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Skokholm open for overnight stays23/05/2011 11:57:06
Staying on Skokholm
Welsh island getaway with great nightlife re-opens to publicThe island officially opened to visitors on Tuesday 2 May and bookings are being taken now. Staying on the island costs £125 for up to four nights (mid week). Sailings will be Monday and Friday. To find out more please contact Wendy Barnes-Jones at the Welsh Wildlife Centre on 01239 621600. May 2011. Partying puffins and raucous auks might not usually be associated with an island getaway, but as Skokholm opens for overnight stays, these are just two of the many highlights visitors can enjoy, says the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales (WTSWW). The wild and wonderful island off the coast of Pembrokeshire is now open after extensive restoration work by volunteers. It offers visitors the chance to experience the audio-visual spectacle of thousands of birds returning to their nests. Skokholm wildlife "It's a glorious place to be at any time of the year." said Skokholm warden, Jerry Gillham. "It is a wilder place than its sister island, Skomer Island, smaller and further out to sea. There is a sense of complete solitude and peace." Day trips, three or four night, or full week stays are available, and details of how to book can be found at www.welshwildlife.org/skokholmIntro_en.link.
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A few weeks ago I was delighted to see a report that Skokholm was to be reopened for visitors. I resolved to write to express my feelings and revive some memories, but failed to act. Then I saw a television program that added to the report with film of the preparations being made and the building of accommodation and other facilities. So at last I’m doing something about it and typing this.
I am, alas, now too old to travel to the island, much as I would love to do so. But I thought a few memories of my nearly sixty days spent on the island over 50 years ago might be worth sharing with those now setting up the project.
From 1958 to 1962 I spent four Easters enjoying the wonderful experience of watching and ringing birds there, and had another fortnight’s stay in September 1959.
The warden before 1961 was the incomparable Kate Barham who taught me so much about birds: I am surprised how little has been written about her (though she does get a mention in Bert Axel’s autobiography). I acquired my C ringing licence with her help and encouragement, and went on to enjoy ringing in Britain and abroad. Do the logs of those early years still exist? Sitting round writing them up was a joyful ritual every evening. I believe they were kept at Dale Fort during the winters.
After two weeks at Easter in 1960, Kate asked if I would like the job of assistant warden for the following year! I had just accepted my first teaching post and reluctantly had to decline her offer. What a waste of a marvellous opportunity!
Just three little stories to add to the history of the observatory:
Assistant Warden Einar Brun returned from a Shearwater ringing expedition with one ring improperly used - on the charming cook that year: they had used it to mark their engagement! I’m sorry I can’t remember her name: he later became warden at the Calf of Man Observatory.
Eileen and Michael Kendal’s visit ended dramatically when Eileen was taken ill. It was too stormy to get the rescuers into South Haven and, lashed to a stretcher,
Eileen was lowered down the cliff on ropes to the waiting boat. Her case dropped into the sea but was recovered.
A friend of mine created a pennant with a Hoopoe stitched to each side. This flag was hoisted on a pole beside the cottage whenever a rare bird had been trapped (or even just seen), so that birders elsewhere on the island could be alerted. No mobile phones then!
Of course it was the bird life that was so thrilling, and memories of resident Manx Shearwaters, Puffins, Razorbills, Guillemots and Ravens as well as passing migrants will always remain with me. I have been back to Skomer a couple of times, though my last attempt in 2009 was defeated by the weather, but it lacks the magic of Skokholm. I still possess my attempts at “scientific” papers. One noted the regression of the dates on which Puffins first landed each year (effectively measuring climate change!). The other correlated the number of Shearwater corpses counted each day with the weather (cloud cover, moon phase), and deduced that they avoided bright moonlit nights, but were most vulnerable when clouds hid the moon and then moved to reveal it. All pretty obvious, but it kept me occupied while planning my next visit. Now I’m nearly 80, I’m afraid there won’t be any more.
Posted by: Barry Gilmore | 03 Jun 2011 21:14:19