Yantarny Beach

Yantarny sits on the Sambian peninsula above the largest known amber deposit in the world - the blue earth, a Palaeogene layer holding an estimated ninety per cent of global reserves, worked here industrially since the nineteenth century and now in a vast open pit beside the town, with a viewing platform over it and a museum. Amber is fossil resin from a conifer forest that grew here forty million years ago, and pieces with insects trapped inside are the ones that matter scientifically. The beach below the town is wide, pale and gently shelving, unusual on this coast, with a boardwalk promenade and Blue Flag certification, and it is where Kaliningrad goes in summer. After autumn and winter storms amber washes ashore along the strand and people work the wrack line for it, which is legal in small quantities and is a genuine local pastime rather than a show for visitors.

What you actually see

• The open pit - the industrial workings over ninety per cent of world amber reserves.
• The blue earth - the forty-million-year-old resin-bearing layer being extracted.
• The beach - wide pale sand with a boardwalk and Blue Flag status.
• The storm gleaning - people working the wrack line for amber after autumn gales.

When to go

June to September for swimming, though the Baltic here is cold. Autumn and winter storms are when amber washes up. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The Baltic is cold even in August. The pit is an industrial site seen from a platform, not a walk-in attraction. Amber sold in the town varies from genuine to plastic - buy from certified sellers. Busy on summer weekends.

Nearby

The Curonian Spit is north-east; Kaliningrad is east.