The Wildlife of Wales

There are fewer things more beautiful than the British countryside on a summer’s day, when the flora and fauna is in full bloom and the natural wildlife it at its most vibrant.

If you’re planning on taking a walk on the wild side this summer, North Wales is a good place to start a staycation safari.

The Great Orme goats

Although usually found around 4,000 miles away in the foothills of the Himalayas, there is a colony of around 150 Kashmiri goats currently roaming the picturesque hillsides of Great Orme in North Wales.

If you’re wondering how these long-haired Himalayan goats happened upon their new habitat, they are descendants of the royal herd that were presented to Queen Victoria on her ascension to the throne in 1837 by the Shah of Persia.

This is a beautiful part of the coast and one of the many self-catering cottages here would make the perfect base for your expedition.

Anglesey’s wild birds and sea life

A trip to Anglesey is an ornithologist’s dream, with all kinds of wild birds nesting and feeding off the coast of this North Wales outcrop.

Take a trip around the island to see its rich birdlife – cormorants, guillemots, razorbills, and puffins, one of the rarest and most eye-catching of the area’s sea birds. 

While you’re on the island, it’s worth taking a trip to Anglesey Sea Zoo to discover North Wales’ underwater wildlife species, including lobsters, seahorses and sharks! There’s also a bouncy castle, playground and crazy golf to keep the whole family entertained.

Cardigan Bay’s sharks and dolphins

If the waters around Anglesey capture your imagination then head a little further out west to beautiful Cardigan Bay where you’ll be able to spot porpoises, seals and dolphins from almost any hilltop vantage point.

If you fancy getting a bit closer to the action take a dolphin spotting boat tour from New Quay and you might also find yourself around spot whales, basking sharks and turtles.

Rhayader’s red kites 

Head inland from Cardigan Bay to Gigrin Farm near Rhayader and look up to see one of the most spectacular sights the Welsh sky has to offer, as flocks of red kites with their tell-tale forked tail soar overhead to the farm’s special feeding stations.

These beautiful birds of prey almost became extinct, but conservationists managed to preserve their species and they are now thriving across mid-Wales.

Llanelli’s National Wetland Centre

A trip further south and onto Llanelli will bring you to the WWT National Wetland Centre – a 450-acre site filed with lakes, lagoons, streams and salt marshes that attract thousands birds of all shapes, sizes and colours.

Although most of the more spectacular birdlife tends to arrive for the winter months, there’s plenty for the family to do all year round, including kids play areas and the picturesque Millennium Coastal cycle path, with its views across the mud flats of the Burry Inlet where you’ll see birds like sanderlings, redshanks, shelducks and oystercatchers.