Cardigan Bay is home to Britain’s biggest resident population of dolphins – you can see bottlenose dolphins all year round and New Quay is the hottest spot. Harbour porpoises are also frequently spotted and if you’re really lucky the odd Orca or humpback may swim by!
New Quay is definitely Dolphin Central – you are almost guaranteed to see a dolphin even from the harbour wall. To increase your chances, take one of the daily charter boats out into the bay. SeaMor operate 90 minute guided Dolphin Watching Boat Trips from 1st April to 31st October. The boats are for a maximum of 12 people and price is roughly £20-25.
They also offer a Sunset trip where there is an even higher sighting rate as the fish the dolphins feed on are more active closer to the surface. The price is the same as the daytime tours.
For a really special day out, you can arrange a half or full day private hire with a marine biologist and qualified skipper to ferry you along the coast. You can take part in dolphin surveys and listen to them with the underwater hydrophone. Swim and snorkel or visit Cardigan Island to see the grey seals. Visit the gorgeous beaches at Llangrannog and Tresaith or stop for lunch in Aberaeron. You can choose your own itinerary.
Get in touch with SeaMor on 07795 242445 or info@seamor.org
Since Carmarthenshire hosted the start of the 2018 Tour of Britain it has become known as the “cycling hub of Wales”. Cycling is on the rise as the county has invested in the activity so that more visitors can saddle up and enjoy the breathtaking views. To coincide with the Tour of Britain, the county launched new cycle routes to give visitors the opportunity to explore the big hills and bigger views.
One of the most spectacular routes is the Big Wilderness Adventure. This is a circular route that actually passes just a 5 minute cycle ride from our door! The route is plotted to start and finish at Llandovery, but if you stay with us you can start and finish right from your cottage. It takes you to Llyn Brianne – there is challenging climb up to the lake followed by an incredible road around the perimeter with fantastic views.
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This ride is not for the faint-hearted – it is 65 miles with a difficulty rating of 7/10 but the scenery makes the ride worthwhile (the journey to Llyn Brianne one of our favourite drives). The road follows the reservoir around the edge, constantly changing in elevation with incredible views and sweeping descends around every corner.
After Llyn Brianne the route starts to feel more remote as it skirts the Cambrian Mountains. There is barely a house or car in sight, but with this emptiness comes incredible beauty that is seen nowhere else short of the Scottish border.
The route takes in a large portion of wild, uninhabited terrain so it is worth taking what you think you will need with you and not relying on shops along the route.
There is an abbreviated version of the route if you want to shorten it – it still takes in the best bits up to Llyn Brianne but is 8 miles shorter and there is also the option to not go all the way to Llandovery to save even more miles.
If this route is too much of an adventure, then there are lots of other routes in the area to check out starting at just 10 miles – see them all here: Road Cycling in Carmarthenshire.
