Facing
the St Davids peninsula across the waters of Ramsey Sound, this
is a scenically spectacular island and probably Pembrokeshire’s
best site for watching grey seals and porpoises. The Map below shows the agreed access restrictions to certain parts of Ramsey due to nesting birds, and seals at certain times of year, you can zoom in for a better look using the + button....
A number of Operators run daily Wildlife and
Dive trips in the area. All of these operators are active
members of the Pembrokeshire Marine Code group. As such they
adhere to the codes of conduct developed to protect the marine
wildlife of Pembrokeshire whilst providing patrons with knowledge
of the species being observed.
The name Ramsey is thought to come from the
Norse personal name Hrafn, and so means “Hrafn’s
island”. In Welsh the island is Ynys Dewi, which means
“St David’s island”.
The twin peaks of Carn Ysgubor and Carn Llundain
give Ramsey a distinctive outline. It was a landmark for early
seafaring pilgrims on their way to St Davids. The island had
two early Christian chapels and a holy well famous for its healing
powers. Ramsey was last farmed in the late 1960s and is now
a nature reserve owned by the Royal Society for the Protection
of Birds.
Ramsey is a breeding stronghold for the chough,
a rare member of the crow family. It’s also the only site
in Pembrokeshire where lapwings are trying to breed. Corn is
grown in the central fields to attract migrant seed-eating birds
during the late summer and autumn. There is a large seabird
cliff on the west side of the island, and gannets can be seen
diving for fish offshore.
Ramsey hosts the largest colony of grey seals
in southern Britain. They are most visible from late August
to October when the females come in to the breeding beaches
to give birth. Over 600 pups are born here each year. Harbour
porpoises abound in the waters around Ramsey, while common,
bottle-nosed and Risso’s dolphins are seen every year.
On land, there are red deer that were introduced
to the island when it was farmed, and bank voles.
There are both locally and nationally rare
plants on Ramsey. From early spring the cliffs are sprinkled
with flowers of many colours and in August the purple heather
is the best example of maritime heathland on our offshore islands.
South of the main island are three steep islets:
Ynys Gwelltog, Cantwr and Bery. These are breeding sites for
lesser black-backed gulls and in spring are dusted with pale
blue squill.