Chilly in Rhossili

I didn't sleep too well on Friday night, so was up early on Saturday morning. The sunrise lured me out into the chill morning air, despite the temptation for a lie-in:

I decided to head for Rhossili, at the south-west tip of the Gower Peninsula, wondering if the Red Kite which was there on my last trip might still be there, and also hoping I might connect with a Peregrine Falcon.

The day was chilly, and a hazy sunshine greeted my arrival in the village. I walked along the clifftop towards the Worm's Head, stopping to photograph a couple of passing gulls on my way:

Before long, I arrived at the tidal island of Worm's Head:

I looked across to the head, where I thought I saw a couple of seals basking on the rocks. I often see Choughs around this area, too, but didn't see any today.

There was no sign of any kite anywhere, so I continued my walk around towards Fall Bay and Mewslade Bay:

 Many of the local sheep were sporting natty pink hairdos:

As I peered over into a field, a Buzzard flew up from the ground where it had obviously been feeding, and circled obligingly overhead:

 The rocky coastline here is often a good place to spot Peregrine Falcons; and, sure enough, I soon spotted one zooming across the sea to my right. It flew inland a bit, before circling round overhead a good way in front of me. I took a few pictures, but they are very small in the frame and not worth posting. I sat down in the cool March air, hoping the bird would eventually return. It didn't! I got fed up and cold waiting around in the sea breeze, and lack of sleep was beginning to get the better of me, so I took the short cut back to Rhossili across the fields, stopping to photograph this lamb on the way:

Then home to catch up on some sleep!



Rhossili

Last Saturday, September 4th, I went on a short trip to Rhossili, a small and remote village on the south-western tip of the Gower Peninsula. The weather was a little cool, breezy, and hazy, but we were still greeted by this lovely view along the famous beach:

This couple were among many enjoying the scenery:

Near the centre of the village is the Norman church of St. Mary's:

On the wall of the churchyard, I saw, appropriately, a Wall Brown butterfly, which, unfortunately, flew off before I could put my macro lens into action and photograph it.

We decided to take a quick peek into the interior of the church:

There is a plaque here in honour of Edgar Evans, a local man who died with Robert Falcon Scott - "Scott of the Antarctic" - on his ill-fated trip to the South Pole in 1912:

We then took a path through some fields as a short-cut to Fall Bay. The hedgerows were beginning to hang heavy with signs of Autumn, including these apples:

and these blackberries:

Arriving at our destination on the cliffs about fifteen minutes later, we looked to our right and were greeted with this view across the mainly-hidden (it was high tide) Fall Bay towards the distant Tears Point:

Looking to our left, a shaft of brief sunshine cast light upon the cliffs around Mewslade Bay (again, not really visible in the picture, due to it being high tide):

Walking along a bit further towards Mewslade, we paused for another look back across this cove towards Tears Point:

We were now on the cliffs between the two bays, and paused for some refreshments. Suddenly, two Peregrine Falcons appeared in front of us, flying at great speed, one following the other, across the sea from Mewslade to Fall Bays. One disappeared out of sight, whilst the other banked round, and began heading back towards us. I frantically began trying to switch my wideangle lens for my telephoto lens, hoping to photograph the bird as it flew over. Of course, I was too slow, and the Peregrine sped low above us, and I'd failed yet again to get any Peregrine shots. Darn it!

We waited around for a while, but there was no further sight of any Peregrines, so we headed back the way we had come. Accompanying us all the way in the fields around us were the Welshman's favourite animal, the sheep:

Once back in the village, the sun was beginning to shine, and I was able to take these pictures of the Worm's Head, a tidal island at the southern end of Rhossili Bay:

Before heading back to Swansea, we went into the local inn, The Worm's Head Hotel, for a drink:

and a meal:

We sat outside on the pub's terrace, watching the evening sun shine onto Rhossili Down and Beach. It was a great place to relax on a late summer's evening; and, as you can see, several others had the same idea:

So, we didn't see too much wildlife on our walk, but it was a lovely place to spend a couple of hours.