Our Environment

Preseli Venture is committed to remaining an economic force promoting sustainable adventure tourism in wilderness areas, such as the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park here in West Wales.

At Preseli Venture our aim is to deliver the perfect blend of outdoor activities and unique Pembrokeshire hospitality in an environmentally sustainable and socially aware manner.  On this page you'll find details of the initiatives we're involved in, and read a little more about the unique Pembrokeshire coastal environment.

Green Achievement Award

In 2008 Preseli Venture were the proud recipients of this Pembrokeshire Tourism award, and very happy we were too!  It's nice to be recognised for making an effort, when sometimes trying to be environmentally and ethically aware can feel like a uphill (and expensive) struggle. Cheesey photo of Sophie and Claire accepting the award here on the right.

Green Dragon Environmental Standard

In August 2005 we achieved our Level 2 Green Dragon award - this means that in our work we have focused on understanding relevant environmental legal obligations and have taken action to make sure these obligations are met. 

We're not big fans of carbon offsetting schemes, so instead we take localised action to reduce the amount of Co2 we produce in our day to day activities - stuff like:

• using a ground source heat pump to produce 100% of the hot water and heating in the lodge
• sourcing the electricity that we do use through a green energy provider - ecotricity at the moment
• encouraging our clients to use public transport, and providing free bus and train station transfers
• running our minibuses on locally sourced bio diesel
• sourcing as much local food as possible, along with using local materials, and local trades people and staff!

Additionally we like to:

• use recycled paper and as many recycled products as possible in the office and in the lodge
• recycle all paper, glass, cans and high grade plastics
• compost the food waste, or feed it to the chickens, who then lay the eggs for your breakfast!
• use environmentally friendly cleaning products - we like Ecover best
• source plenty of fair trade tea and coffee for our guests
• use 'eco' paint in the lodge, it smells nicer and has no nasty chemicals in it, we use NBT trade paint

You can read more about the environmentally friendly features of the Preseli Venture lodge here.

Eco-escape

We're proud members of eco-escape.org, and we love working with Laura and the team at Ecoescape on promoting sustainable tourism close to home. Ecoescape is all about inspiring travellers to go green. It is the only website and guide series that promotes environmentally friendly holidays in the UK and Ireland meaning that we don’t have to go far to be green. Ecoescape is all about changing the way we travel, about finding ways to get off-grid, and about slowing down our pace of life.  We're proud to be associated with them in their awareness raising, behaviour changing, endeavours!

The Pembrokeshire Outdoor Charter
This Charter was developed by local outdoor adventure and environmental education centres, working closely with the National Park and the National Trust and has been operating since 1993. The aim of the Charter is to foster commitment by those involved to an environmental code of practice to preserve the unique landscape and wildlife of this beautiful, unspoilt coastline. The key is to develop sustainable management of outdoor recreation on the Pembrokeshire Coast.  Preseli Venture has been a key player in the inception of the Outdoor Charter, and fully endorses its code  of good environmental practice.

The Abermawr Coastcare Group
Under the auspices of "Keep Wales Tidy Campaign", the Afonydd Glan/Clean Coasts Project has set up voluntary and community "Coastcare" groups around the Pembrokeshire coast.  Their aim is to enhance the value of the coastline by reducing the impact of litter. This in turn enhances the aesthetic appeal and increases the amenity and economic value of the coast to the community and visitors.

Their objectives are:

• To undertake practical cleanups of the coastline.
• To support, establish and promote community group action with a focus on practical environmental works along the coast.
• To raise awareness of problems created by illegal disposal of waste along the coastline of Wales.

Preseli Venture have adopted their local beach of Abermawr, (just one mile away), and organise a number of beach cleans throughout the year, or whenever the need arises.

Abermawr is an extremely clean beach, due mainly to the fact that the beach faces north-west and so is relatively unaffected by any rubbish blown onto the coast by the prevailing south-westerly winds and waves. Due to its remoteness, Abermawr also attracts relatively few visitors throughout the year and so is a perfect place for your beach frolics and moonlit walks!

The North Pembrokeshire Transport Forum (NPTF)
Sophie Hurst, a director of Preseli Venture, is an active executive committee member of the NPTF, a campaigning and pressure group that tirelessly works towards improving public transport to, from and within north Pembrokeshire. The NPTF recognises the vital role of public transport in the sustainable development of peripheral rural areas such as north Pembrokeshire.

We lobby and campaign for improved rail services to Fishguard Harbour, an otherwise excellent integrated transport node with bus, taxi, Irish ferry, cycle track and coastal path links. We work for improved bus services and access for disadvantaged and remote communities with innovative community transport schemes.

We fully support the coastal shuttle buses along the Pembrokeshire coast, which are proving to be a great success and will continue to run over the winter.

Greenpeace and the Nuclear Free Seas Flotilla September 2002

In September 2002 Nick Hurst, a director at Preseli Venture, set off in his RIB boat with 2 like-minded friends to help the Greenpeace flagship "Rainbow Warrior" along with a large anti-nuclear flotilla which set sail from Wales and Ireland. The demonstration was against the shipment of 5 tons of the nuclear fuel Mox, (a potentially weapons-grade mixture of plutonium and uranium rejected by Japan) sailing north up the Irish Sea on route to the Sellafield reprocessing plant in Cumbria.  On the day, our RIB fulfilled a vital role, taking journalists 50 miles out into the Irish Sea, right to the location of the flotilla of yachts and Rainbow Warrior, as they crossed the path of the armed nuclear ships.

The protest highlighted the very real danger to the fragile coastal environment of the unsafe cargos currently being transported on the sea, especially in the light of many more such shipments to Sellafield being planned over the next few years.

The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park - Flora and Fauna

Preseli Venture is situated right in the heart of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, on the wild and rugged north Pembrokeshire coast. Situated just 5 miles from Fishguard town and Harbour, for the Irish Sea crossing to Rosslare county Wexford, the Pencaer peninsular extends northwards with Strumble Head at its apex.

Pembrokeshire is internationally renowned for its plant and animal life and due to its position at a kind of ecological crossroads; it is the farthest west on the fringe of the European landmass marking the western limit for many land animals, while the Atlantic Ocean coastal waters are the eastern limit of many aquatic species. Again, this area is the most northerly point reached by many marine creatures dependent on the warm waters of the Gulf Stream that lap around these southern British shores, and the most southerly place in which several Arctic species of fish and sea birds are to be found. The coastal zone from Abereiddy, 5 miles west of Preseli Venture, to Fishguard Bay, 5 miles to the east, incorporates superbly rich and varied coastal habitats and wildlife.

The Pembrokeshire climate is very mild, remaining largely frost-free and with relatively long daylight hours, and low rainfall along the coast.

Conservation
Pembrokeshire contains one of the highest densities of protected environmental sites in the UK and the only Marine Nature Reserve in Wales.  The National Park is aided in its bid to protect this environment by a number of bodies. Parts of the coast have been designated as Heritage Coast, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and Special Protection Areas (SPA). In addition the National Trust owns large areas of the local coast including the Abermawr valley right on our doorstep. This pristine wooded valley and wetland habitat leading down to Abermawr beach is home to badgers, foxes, otters, specialist wetland plants and bountiful wild flowers. We call it the "bluebell woods" and to enjoy this natural blue carpet visit us in April-May.

Birds
The Pembrokeshire coastline is home to a wide variety of seabirds. Guillemots and razorbills are members of the auk family and they nest on rocky ledges on the high sea cliffs from March to July. Cormorants and shags, prolific fish-feeders due to their ability to swim underwater, and the noisy oystercatcher are often seen on the lower cliff slopes of the coast. Kittiwakes and fulmars, with their dramatic straight wings, also nest on grassy cliff ledges and along the shore rock pippits flit among the rocks. The rare chough nests in holes and crevices on the cliff and feeds on insects on the grassy cliff-tops. Ravens can often be seen from the coast path, and often you'll hear skylarks with their beautiful song!

There are two birds that may only occasionally be seen on this stretch of coast, but are hugely important in the National Park area and if you're lucky you may get a sighting of them during your adventurs. The first is the impressive white gannet with its huge wingspan, of which there are 30,000 breeding pairs on Grassholm island, 15 miles off the coast. Gannets can often be seen passing by on summer evenings as they return to their colony after a day out fishing. The second bird is the colourful puffin, again a brilliant underwater swimmer, which burrows on Skomer island and the rocky islet of North Bishop.

Birds of prey haunt the cliff tops too, with peregrine falcons diving at incredible speeds upon their prey. Buzzards are seen up high, often bombarded by crows, and kestrels and sparrow-hawks hover low over the grassy slopes and inland hedgebanks.

Cetaceans
Cetaceans, the collective word for whales, dolphins and porpoises, can be seen along the coast, particularly off headlands such as Strumble Head. From Strumble Head it is possible to observe bottle-nosed dolphins and the smaller harbour porpoise swimming past the headland. Other larger cetaceans, such as the fin whale, basking shark and bottle-nosed whale, are found further offshore with occasional sightings close to land.

Grey Seals
Seals are our most sighted sea mammal and they gather and breeds around the rocky shores, inaccessible coves, sea caves and rocky islands from summer to autumn. There are over 5000 individual Atlantic grey seals around the Pembrokeshire Coast and islands. The largest population is on Ramsey Island off the St David's peninsular, and the highest number of mainland animals are found here, in our "playground" between St David's Head and Fishguard.

These playful, inquisitive creatures and their pups are a joy to see on our coastal adventures, but care must be taken to avoid disturbing the white beach-bound pups and their mothers who suckle their young for the first 3 weeks. Once weaned, the pups moult their white coat and then venture into the sea to start fishing for themselves. Seals are amazing divers and can remain below the surface for up to 30 minutes.

Wildflowers and Lichens
From March to July wild flowers appear in a beautiful colourful succession on the coastal slopes and inland hedgebanks (stone walls covered in earth banks). The most common are spring-squill, sea campion, pink campion, kidney vetch and rock samphire. These plants flourish in the salt-laden winds and clean air, as does the community of lichens and mosses which pattern the rock surfaces all along the coast.

Bordering the lanes and in the wooded valleys close to the coast, primroses, lesser celandine, pink campion, lesser stitchwort and foxgloves bloom, as well as the beautiful bluebells, particularly found in the Abermawr woods and coastal area.

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