April 27 - Our first day of collecting in Wales takes us to the Silurian cliffs at Marloes Sands, about 45 minutes from Castle Martin, IF one doesn't tackle the unnumbered B roads (secondary roads) one has no clue about. It took us an hour and a half, but we thoroughly enjoyed the farms and narrow roads.
Marloes Sands has to be one of the most incredibly dramatic and fascinating landscapes on the planet. There is a whole lotta geology going on here.
On the gentle kilometer walk down the lane to the beach, we identified (we hope correctly) Skokholm Island 4 miles in the distance. This figures prominently in one of our own WIPS member's life. Martin Lockley grew up in this area, and his father, Ronald, was an internationally known ornithologist and naturalist who wrote over 50 books, many about his research on puffins and rabbits. He re-established Skokholm Island as a bird observatory after World War II and had immense influence in this area.
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| Pointing to Skokholm Island |
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| Steps leading to the Pembrokeshire coastal path |
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| Can you say GEOLOGY? |
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| Barry and the Silurian Period |
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| Some of the brachiopods we found. Thinking of Dennis and how much he would enjoy this. We also found rugose coral and colonial coral. |
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| And more geology. |
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| And more. |
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| It just didn't stop. |
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Who would have imagined there would be an ice cream van at the top at the trailhead?
Remember, this is a remote and nearly isolated beach miles from a large village. |
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On our way home, Pub Magnet
(Barry) had a pint, and then . . . . |
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| We stopped at our local Freshwater West beach where Barry nodded off during high tide. |
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