Orchid

A wonderful weekend! And an especially wonderful Saturday, which I couldn't wait to share with you all. Beautiful weather - endless sunshine and picture postcard blue skies. We were on the Pembrokeshire coast in the very south-west of Wales, in the national park and on the coastal path. We discovered a very special place at St Govan's Head, which is a rugged headland teeming with wildlife and has spectacular views. It is also the site of St Govan's chapel, which seems to just grow out of a cleft in the cliffs.





I won't go into the history and importance of St Govan and the site, but I found this brief outline which gives an idea of the wealth of folklore which has grown up around both saint and site. I was particularly interested in the healing well (now dried up), of course.







The whole headland felt disconnected from the modern world .. it is owned by the military and used as a firing range so access is limited, but this has meant that wildlife can flourish there undisturbed and the site remains isolated from modern encroachment. We chose a good time to visit: the headland and rocks were alive with blooms, the wildflowers out in abundance to dance in the late May sunshine, and I was delighted to see my very first orchids growing wild.