’t mix well.
“It creates a grinding paste that wears everything down, and the engines started suffering. Keeping the track clear became a daily struggle.”
As for the main railway, in its heyday, it carried more than 70,000 passengers a year, taking them from Fairbourne village to Penrhyn Point, where a ferry crosses to Barmouth.
Even today, the railway remains popular, offering stunning views of the Mawddach Estuary and beyond.
For visitors exploring the dunes, finding pieces of the old loop has become part of the experience.
“It’s like an adventure,” Mr Rowbotham said. “Children love walking the route and spotting bits of track hidden in the sand.”
The Balloon Loop’s last official journey was in July 2013, but it wasn’t easy.
“Even then, volunteers had to dig sections out ahead of the train,” Mr Rowbotham recalled.
Despite the closure of the loop, Fairbourne Railway continues to thrive. Eight train services run daily in peak season, offering a memorable ride to Penrhyn Point, where visitors can catch the ferry or enjoy an ice cream on the other side.
For those feeling adventurous, walking back across the Barmouth Bridge provides incredible views of the estuary.
Tickets are affordable, with day rovers costing £13.75 and children’s fares just £1.
“It’s a brilliant day out,” said Mr Rowbotham. “The scenic route may have changed, but the magic of the railway remains.”
As for the Balloon Loop, it’s now part of the dunes, a relic of the past left to nature.