Ramsey Island lies one mile off the Pembrokeshire coast
(southwest Wales) and is a nature lover’s paradise due to its careful
preservation and management by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of
Birds). It is uninhabited by humans apart from the RSPB wardens and a small
volunteer staff, and access is carefully controlled to ensure minimal
disturbance to the island’s extensive wildlife.
A visit to Ramsey Island
Visitors need to book a trip on the boat that leaves from
the lifeboat slipway at St Justinians, which is two miles from St David’s.
Boats leave at 10 a.m. and 12 noon, with the return trip at 4 p.m. (The wardens
count their passengers carefully to ensure that no-one gets left behind!). The
service operates from April to October and does not run if the sea is too rough
for the crossing to be safe.
There are a lot of steps to be climbed both at St Justinians
and on reaching the island, and the island paths are also fairly strenuous, so
this is a trip for people who are reasonably able-bodied. There is not much
shelter on the island once you leave the buildings close to the landing stage,
so you need to be equipped with proper wet-weather gear (as well as appropriate
footwear) should rain threaten. Cameras and binoculars should also be regarded
as essential items!
On landing at the island you will be escorted to a small
information centre where there are displays showing all the wildlife that you
might expect to see, depending of course on the time of year that you visit. A
friendly and enthusiastic volunteer will give a short talk on how to make the
most of your visit, plus a few dos and don’ts. One very important don’t is a
warning against leaving the designated path, especially near cliff edges given
that Ramsey Island’s cliffs are the second highest in Wales (up to 120 metres).
Another don’t is a complete ban on visiting the beaches around the island,
because this is where the seals feel safe and they must not be disturbed.
The trail around the island is 3.5 miles long (5.6 km). You
should have plenty of time to complete the trail, which takes you to all the
different habitats, and you will also be able to stop many times as you see
interesting things and take in the views. However, if time is short there is a
shortcut across the middle of the island that will take you back to the boat
jetty, although this path is only open from July onwards due to lapwings
nesting in the area close by.
Because visitor numbers are limited you will soon find that
you are well away from other people and will probably only see them from time
to time in the distance or coming the other way if they chose to take the trail
in the opposite direction to you. This is therefore an excellent place in which
to feel that you and your family are on your own with just the wind, the sea
and the wildlife for company.
Facilities on the island are adequate but not luxurious. You
will be invited to make use of the toilets and “leave a deposit”, given that
human waste is recycled to make fertilizer. While entering and leaving the
toilet block in the old farmyard you may well be buzzed by swallows as they fly
in and out.
Light refreshments are available at the warden’s house and
there is a small shop selling RSPB merchandise. However, you will certainly not
be overwhelmed by commercial activity, which is kept to a minimum. What will
impress you is the friendly and approachable attitude of the RSPB volunteers
who will do everything they can to inform you about the island and its
inhabitants and will be happy to chat with you as you wait for the boat to take
you back to the mainland.
What you should see
As mentioned above, the wildlife on view will depend in part
on whether you visit in spring or summer. Springtime is best for seeing birds
nesting on the cliffs, including peregrines, choughs, ravens, razorbills and
guillemots. Inland you should see plenty of wheatears and might spot a few
little owls. This is also the time to see the cliff-top flowers at their best,
such as bright pink thrift.
Later in the year you should be able to see grey seal pups
on the beaches and porpoises feeding in Ramsey Sound between the island and the
mainland. Kittiwakes and fulmars should be around until August. The heathland
plants are at their best in summer, with pink, purple and yellow being the
dominant colours. Towards the end of summer you might see some unusual birds
passing this way on their migrations.
Apart from all that, you will have a great walk round a
beautiful island that has been largely untouched by human hand. This is not
100% true, because, as is evident from the buildings that you pass through as
you start your walk, the island has been commercially farmed in the past. In
order to keep the vegetation at the right level to suit the bird and animal
population, a small herd of rare-breed cattle are allowed to graze and
fertilize the inland area. The heathland is maintained by periodical controlled
burning, which may alarm the visitor but is perfectly in order as a means of
preserving the habitat of the bird population.
One bird that visitors will not see is the puffin, although
the sight of what appear to be puffin burrows on the cliff tops may give this
impression. Ramsey Island did have a rat problem at one time, which put paid to
puffin breeding, but, although the rats have long since been dealt with, the
puffins have not returned and prefer to colonize other islands in the area,
such as Skomer which is just a few miles to the south. The burrows are,
however, used by manx shearwaters which breed on Ramsey in spring and early
Summer.
Time to spare?
The company that operates the ferries to Ramsey Island runs
several other boat trips from the St Justinians lifeboat station. These include
a “round the island” trip which you can take after you return from the island
itself. This trip is an excellent way to see grey seals on the small beaches
around the island, as these are often not visible from the cliff tops above
(Ramsey has the largest colony of grey seals in southern Britain). If your trip
coincides with a change of tide, you can witness at close hand the race that
forms as sea water rushes into Ramsey Sound at high speed between the rocks,
roaring as it does so. The boatman is quite likely to take the boat straight
into the race, which could result in his passengers getting more than a little
wet!
All in all, a visit to Ramsey Island is a day well spent,
especially for the visitor who is a keen birdwatcher and nature lover.
© John Welford
No comments:
Post a Comment