Here
in North Wales we probably think we’ve had it pretty rough over the Christmas
period, with roads flooded and closed, railways closed (Bangor to Holyhead a
few days ago, Conwy Valley line closed for weeks to come) and difficult driving
conditions.
Spare
a thought then for those hardy souls spending the winter on two offshore
islands, Ramsey and Bardsey (Ynys Enlli). Life on offshore islands is never
easy, but at least staff on islands without livestock, such as Skomer and
Skokholm, are able to leave for the mainland in early winter.
You can read about the adventures of Greg and
Lisa Morgan on their Ramsey blog on the RSPB website. In addition to pictures
of the little harbour being pounded by the gales 3 days ago and at the end of
November, you will find out about the tidal turbine which was installed in
Ramsey Sound in mid-December (in a calm spell!). To see how Lisa and Greg have
coped over various winters, you can read their blog back to 2010.
The
situation on Bardsey is a bit more complicated. The Porter family have been
living on Enlli since 2007, but by October last year both children were away at
University in Falmouth (some way away....). They were due to come back for
Christmas, by which time when the island should have had another two new residents:
Sian Stacey and her partner Mark Carter. Mark has been Assistant Warden at the
Bird Observatory for several years, and Sian is the new Island Manager for the
Bardsey Island Trust. Sian and Mark were all set to arrive at the start of
December, but had to wait on the mainland until 27th when the
weather relented and Colin Evans was able to take them and the young Porters across.
You can read Sian’s blog about their adventures at
http://bardseyislandlife.blogspot.co.uk, and see pictures of the whole gang
bathing in the Cafn on January 1st. Let’s see how they cope with the next three
months!
My
pictures taken at the end of September show that life on Bardsey can be easier,
at times.
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| Cattle returned to the island in September |
 |
| A September sunset looking towards Ireland |
Geoff Gibbs
In Natur Cymru 43 (2012) Raymond Roberts wrote about the exciting fossil discoveries unearthed at the former iron and steelworks at Brymbo near Wrexham. There has been much work at the site since then, and Raymond has written about the developments in the latest issue of Earth Heritage, the twice-yearly geology magazine. You can download a copy for free here.
