A week in the beautiful Pembrokeshire National Park, including
visits to the spectacular seabird islands of Skomer, Ramsey and
a chartered boat cruise around amazing Grassholm48uep6bbph|00000E4E|Spey_BESQL3|HolidayTypes|Subheading
48uep6bbphidval|WESTWALES
| * Aukfest! Guillemots, Razorbills and Puffins galore
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| * Little Owls and Short-eared Owls on Skomer Island
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| * Choughs and Grey Seals on Ramsey Island
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| * Gannet colony on Grassholm Island – 70,000 Gannets can’t be wrong!
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| * Woodland and moorland birds at Mynydd Preseli
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| * Beautiful coastal walks at Stackpole, Dinas and St David’s Head
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| * Historic St David’s Cathedral and Bishop’s Palace
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| Day 1 | We meet at our base, the charming
Wolfscastle Country Hotel at Haverfordwest
in time for dinner. and a chance to discuss the
coming week ahead.
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| Days 2 - 7 | The Pembrokeshire Coast National
Park is the only coastal National
Park in the UK and covering 236sqm between
St Dogmaels and Amroth, there is plenty to
explore! Here we shall find some of the most
beautiful and unspoilt coastlines in Britain, with
beautiful sandy beaches and stunning clifftop
walks, with carpets of coastal flowers such as Thrift,
Sea Campion and Spring Squill.
This wild corner of West Wales is a haven for
birdlife and includes magical islands that are just a
short boat trip away - yet another world away in
other respects - and these may be a highlight of
our time here.
Skomer is a seabird island reserve managed
by the Wildlife Trusts and one of the most magical
places on earth (it was Darren’s first seabird island
so he’s unashamedly biased!). A short boat trip from
Martin’s Haven takes us to this seabird paradise
and we have a whole day to fully appreciate
its treasures. Cliff-faces will be brimming with
birds, with Kittiwakes, Shags and Guillemots on the
lower ledges and Fulmars and Razorbills peering
down from the upper tiers.
At the Wick we can spend time with colourful
Puffins, bill-tapping and walking like clockwork
through the carpet of Sea Campion and Pink
Thrift - enough to make anyone smile. Curlews
and Oystercatchers call from the stone walls
that weave across an interior coloured by Red
Campion and Bluebells. Lesser Black-backed Gulls
nest in large loose colonies, but we’ll be on the
look-out for Short-eared and Little Owls that occur on the island. Choughs and Peregrines are
here too and we might run out of time looking for
all of Skomer’s gems!
Another special island we visit is Ramsey, now
an RSPB reserve of 640 acres, similarly stuffed
full of birds at this time of year. Clifftop walks will
take us around the island perimeter, where we
can peer into rock faces busy with Guillemots,
Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Fulmars. Choughs and
Ravens bound across the sky, and looking down
on secluded coves we may see some of the many
Grey Seals in the area - later in the year they give
birth to pups on Ramsey’s quiet beaches.
Our private chartered boat trip around
Grassholm will be another highlight. Lying eight
miles off the coast, this imposing rock buttress
is covered with 35,000 pairs of Gannets. Our boat
will cruise slowly around the island, giving us the
opportunity to look at birds both on land and sea.
We’ll see Gannets re-enforcing the pair bond, with
sky-pointing and wing-stretching displays, whilst
around the boat we’ll witness birds plunge-diving
into the water in truly spectacular fashion! There
is always the chance of Manx Shearwater here and
the crossing could yield some of the cetaceans of
the Irish Sea - Bottlenose Dolphin or Harbour
Porpoise perhaps?
Elsewhere we’ll be walking sections of the stunning
coastal path of Pembrokshire National Park.
The pleasing mix of habitats of Stackpole Head
Nature Reserve and adjacent Bosherton Pools
include dunes, beaches, rugged headlands,
woodland and the celebrated lily-ponds, home
to abundant dragonflies as well as birds and
we may see its famous Otters. We’ll look for
Red-billed Choughs and Peregrines at scenic
St David’s Head and look out to sea in the hope of
Manx Shearwaters, especially if we are there later
in the day when thousands may be passing.
We’ll make time to walk around St David’s itself,
the smallest city in the UK. Here is one of the most
important religious sites in Wales, dating back to
the 6th century, with its monumental cathedral
and nearby Bishop’s palace dating back to the
12th century.
Further north, inland from Dinas Head, are the
steep wooded valleys of the Mynydd Preselli and
these give us our best chance of catching up with
breeding birds such as Redstart, Wood Warbler
and Pied Flycatcher. The surrounding open
moorland country might yield Stonechat, Tree
Pipit, Cuckoo, Wheatear, Whinchat, Buzzard and
Red Kite, whilst Dipper and Grey Wagtails feed
along the streams.
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| Day 8 | After breakfast we shall say our fond
farewells to this lovely part of Wales.
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