There and Back

Nature is amazing, just as you think it won't happen - it does! Along came this amazing baby - Emily.  Just a few days old and using her lungs, Emily starts to make her mark in the world. One very proud mum looking adoringly at the little bundle she has brought into this world.. Proud Nana has a chance to hold her first granddaughter. Home

More explorations today of the coast just below St Davids, and some of the natural wonders that greeted us as we reached St Nons Bay before moving just a little to Caerfai Bay St Nons Bay with the profusion of yellow gorse.  Common gorse can be seen in all kinds of habitats, from heaths and coastal grasslands to towns and gardens. It generally flowers from January to June (although it may flower sporadically throughout the year), while its close relatives - Western gorse and Dwarf gorse - flower from July to November. It provides shelter and food for many insects and birds, such as Dartford warblers, Stonechats and Yellowhammers.  A mass of Lackey moth caterpillars.  The webs of Lackey caterpillars are a common site amongst many low growing deciduous trees such as blackthorn, hawthorn and apple. Over a hundred caterpillars may be seen in a single web and if undisturbed may be seen sitting on the outside during the day.  Even when recentl...

A visit today to the area above St Davids called Dinas Island peninsula, passing Fishguard on the way. Another stunning coastline, rather sparsely populated generally. The port of Fishguard on a rather foggy day. What do you expect on the Welsh coast! Actually we have had amazing weather, so no complaints there. The town is situated at the back of a north facing bay known as Fishguard Bay (Welsh: Bae Abergwaun) which offers protection from waves generated by prevailing westerly winds. It has a relatively mild climate due to its coastal position. The winds coming from the west or south-west have a determining influence on temperature and precipitation.  Wildlife around Fishguard is rich with a wide variety of colourful wild flowers and sea mammals including the grey seal, porpoises and dolphins. The local birdlife include Eurasian curlew, common redshank and sanderling regularly foraging in the lower Fishguard Harbour and European stonechat, great cormorant and nor...

St Anne`s Head protrudes from the bottom of Pembrokeshire - if you excuse the expression! This was the area we had decided to explore today, starting on the left side at Westdale Bay and making our way along the coast in an anti-clockwise direction. As with most bays and inlets, there was hardly another soul about. Westdale Bay - not a soul in sight. Wheatear sitting by the fence. Around the area of Frenchman's Bay with the beautiful rock formations. Wonderful rock formation at St Anne`s Point St. Ann’s Head Lighthouse was built in 1844 to guide shipping bound for Milford Haven, replacing two leading lights established in 1714. Trinity House approved in principal a private application to build a coal-fired light at St. Ann's Head in the second half of the 17th century to guide Milford-bound shipping; it was to be supported by voluntary payment of dues. However, the owners extracted dues illegally from shipowners and the ...

Solva is another pretty little village with a beautiful mooring for boats, being just off the coast in the mouth of the estuary of the River Solva. The village itself we did not explore but opted for a walk up to the top of the headlands (the Gribin) for the magnificent views. We were fortunate again to have a beautiful day for our walk. So, some images of the area, starting with a couple of boats and, in the background, the lime kilns. Built in the late 18th or early 19th Century, of the original 12 lime kilns, seven remain. Lime, brought in by sea from Milford Haven, was used to enrich the poor local soil. These lime kilns - at the foot of the Gribin - were the last to be used, in 1900. Boats at anchor in the estuary. Thrush in a bush by the pathway, singing his little heart out! Nearing the top of The Gribin and looking toward the sea. And a similar view. The looking down toward the town and the harbour. Along the pathwa...

Our first visit to Pembrokeshire started at St Davids, the smallest city in the UK in terms of geographical area and population. It is an important ecclesiastical site because of its many historic associations. The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in 589. Between 645 and 1097, the community was attacked many times by raiders, including the Vikings.  However, by 1115, with the area under Norman control, King Henry I of England appointed Bishop Bernard as Bishop of St Davids. He began to improve life within the community, and commenced construction of a new cathedral. In 1123, Pope Calixtus II granted Bishop Bernard's request to bestow a papal privilege upon St Davids, making it a centre of pilgrimage for the Western world, the Pope decreeing that "Two pilgrimages to St Davids is equal to one to Rome, and three pilgrimages to one to Jerusalem". The new cathedral was quickly constructed and Bishop Bernard consecrated it in 113...