Category Archives: Ramsey Island

Sun, Rain, Sun…but always wind!

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Today started with a stunning early morning bit of sunshine and with that kind of weather over this landscape, the the Bungalow’s washing line must be one of the most picturesque.

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I spent the morning doing a breeding bird survey around the northern half of the island, walking and making notes of the birds and their behaviour for a couple of hours in the stunning sunshine – following on from a lovely early morning sat on the doorstep of the Bungalow, this was a pretty perfect morning.

After lunch, Steve and I went across to the west of the island to finish off tending to the cairns, this time up on Carn Llundain – the tallest of Ramsey’s three hills.  As we made our way up the hill, the weather closed in and the rain lashed in from the sea, forced towards us by a strengthening wind.  Unlike many of the cairns yesterday, most up on the hill were in quite a good state of repair.  After we finished, I went to the top of the hill to look across the Island – with the cloud having rolled in, the mainland was largely obscured.

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On the way home to the Bungalow, the weather changed again turning the scene back to stunning sunshine.  I took the opportunity to take a shot of my favourite view from Ramsey – looking from the Bungalow, across the northern fields and Ramsey Sound, towards Whitesands Bay and Carn Llidi (the hill in the background).

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There’s rarely a day without wind on Ramsey, which means the weather can change by the hour, turning from sun, to rain and back to sun again – the weather is certainly never dull on the island!

Early morning sun

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Sat in the doorway, dazzled by the new dawn, the cloudless blue sky brings early warmth from the sun. The strong wind of yesterday has wained but a cooling breeze still takes a little heat away.

There’s a background rumble from the sea, an undertone to the scene, but the birds have the stage laid out in fields, sea and mainland hills.

The wren plays its song from crags behind the house, while linnets chirp as they flit their way past. The wheatear chortles on the rough stone wall and the meadow pipit rises and falls above its ground. The choughs call as they dance in the breeze and the skylark claims its land from a height.

Not long until the day’s work starts; visitors today? We’ll wait and see.

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A bit of light fencing and cairn building

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With a strong southerly wind, there were no boats carrying visitors to the island today, so we spent the day doing a range of tasks around the island. While my two fellow volunteers, Steve and Nicola, each did a chough survey in the morning, I helped Amy, the seasonal assistant warden, with a bit of fencing work.

A new stretch of top wire needed putting on a short section of fence just north of the farm buildings – it didn’t take long (after untangling the wire a couple of times).

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I then had to go across the island to put a ‘No Entry’ sign at the top of the cliff at Porth Lleuog. Some visitors has strayed down onto the beach yesterday and scared off the hauled out grey seals.

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A few years ago, on one of his now many volunteering visits, Steve built a number of cairns on the path around the south of the island.  The cloud and sea fog can roll quickly onto the island and the cairns help to mark out the path for visitors who might otherwise wonder off the route.  In the afternoon, Steve and I went rebuild a number of the cairns that have been knocked over by the island’s ponies and overgrown by heather.  We spent a bit of time repairing and rebuilding a few of the smaller cairns but then put the effort into constructing a new corner cairn at Mynachdy – we were pretty proud of our efforts!

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The best part of the day…

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For me, the loveliest time on Ramsey Island is first thing in the morning when we’re getting ready to go about our tasks for the day.

After a very comfy night’s sleep under a warm duvet (and no need for a hot water bottle last night), with the occasional sound of the manx shearwaters giggling and gurgling past, it’s often with some reluctance that I stick a foot out to test the room temperature.  This morning it was quite warm; well I could only just see my breath.  My initial morning doziness was washed away by standing in the nice new and warm shower installed by Greg and Lisa (the wardens) over the winter.  I made my lunch (always adventurous cheese and pickle wraps!) and then sat down to blog with a mug of fruit tea (not quite sure about this one).

The volunteers and the seasonal assistant warden share the bungalow towards the north of the island (Greg and Lisa have the farmhouse towards the south) and my favourite early morning pastime is to sit on the door step in the sun, watching Ramsey Sound and the mainland behind.  Today is not really one of those days, with a brisk wind cutting across the front of the building but I still had to go out and see the view in the watery sunshine.

Now for my first full day back on the island…

 

Back on the right side of Ramsey Sound

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After a long week at work and a slow journey south down from Cheshire to Pembrokeshire, I finally landed on Ramsey Island (28 hours late – yes I was counting!).

My slight worry that the weather wouldn’t hold long enough to get across was unfounded and it actually turned out to be a lovely, bright and warm(ish) day.  Each time I have arrived at Ramsey (four times now), the weather has been stunning – usually meaning I get sunburnt but no problems today.

The photo below is my second favourite view, only spoilt by the fact it’s on the wrong side of the water.  This is the view of Ramsey Island from St. David’s Lifeboat Station at St Justinian, from where the boat to the island sails.

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With a large rucksack, a big box full of two week’s worth of food, a camera bag and a day sack, the steps down to the quayside burn a few calories but it’s easier than the return leg.

Arriving at 4 o’clock rather than the usual 12 o’clock meant that I didn’t have time to wander around the island today but I’ve got two whole weeks to do that.

This is the view from my bedroom window for the next fortnight and it’s not a bad sight to wake up to each morning. From this window I can see the stone walls and fields of the island in front of Ramsey Sound, with the backdrop of the mainland and St. David’s in the distance.

ImageThe weather’s not looking great for the next few days but that’s all part of the Ramsey magic!

 

Ramsey-bound!

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Well, tomorrow I’m off to spend another two weeks on the fabulous Ramsey Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, near St. David’s.  This is all weather-permitting of course – the boats to Ramsey from St. David’s Lifeboat Station at St. Justinian can be halted by strong winds and a rough sea – so here’s hoping the weather will hold!

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The Island is owned and managed for wildlife by the RSPB and I will be one of up to three volunteers helping (or possibly hindering) the work of the wardens.

I’m hoping to blog each day while I’m there, even if it’s only a photo or two – I’ll see how long this idea lasts!

In the meantime, here’s a link to the Ramsey Island page on the RSPB website.