Puffin shuttle’s passport to paradise

Pembrokeshire's Puffin shuttle in action

For me summer always ends precisely on 27 September, the date that marks the end of the Puffin Shuttle’s daily forays around the Pembrokeshire coast. After that it can only be hailed on Thursdays and Saturdays during its winter schedule travelling between St Davids and Marloes.

The Puffin Bus travels a meandering route along St Bride’s Bay to the benefit of the walkers of the county’s glorious coastal path. First thing it sets out from St David’s, calling at Solva, Newgale, Nolton, Druidston, Broad Haven and Little Haven, and St Brides, coming to a halt at Marloes before returning to St Davids.

For me it is a passport for my favourite occupation of walking this stretch of the coastal path. Over the past 30 years and more I reckon I must have hiked it well over 500 times. I have walked it so often that it appears regularly in my dreams. If I can’t get to sleep I imagine I’m striding out on a particular section and count the landmarks before dropping off.

There is something magical where the sea meets the land, sky and weather in an ever-changing vista. Partly it is the light that, in my experience, is only matched on the west coast of Ireland and along the Lleyn peninsula in north Wales. It explains why Pembrokeshire is home to so many artists.

Spring is a joy when the whites, blues, pinks and reds of the wild flowers and the bright yellow of the gorse carpet the land with a veritable rainbow of colour. At the height of summer the tall grass and hot damp air deliver a heady experience better than any beverage I know. Even in winter walking in the gales that hammer the coast is an exhilarating thing to do. Rough seas, dark threatening clouds and driving rain will transport you from the day to day. 

Walking the path on a regular basis inevitably reveals the permanent inhabitants. The bird life is extraordinarily varied. Apart from the swooping seabirds there are finches, tits, and curlews, plus the occasional wren, robin and blackbird. The best place for skylarks is St Brides where if you lie in the grass for long enough you’ll see them against the sky before they plummet to the earth.

Rabbits are common. Occasionally a badger appears. Late one evening I was startled by one in Bluebell Wood near Little Haven. I don’t know who was most taken aback, he (or she) or me. For a split second we stared at each other before the badger dived into the scrub below. At this time of year you might see a newly born seal pup in a closed stony inlet anywhere along the southern part of the coast. Once I caught a glimpse of a line of dolphins, from a cliff north of Broad Haven, skimming through the water with their dorsal fins occasionally breaking surface.

So as autumn turns to winter and the days ahead are shortening, I’m looking forward to 3 May next year when the Puffin Shuttle begins its schedule seven days a week and summer begins.