Cardigan Island

Cardigan Island lies in the estuary of the River Teifi, just 200 metres from the Welsh coast near Gwbert. It rises to a height of 52 metres and covers 15 hectares of uninhabited land. The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales owns and manages the island, which is known for its small colony of grey seals. The island once supported puffins and Manx shearwaters, birds once called ‘Welsh parrots’ in a 19th-century guide. In 1924 naturalist Ronald Lockley counted about thirty pairs of puffins on the island. The island’s seabirds were wiped out after the liner Herefordshire ran aground in 1934. Rats that came ashore destroyed eggs and chicks over several years. Puffins and shearwaters never returned, though the wreck attracted marine life and became a diving site. It took forty-five years to remove the rats completely. Today, guillemots, razorbills, cormorants, shags, fulmars and various gulls nest on the island’s cliffs and slopes. Visitors often see bottlenose dolphins and Atlantic grey seals in the surrounding waters. The island’s rocky shores and grassy slopes provide quiet places to watch seabirds at close range. The wreck of the Herefordshire lies just offshore, drawing divers to its underwater life. The island’s isolation keeps disturbance low, allowing wildlife to thrive. Views across Cardigan Bay stretch to the horizon on clear days.