If you walk along the beach at Tywyn with keen eyes you'll spot a pebble or two painted brightly, each with a name given to the stone.

Look a bit further and you'll notice there aren't just two, but a whole family of stones placed around the rock berms on the north end of the beach and southern path towards Aberdyfi.

No one knows who started this understated tradition which started over a decade ago.

However each rock holds a story from the people of this quiet seaside town, making the short pilgrimage to the rock pile special for those who visit, to see those who no longer do.

Adam Saab, 56, has been visiting Tywyn since he was seven years old. He started placing stones for his dogs Cindy, Clyde and Otto in 2014.

The school caretaker said: "They started as a way of remembering our loved pets who once walked on the beach with us, but now only walk in our hearts.

"We placed a stone in their memory on the beach where they had their most fun times with us. I think the first stone I noticed was for a small dog called Penny.

"I’ve also noticed now there are stones for people- it’s the way of having somewhere we can go to remember our pets and people we’ve lost."

Adam, from Birmingham, sometimes sees young people throwing the stones around, but he makes sure to place each one back where they congregate on the shore.

Jo Wade first noticed the stones eight years ago. She scattered the ashes of her dog Tia on the beach, where they spent precious days together.

The learning consultant from Tywyn said: "I talked to her stone and wished her a happy near year the other day.

"Her stone went missing for a while - we looked every day over six months. Then one day my husband suddenly climbed the rocks and went headfirst down one of the large gaps. 'She’s here!' He said - 'hold my legs'.

"I had to grab his ankles as he went further down to fish her out. We placed her very carefully back. He says something told him to look in that particular gap between the large stones.

"I'd give anything to have another year with my girl." However as Adam observed, there are not just dogs on the carefully arranged rock piles.

Elaine Sullivan was walking on the beach one day with her granddaughter when they came upon a dead baby dolphin who had been washed up on the shore.

Elaine from Tywyn said: "She was so upset she took it upon herself to produce and lay a stone in memory of the dolphin."

Maureen Poole, 75, has been visiting her family's caravan in Tywyn for over 40 years.

The retired accounts assistant from Shrewsbury said: "My family was on Neptune Caravan Park in Tywyn for three generations and we have laid stones there for both my parents, Reg and Bella Furnell, then for my dear husband Neville Poole and my daughter-in-law's mother, Trudy Offland.

"Sadly this will probably be the last stone, so sad but things move on."

Some suggested that the tradition is just for tourists who holiday in Tywyn, as a special place to memorialise their dead.

However Jackie Rees Edwards from nearby Bryn-Crug has stones remembering three generations of her family: "I remember those days happy days on Bryn Y Mor Caravan Park with mum, dad and Nan going back 57 years.

"I was generation number three then came George, Darren, and Paul, my sons. We were a big on the site and our stones are a reminder. "The stones will remain untouched and respected by everyone."

Jackie suggested one local painter Jennie Morris was responsible for painting and distributing many of the stones for the community.

Amanda Mottershaw however pointed out the stones aren't just for tourists or locals, but everyone who enjoys the beach.

She said: "A lot of people lay stones in memory of their time spent here in beautiful Tywyn. Some simply loved walking and spending time on the beach here.

"My husband's grandparents are laid there with years of memories as a growing family and has become quite a family tradition now passed down the generations.

"We lost them both a few years apart so brought them back to their happy place. Sadly sometimes the stones get taken in the storms but we always visit them in their spot when we are there ."