Caldey Island

Caldey Island lies less than two kilometres from Tenby in Pembrokeshire. The island is small, under two square kilometres, and rises only sixty metres above the Bristol Channel. Its grey limestone cliffs shelter sandy coves and grassy slopes used for grazing. A narrow sound separates the main island from Little Caldey, also called St Margaret’s Island, which is known for its seals and bird sanctuary. The island’s name comes from Old Norse: Kald ey, the cold island, first recorded in the 12th century. The island has been a sacred place for more than fifteen centuries. Celtic monks built a monastery here in the sixth century, and medieval Tironensian monks ran a priory until the dissolution in the 16th century. In 1910 Anglican Benedictines began the present abbey, a complete Arts and Crafts building designed by John Coates Carter. Belgian Cistercians took over in 1929 and still make perfume and chocolate to support the community of forty residents and twenty monks. Visitors reach the island by boat from Tenby harbour in spring and summer. The abbey church has five side-windows and a tapering tower with primitive crenellations. On the island, rare wild flowers grow among limestone grassland, and red squirrels introduced in 2016 now breed successfully. St Margaret’s Island shelters a large cormorant colony and offers quiet paths beside the water.