Support our work on Skokholm Island
By becoming a member of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales you will be supporting our work on the island of Skokholm and you will be helping us with our work on our many other sites across south and west Wales. Please join us now and get free landing on Skomer.
To gain an insight into the world and work of Jerry Gillham, Skokholm’s warden, please read his blog on the trials and tribulations of being an island warden.
Skokholm Island is a real jewel of a place, located off the south west tip of Pembrokeshire it is a heavenly place to visit.
Skokholm Island from the Air Photo by Sid Howells
Skokholm is of international importance for its breeding seabirds and this is reflected in the many designations awarded it. It is a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), part of the Skomer and Skokholm SPA (Special Protection Area), part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, falls within the MNR (Marine Nature Reserve) and is a part of the Pembrokeshire Islands SAC (Special Area of Conservation).
On both the islands the nights of summer are haunted by one of the strangest of noises. Manx shearwaters spend very little of their time on the land and the very little they do is spent on Skokholm or Skomer.
The two islands populations of Manx shearwaters is probably the third largest in the world, containing some 15 percent of the world population. Breeding storm petrels could account for up to 20 percent of the EU population. These two birds spend most of their lives at sea, only coming ashore to breed, and then only at night. They create a spectacular nocturnal experience for island visitors.
Skokholm's Red Cliffs Photo by D Milborrow
The island is also home to 4500 Puffins and around a 2000 Razorbills and Guillemots breed on its cliffs.
Skokholm is important for other aspects of natural history too – the maritime grassland is a rare example of rabbit-maintained vegetation; the invertebrate fauna contains many nationally rare species, and the lichens of cliffs and outcrops are of great interest.
Grey seals are present in the waters around the island throughout the year, and seen basking on rocks at low water daily. Cetaceans are seen close inshore, with daily sightings of harbour porpoise, and infrequent sightings of common, bottlenose and Risso’s dolphins.
Bottlenose Dolphin Photo by Janet Baxter
The island is roughly a mile in length and half a mile across at its widest point, an area of 100 hectares (260 acres).
It is bounded by cliffs of old red sandstone that rise from seventy feet in the north east to 160 feet in the southwest and are frequently battered by storms. This has given rise to a coastline of deep bays and gullies exposing much of the interesting underlying rock strata in a variety of red and purple hues.
Surrounded by these beautiful cliffs the island is a plateau sloping from south west to north east with few undulations but several rocky outcrops. The highest of which give panoramic views across the island
Near the centre of the island is the grade II listed Cottage and other converted farm buildings that shelter in the lee of a rocky outcrop. These provide accommodation for staff and up to 15 residential visitors or volunteers at a time.
At the south eastern tip of the island stands a magnificent lighthouse, now unmanned and powered by solar panels.
The island is probably the most intensively studied ever, with much of the work being carried out in the 1950s, and made famous by the books of pioneer naturalist and former island tenant Ronald Lockley, the founder of the West Wales Naturalist Trust, which was the forerunner of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales today.