{"id":2489,"date":"2013-09-13T21:54:56","date_gmt":"2013-09-13T20:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/?p=2489"},"modified":"2026-05-24T06:35:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T05:35:16","slug":"wondrous-wildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/2013\/09\/13\/wondrous-wildlife\/","title":{"rendered":"Wondrous Wildlife"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2490\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2490\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2490\" src=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00348-On-St-Davids-Head-800x550.jpg\" alt=\"On St Davids Head \" width=\"800\" height=\"550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00348-On-St-Davids-Head-800x550.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00348-On-St-Davids-Head-800x550-300x206.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00348-On-St-Davids-Head-800x550-600x412.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00348-On-St-Davids-Head-800x550-150x103.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00348-On-St-Davids-Head-800x550-96x66.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2490\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">On St David&#8217;s Head<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Mid-morning, on Friday the thirteenth (I refuse to be superstitious), we parked Eileen at Whitesands Beach and walked out to the craggy tip of St David&#8217;s Head.\u00a0 It was a shorter walk than the previous day, but equally scenic.\u00a0 Standing out on the farthest point, looking out across the ocean towards Ireland, certainly makes one feel very small, yes even me.\u00a0 On the walk back, we stumbled across Coetan Arthur, a Neolithic burial chamber dating from about 4,000 BC.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2491\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2491\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2491\" src=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00351-Coetan-Arthur-800x505.jpg\" alt=\"Coetan Arthur \" width=\"800\" height=\"505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00351-Coetan-Arthur-800x505.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00351-Coetan-Arthur-800x505-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00351-Coetan-Arthur-800x505-600x378.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00351-Coetan-Arthur-800x505-150x94.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00351-Coetan-Arthur-800x505-96x60.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2491\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coetan Arthur<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\">It was a lovely spot with fabulous views out to Ramsey Island, but the highlight of the walk was still to come.\u00a0 Above one of the bays, a walker was staring down at the beach below.\u00a0 We immediately spotted what she was looking at; a fluffy grey seal pup.\u00a0 In the water, close to the edge of the beach were two adult seals, both moving very slowly and not travelling very far.\u00a0 The lady said that the pup hadn&#8217;t been there earlier and as it still had a yellow tinge to its white fur, it must have only just been born.\u00a0 We also hadn&#8217;t spotted the seals when we walked past an hour earlier and as seal pups are born on land, she could well have been correct, and we must have just missed the birth.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2492\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2492\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2492\" src=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00358-Seal-family-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Seal family \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00358-Seal-family-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00358-Seal-family-800x600-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00358-Seal-family-800x600-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00358-Seal-family-800x600-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00358-Seal-family-800x600-96x72.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2492\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Seal family<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2493\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2493\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2493\" src=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00359-Newborn-seal-pup-800x586.jpg\" alt=\"Newborn seal pup\" width=\"800\" height=\"586\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00359-Newborn-seal-pup-800x586.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00359-Newborn-seal-pup-800x586-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00359-Newborn-seal-pup-800x586-600x439.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00359-Newborn-seal-pup-800x586-150x109.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00359-Newborn-seal-pup-800x586-96x70.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2493\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Newborn seal pup<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\">We stayed for a while, all three of us, watching in wonder at what we were seeing.\u00a0 We finally said our farewells and walked along to stand above the next beach where another, larger seal pup was alone on the beach.\u00a0 The waves kept coming in and touching its nose and every so often it would wriggle a bit and call out.\u00a0 Apparently grey seal pups are only weaned by their mothers for 4 days and are then left to learn how to swim and eat on their own, which seems a little sad, so this one was obviously a few days older.\u00a0 We were just about to leave and head back to Eileen, when the seal starting wriggling with a bit more effort and managed to get itself in to the sea and we watched (me with tears in my eyes) as it slowly managed to move through the waves, get around a small rock, and then slowly swim out to the deeper water.\u00a0 It was a wonderful thing to see and I&#8217;m so excited that we had such a lovely experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2494\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2494\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2494\" src=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00363-Seal-pup-waiting-on-the-beach-800x573.jpg\" alt=\"Seal pup waiting on the beach \" width=\"800\" height=\"573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00363-Seal-pup-waiting-on-the-beach-800x573.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00363-Seal-pup-waiting-on-the-beach-800x573-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00363-Seal-pup-waiting-on-the-beach-800x573-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00363-Seal-pup-waiting-on-the-beach-800x573-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00363-Seal-pup-waiting-on-the-beach-800x573-96x68.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2494\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Seal pup waiting on the beach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2495\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2495\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2495\" src=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00369-Pup-heading-out-to-sea-800x585.jpg\" alt=\"Pup heading out to sea \" width=\"800\" height=\"585\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00369-Pup-heading-out-to-sea-800x585.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00369-Pup-heading-out-to-sea-800x585-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00369-Pup-heading-out-to-sea-800x585-600x438.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00369-Pup-heading-out-to-sea-800x585-150x109.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00369-Pup-heading-out-to-sea-800x585-96x70.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2495\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pup heading out to sea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\">We ate our lunch in a car park overlooking Fishguard Bay, both of us still talking about the seals and then continued further north.\u00a0 Just before reaching Felindre Farchog we took a very narrow road up the hill, following signs to Pentre Ifan.\u00a0 Made from the same stone as Stonehenge, (Pembrokeshire blue stone, from the Preseli Hills, 257 kms from Stonehenge) Pentre Ifan is assessed as more than 3,500 years old and is the most impressive megalithic monument in Wales.\u00a0 The capstone is nearly 5.1m long and would weigh about 16 tons and somehow it balances on just three stones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2496\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2496\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2496\" src=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00372-Pentre-Ifan-800x521.jpg\" alt=\" Pentre Ifan \" width=\"800\" height=\"521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00372-Pentre-Ifan-800x521.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00372-Pentre-Ifan-800x521-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00372-Pentre-Ifan-800x521-600x390.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00372-Pentre-Ifan-800x521-150x97.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00372-Pentre-Ifan-800x521-96x62.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2496\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pentre Ifan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\">We re-joined the main road just before the village of Eglwyswrw; neither of us can pronounce that one!\u00a0 The road took us down past Cardigan and I appropriately put one as it was getting a bit chilly.\u00a0 The rain was also getting more persistent, so we pushed on through villages with names that could be brilliant when you&#8217;re a bit short of a vowel in a game of Scrabble, like Plwmp and Llwyndafydd.\u00a0 We checked in to the Cardigan Bay Campsite at 4pm and set Eileen up while the rain continued to fall.\u00a0 We didn&#8217;t need to go out again though, as we had a moussaka and salad to whip up for dinner and hopefully the sun will come out again tomorrow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2497\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2497\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2497\" src=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00347-Heather-on-St-Davids-Head-800x546.jpg\" alt=\"Heather on St Davids Head \" width=\"800\" height=\"546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00347-Heather-on-St-Davids-Head-800x546.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00347-Heather-on-St-Davids-Head-800x546-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00347-Heather-on-St-Davids-Head-800x546-600x409.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00347-Heather-on-St-Davids-Head-800x546-150x102.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/DSC00347-Heather-on-St-Davids-Head-800x546-96x65.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2497\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Heather on St David&#8217;s Head<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Mid-morning, on Friday the thirteenth (I refuse to be superstitious), we parked Eileen at Whitesands Beach and walked out to the craggy tip of St David&#8217;s Head.\u00a0 It was a shorter walk than the previous day, but equally scenic.\u00a0 Standing out on the farthest point, looking out across the ocean towards Ireland, certainly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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