To celebrate BBC Wildlife magazine's 60th birthday, we asked 60 people from our wonderful network of writers, presenters, photographers and conservationists to share their favourite places in the UK for wildlife. Four of those places are in Wales
From the magic of dolphins at New Quay to the remote reaches of Anglesey and the mountain-shadowed Ynis-Hir, there’s plenty of wild wonders in our pick of locations. Vote for the one you love the most from the list below.
(Voting now closed)
Our favourite wildlife destinations in Wales
Skokholm Island, Pembrokeshire
Lying 4km off the south Pembrokeshire coast and with more designations than you could shake a stick at, Skokholm Island is a Welsh wildlife gem. Less known than its sister island, Skomer, it is nonetheless home to 15 per cent of the world population of Manx shearwaters, 20 per cent of the European population of storm petrels, more than 11,000 puffins, more than 5,000 pairs of guillemots and nearly 3,500 pairs of razorbills. Choughs, ravens and peregrines all breed here as do wheatear sand oystercatchers.
Iolo Williams, BBC Presenter
Y Foryd, Caernarfon
Just south west from Caernarfon and its medieval castle is an overlooked peninsular that jags into the Menai Straits. This finger of land protects a huge area of mudflats and sand, which at high tide becomes a shallow lake; this is Y Foryd (Foryd Bay, pronounced ‘Vorood’). At low tide the bay is threaded by eerie creeks formed by rivers feeding into the bay. And it’s in these marshy places that thousands of waders, wildfowl and gulls feed. Cries of curlews, redshanks and oystercatchers provide a deliciously wild soundtrack all year.
Fergus Collins, Editor, BBC Countryfile
New Quay, Wales
Dolphins are elusive, unseen beneath the waves. But there are places in the UK where you have a decent chance of seeing them. I have seen dolphins all over the world, but my best sightings were in New Quay. Dolphin season is April to November. It’s perhaps best avoided in peak summer, but even then, if you are willing to explore, you may find your own spot – the dolphins may come by and only you may see them
Chris Vick, Whale and Dolphin Conservation
RSPB Ynys-hir, Wales
Of all the places I visited in my 10 years of Springwatch, Ynys-hir is the most memorable. The scenery is spectacular. Gnarled green oak woods, the yellow sands of the Dyfi estuary, curving mountains creating a majestic backdrop. I would walk in every morning and feel like I was plunging into a world teeming with wildlife. There can’t be many places with such a mix of habitats and diversity of wildlife - otters, stoats, kingfishers, redstarts, water rail, hen harriers and merlin to name a few stars, as well as a plethora of insects, reptiles and amphibians.
Martin Hughes-Games, BBC presenter
Vote for your favourite places in the rest of the UK using the links below.
- Scotland
- North
- Yorkshire and Humberside
- East and Jersey
- Midlands
- South East
- South West
- Greater London
- Northern Ireland
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