Information
Cardigan Bay
Cardigan Bay is a large, shallow, sandy bay enclosed on three sides by the Welsh mainland, bounded by Bardsey Island in the north and Ramsey to the south. The coastline is varied and never less than fascinating. The Pembrokeshire coast, with its complex geology, is particularly varied, offshore stacks, natural arches, and the occasional secluded sandy beach, make a walk along the coastal path an exciting experience. Cliff tops are vibrant in August with the purples and yellows of heather and gorse. Springtime brings drifts of colour which extend well into summer, including the blue of spring squill, the pink of thrift and the yellow of kidney vetch. Other wild flowers, butterflies and songbirds like the linnet and stonechat add their vivid presence to the cliff-tops, often in sharp contrast to the grass monoculture just inland. At Pen-deri, south of Aberystwyth, remnants of prehistoric oak woodland clothe steep coastal slopes.
The chough is the characteristic bird of the sea-cliffs, soaring and tumbling in the breeze - the Cardigan Bay coast is a British stronghold for the species. Other terrestrial birds of the sea cliffs include the raven, buzzard, peregrine and, unusually, the house martin. But it is for their seabirds that these cliffs are renowned. Fulmars and herring gulls are ubiquitous. Manx shearwaters nest on Bardsey, and can he heard from the mainland when they come ashore on dark summer nights. On Bardsey, the Gwylan Islands and the nearby mainland there are a number of small seabird colonies with guillemot, kittiwake, razorbill, puffin, shag and cormorant. In Ceredigion there is an important cormorant colony south of Aberystwyth, while at New Quay Head razorbills, guillemots and kittiwakes nest, and can easily be seen from the cliff-top. There are further small colonies between here and Cardigan Island, and on Needle Rock, Dinas and Needle Rock, Fishguard. Ramsey Island, has colonies of auks, kittiwakes, and shags on its cliff ledges.
The grey seal is a familiar sight in the vicinity of sea cliffs, especially in Pembrokeshire where there is a healthy population. The largest breeding colonies are on Ramsey Island, where 480 pups were born in 1992. The grey seal also gives birth on the mainland in caves and on inaccessible beaches, and in certain locations they haul out in groups of a hundred or more to rest and moult.
The Legend of Cantre' r Gwaelod
While scientists are not quite sure how the Sarnau of Cardigan Bay were formed, the legend of ‘Cantre`r Gwaelod’ (‘The Lowland Hundred’) still haunts the imagination.
About 600 ad Cantre’r Gwaelod extended some 20 miles west of the current shoreline into what is now Cardigan Bay. It was an area of rich, low-lying farmland, with a healthy human population. But it was prone to flooding and was protected from the waves by a system of sea defences and dykes. Sluices were closed at high water to keep out the sea. Legend has it that the Sarnau are the remains of causeways built to give access to the present mainland during high water.
The job of sluice keeper was an important one, so it was an unwise move by the king to put his friend Seithennyn in charge, because Seithennyn enjoyed a glass or two of ale. One night a storm pushed a spring tide into the sea walls. It so happened that King Gwyddno was holding a party that night in his palace a few miles off Aberystwyth. Seithennyn was there, oblivious to the waves battering away at the sea walls; the sluices were left open and Cantref Gwaelod was inundated. The King and a few of his cronies ran to safety along Sarn Cynfelin, where he watched his beloved land disappear forever. Even now, it is said, you can still hear church bells chiming across the waters on quiet Sunday mornings.