Bottlenose dolphins, shy harbour porpoises and curious Atlantic grey seals dip and dive freely in the waters of Cardigan Bay on the Welsh coast, one of our richest marine mammal environments
I tcould be the brightly painted fishermen’s cottages that tumble down to the sea, or the bobbing of the fishing boats in the pretty harbour. Wherever you turn, New Quay is brimming with picture-postcard charm. Yet there’s more to this tiny West Wales resort than its undoubted quaintness. Set on the edge of Cardigan Bay, it’s also a gateway to one of the world’s richest marine environments. Each summer, thousands of visitors flock here to take a boat trip to see the everpopular harbour porpoises, Atlantic grey seals, and bottlenose dolphins that live in the bay. During the summer there are some more exotic visitors too, among them basking sharks and even the occasional leatherback turtle.
Today we are on board the Sulaire, a small but sturdy craft that carries up to 12 passengers, hoping to witness some of this remarkable wildlife for ourselves. We’re off to great start when, just past the harbour wall, we catch sight of a pod of bottlenose dolphins playing in the sunshine. We enjoy their high-spirited frolics from a respectful 100m distance. As our skipper, Steve Hartley, explains: ‘It’s close enough to watch, yet far enough to leave them undisturbed.’ Minutes later, the air is thick with the high-pitched chatter of seabirds – anesting colony of kittiwakes high up on the cliffs. Next, a craggy outcrop, home to a bazaar (yes, that really is the collective noun) of guillemots, their black and white feathers glistening in the sun. Heading back to the quay, our trip is rounded off by another treat, a pair of contented looking seals basking on a patch of rocky headland.
THRILLING SPOTS
When Steve is not taking tourists around the bay, he runs research monitoring trips for Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre. The owner of one of Wales’s first ecotourism businesses, Steve is a founding member of the centre and a passiona
