Woman’s Weekly UK – 27 August 2019

42 womansweekly.com

TRAVEL

HerearesomeoftheUK’sbestplaces

tospotbirds–fromraregoldeneagles

tobeautifulBewick’sswans

WORDS:

LAURA

MILLAR.

PHOTOS:

ALAMY,

GETTY

On the

WING

Skomer, Pembrokeshire,Wales

P-p-pickup a puffin(not literally)in Pembrokeshire,

hometo thelargestcolonyin southernBritain.Around

24,000of thesebeautifullybeakedbirdsmaketheir

homeontheWelshislandof Skomer.

Adultsflockhere in late March,

readyforegg-layingseasonin

April,andvisitorscantakea

daytriporstayovernightuntil

30 September2019.

Wheretostay

CrugGlâsCountryHouse&

Restaurant,nearSt Davids,has

roomsfrom£160pn;crug-glas.co.uk

Amberley,West Sussex

Thislittlecornerof theSouthDownsbrimswithbirdlife.

FromAmberleyWildbrooks– a wetlandsiteof special

scientificinterest– to the ArundelWetlandCentre,you’ll

spotwildfowlandotherrarebirds.In winter,Wildbrooks

is oneof thefewplacesyoucanstillseeBewick’sswans;

youmightalsospota wigeon,a tealora hobby.Allyou

needis a pairof goodbinoculars,andyou’reoff!

Wheretostay

AmberleyCastle,a restoredmedievalhuntinglodge,

boasts 19 luxuriousbedrooms, 12 acresof beautiful

landscapedgardens,anda barrel-

vaulted12th-centurydiningroom.

Entranceis throughtheoriginal

portcullis,andotheroriginal

featuresremain.Doublesfrom

£176pn;amberleycastle.co.uk

Norfolk Broads,

Norfolk

Thetwostandoutrarities

of theBroads,a paradise

forbird-watchers,are

bitternsandmarsh

harriers.TheBroadsalso

haswonderfulnature

reservesyoucanvisit,

such as the floating

BroadsWildlifeCentre

onRanworthBroad.

Wheretostay

Exploringbyboatmeansyou

caneasilyvisitallthewaterside

wildlifecentresandgetcloseto

thebirdlife.A three-nighthire

of a Jazz-classmotorcruiser

costsaround£399andsleeps

two;waterwaysholidays.com

Youshould

spotbitterns

Amberley

Castle

VisitArundel

WetlandCentre

Puffins on the

island of Skomer