Crime Drama Inspired by Coastal Realities
A television crime drama has drawn inspiration from the "tragic reality" faced by its real-life filming locations, as noted by actor Sir Jonathan Pryce.
Under Salt Marsh centers on detectives racing against time to solve the death of a local schoolboy before a rare storm threatens to obliterate evidence and jeopardize the fictional town of Morfa Halen's future.
Several filming sites in Gwynedd and on Anglesey in north Wales, where the show was shot, are themselves confronting an uncertain future due to extreme weather conditions.
The Crown actor Sir Jonathan Pryce, portraying farmer Solomon Bevan in the series alongside Yellowstone's Kelly Reilly, remarked:
"It's a thriller with an important message behind it.
There are real towns on the west coast of Wales under threat from the sea.
The show reflects that kind of looming ecological crisis and the community's fight to survive and be heard."
Environment as a Central Element
With the majority of filming conducted in north-west Wales, actress Kelly Reilly described the environment as "a character in itself" within Under Salt Marsh.
The narrative tension heightens as the impending storm intensifies the urgency to resolve the mystery surrounding the death of young schoolboy Cefin. This challenge is undertaken by ex-detective Jackie Ellis, played by Reilly, and her former partner DC Eric Bull.
Claire Oakley, the show's creator, spoke to BBC Radio Wales about the influence of weather on the storyline:
"They're at the mercy of the weather and the tides.
I was interested in how it might feel to live somewhere where your home could get destroyed by the next big storm and how that might affect things and we started to develop this idea of a police investigation that would help us dig into these landscapes.
They had to do this under this huge pressure of an encroaching red level storm that had the potential to completely derail the investigation and wash all of the evidence away."
Filming Locations Reflect Real Coastal Challenges
Barmouth in Gwynedd serves as the primary setting for the fictional Morfa Halen, situated on the north-west coast.
With a population nearing 2,500, this seaside town lies on the Mawddach Estuary. The fictional community is depicted as living at the end of a tidal causeway, where high tides isolate them from the mainland.
Additional scenes were filmed at a popular camping site in nearby Llanbedr.
Oakley shared her personal connection to the area:
"I've been going to [Barmouth] for 10 years and I fell in love with this small place called Shell Island,"
That inspired a lot of the thinking of where we could set this and how we could make this place feel so isolated."
Fairbourne Faces Climate Change Threats
Some seafront scenes were shot in Fairbourne, a town confronting its own environmental challenges.
Fairbourne is acknowledged as the first location in the UK potentially subject to evacuation due to climate change impacts.
Its geographic position and rising sea levels have led to frequent severe flooding. Gwynedd council has decided to cease maintaining flood defenses by the 2050s.
The town may be decommissioned earlier to facilitate the relocation of over 800 residents, potentially making them the UK's first climate refugees.
