Into the Water, Into the Story

Where Humans and Technology Meet the Sea.

Some festival memories are made in theatres, galleries or on the streets. Others happen at the water’s edge itself.

For the final memory in our Ar Ymyl y Tir / On Land’s Edge 2026 archive, we wanted to celebrate two joyful and imaginative ways in which people were invited to connect directly with the sea: through the Festival Sea Swim and through the playful discovery of the festival’s augmented reality (AR) whale experience.

Together, they captured something at the very heart of On Land’s Edge – the idea that the sea is not simply something to look at, but something to feel, enter, imagine and share.

A Dip to Remember

The Festival Sea Swim offered a wonderful opportunity for people to come together in the waters of Fishguard Bay and celebrate the festival in the most refreshing way possible.

There was warmth, laughter and a real sense of togetherness as swimmers gathered at the edge of the harbour, embracing the sea that has shaped so much of this place’s history, culture and identity.

For some, it was invigorating. For others, it was joyful. For everyone who took part, it was a chance to experience the landscape not from the shoreline, but from within it.

The swim was a simple but powerful reminder that On Land’s Edge is rooted in the lived relationship between people and the sea.

A Whale in Your Pocket

Alongside these very human encounters with the water, the festival also invited audiences to experience something a little unexpected – an augmented reality whale that brought a touch of maritime magic to the shoreline.

Appearing through a mobile device, the AR whale playfully surfaced above the bay, transforming an already familiar landscape into something surprising, theatrical and full of wonder.

For a festival inspired by Moby Dick, cinema history and the stories of the sea, it was a brilliant way of blending heritage with new technology.

The AR experience encouraged people to look again – to see the coastline not just as it is, but as a place of imagination, storytelling and possibility.

Humans, Technology and the Sea

What makes these two experiences sit so beautifully together is the way they each invited participation.

One asked people to step into the sea itself.

The other invited them to see it anew through digital imagination.

One was tactile, salty, communal and immediate.

The other was playful, surprising and slightly surreal.

Together, they show how On Land’s Edge created space for people to connect with the coastal landscape in different ways – through body, memory, technology and imagination.

A Fitting Final Memory

As this archive shows, Ar Ymyl y Tir / On Land’s Edge 2026 was a festival shaped by film, art, music, community and heritage.

But it was also, always, a festival about the sea.

In the swimmers gathered in the bay, and in the great whale that appeared through a screen, we see two sides of the same story: people finding joy, curiosity and connection at the water’s edge.

A festival on land’s edge, where the sea could be entered, encountered and imagined.

And what a lovely way to end.