I was really surprised by how small the puffins are. I imagined them to be taller somehow. They are really fast flyers too. A really important skill to have when they are bringing sand eels back to the baby puffin. The adults get mobbed by gulls who are trying to steal their catch. Atlantic Puffins from Skomer Island

When I was there previously, the puffins were busy nest buildling. They use burrows in the ground as they stop the gulls and birds of prey from attacking the nests. The puffins were busy gathering nesting materials. They collect grass and other vegetation to line the burrows. They look quite comical as they wrestle with tufts of grass to wrench off to take down the burrows. Atlantic Puffins from Skomer Island

At this time of the year the island is covered by bluebells and later on by red campion. There is also a lot of sea pinks that looks like a carpet of pink on the island and looks beautiful with the blue of the sea around the island.Atlantic Puffins from Skomer Island

From June onwards the eggs hatch and the parents are busy feeding the young. Puffins only produce one egg and when the puffling are ready to leave they exit the burrow at night and leap off the cliffs into the darkness and are then entirely on their own. It's safer to leave under cover of darkness to avoid the gulls.Atlantic Puffins from Skomer Island

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Walking on Llanstephan Beach

There has been a settlement at Llanstephan since the Bronze Age. There are remnants of a Bronze Age fort on which the Normans built a stone castle on conquering the area in the early 12th century. Llansteffan used to be a port and was granted borough status but its strategic importance declined by the 16th century. Owen Glyndwr briefly took the castle in around 1403 - one of the last battles to be fought in the area. After that time the area was ravaged by poor harvests and plague.

Llansteffan

The railway reached Carmarthen in 1852 and this brought a change of fortune to Llansteffan. The ferry service from Kidwelly and Laugharne used to conect with trains arriving in Ferryside station and Llanstephan expanded in size with large houses being built to accommodate visitors.

Cockle Beds in Scott's Bay

Today there are lots of walks, either along the beach or around the village countryside. Fishing and cockling are very popular with the Towy being famous for its salmon and sea-trout.