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Published: October 15th 2021
Upon a recommendation from some girls on my China trip, I had stated to my partner that I really would like to visit Skomer Island to see the Puffin birds. To my surprise, she had paid for a short break to Wales to visit Skomer Island and St David's as a birthday treat. This was for 10 minutes the BEST birthday present ever, until she then surprised me again to tell me that we are going to have a baby together and that I am going to be a Daddy.
Skomer Island was recommended to me by two Scottish girls on my recent trip to China as being one of the best places to see the Puffins in the British Isles. The reason it is known to be one of the best is due an increasing trend that has been recorded fairly continuously over recent decades vs. everywhere else. You can easily walk around the island and guaranteed (providing the boats are operating) of seeing them and getting up-close to them, too.
Our journey to Pembrokeshire is over 4 hours long as we spent some time doing a bit of shopping at the
Bridgend Designer Outlet and so when
we arrive in Pembrokeshire it is very late afternoon. Fiona could only get us one night accommodation here at St Ishmaels due to its popularity with everyone wanting to visit Skomer Island but one night is enough to be able to do the boat trip over to Skomer Island. Our B&B accommodation at
Monk Haven Manor has a 5 star rating and I can see instantly why; a beautiful old vicarage set in 20 acres of secluded valley and right next to the coast within the National Park. The accommodation is in an idyllic setting and, although very remote, it is close to Dale, Skomer Island, Milford Haven and Haverfordwest.
The weather is absolutely gorgeous, so we decide to take a short walk from our B&B down to the coastal path, where we are lucky enough to come across
Monk Haven Beach. This secluded beach is cove shaped and rather rocky but picturesque. We enjoy paddling in the sea as the coldness of the water feels quite refreshing as the hot sun beams down upon us. We enjoy taking plenty of selfies too.
In the evening, I drive into the village of St. Ishmaels as the B&B is
quite far out. We find a local pub called
The Brook Inn. This pub is very much a locals pub, but we find everyone to be friendly and nice, despite the fact we are probably the only English people cheering on England in the World Cup which is being played live on the television.
Next day We need to wake up relatively early to have breakfast, pack our belongings and catch our boat over to Skomer Island. The great thing about this B&B is they queue up early to get you a guaranteed ticket on the boat to Skomer Island as they're only available to purchase on the day. They also provide us with a packed lunch to take with us. If you are without a car, they even do a drop-off and pick-up collection. What a great complimentary service!
Since I have my car, we drive over to Dale Princess where we can park up and then catch our boat ride to the island. The boat journey is 15 minutes and immediately as we start to come close to the island we spot Puffins, Razorbills, Guillemots and many other sea birds. These birds are on the
UK conversation amber list, with the Puffins now unfortunately on the red list. These birds are only here for the summer and so it is an amazing and rare experience to see these birds given their worrying conversation status.
As we get off the boat at Landing Place, we see many Guillemots on the cliff rocks as we climb up the steps to explore the island. From Landing Place, we head in a straight line and walk to the centre of the island where the Old Farm and public toilets are. On the way we spot many bees and Cinnabar Moths flying around us, the Cinnabar Moths are the prettiest moths I have ever seen as they're red and black; I thought all moths are blend in colouring and it was the butterflies that had the best colours, but appears I am wrong.
From the centre, we head north and follow the footpath. Fiona is struggling to walk along the rocky path as she decided to wear high sandals to match her beautiful Puffin dress, but walking shoes are most appropriate for this island. When we arrive north of the island, we are lucky enough to see some
Grey Seals in the sea and relaxing on the rocks.
We continue to follow the path which takes us in anticlockwise direction. As we walk around the island, we often spot carcasses of Manx Shearwaters. We learnt on our boat trip that we would quite often come across these dead birds as they are prayed by Greater Black-backed gulls. The gulls struggle to eat the Manx Shearwaters feet, wings and head and so leave these remains. It's not a pleasant sight, but that's nature for you.
We find ourselves at Skomer Head, which is southwest of the island. We have practically walked around half of the island and so it seems a good time to sit down on the grass and enjoy the sea views whilst enjoying our delicious packed lunch from the B&B. I am in my happy place... the sun is shining, the skies are blue, I am surrounded by the sounds of sea waves and I am on a remote island which is full of nature, in the company of my beautiful girlfriend and we have little baby bean cooking in the oven.
We carry on our walk in an anticlockwise direction, taking us
almost south of the island to The Wick. We were told earlier whilst on our boat that this is the best spot to see the Puffins and where we would get a close encounter. They were completely correct. I cannot believe how many Puffins there are and the noise they make is phenomenal. There are so many of them, as they fly extremely close over our heads to get to their burrows to feed their chicks. They seem completely unfazed by us. We even find them running across our footpath to reach their burrows. Each puffin flying back from the sea to their burrows with their beaks full of Sand eels to feed their youngsters; It's incredible to watch. According to the 2016 censes they recorded 22,000 Puffins on the island and encouragingly the only place in the UK where they are on the increase in population.
We continue to walk around the island and do a complete circle of the trail which is 4 miles in total. I have loved every minute of my time on this island and the close encounter with the Puffins is one that I will never forget. I hope some day I'll get
the opportunity to come back.
Next stop; St. David's.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Lots of surprises
It sounds like a great trip and congrats! I know you are behind in blogging but I enjoyed reading so keep them coming.