Pembroke mill ponds a Local Nature Reserve in the heart of the town
Was the castle that overlooks the Lower Mill Pond reconstructed, while the future Henry VII was born here in 1457. From the Middle Ages there was a tidal mill, while the airport hosted shipping including a prosperous wine commerce with France. To ensure a railroad link (from 1864) between Pembroke and Pembroke Dock, a top embankment has been
Assembled towards the southern end of the Middle Mill Pond, therefore creating the now secluded Upper Mill Pond with open water and reedbeds, a Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales nature reserve since 1979.
DAVID SAUNDERSWHERE TO WATCH Pembroke Castle
1. would seem I to possess everything a wintering Black Redstart requires, the walls and battlements easily viewed from beside the Lower Mill Pond, therefore always worth checking as you make your way along the footpath past Wogans Cave. Grey Herons and Little Egrets come to feed.A Lesser Yellowlegs found in September 2019.)
2.The excellent footpath Lalongside the Middle Mill Pond LNR means you can leave your welingtons in the car. Black-headed Gulls, possibly 200 powerful, are instantly obvious throuqhout winterlook for Mediterranean Gull.
Grey Wagtails never look far away.
3. Little Grebes nest, with up to230 present by mid-winter. What opportunity a Pochard? In 2019 the sole Pembrokshire record was just one here in January, preceding to that for some years there were only a small number of county records, yet two years ago over 1,009 wintered in the county.
4. Black-tailed Godwits-more Tthan 100 on occasions-take advantage of the secluded location as a resting spot once the wave is in on the nearby estuary. Water Rails and Cetti’s Warblers announce their existence from the reedbeds, where Reed and Sedge Warblers are summer visitors.
INSIDER KNOWLEDGE
From the north side of the Lower Mill Pond take the coast path for the estuary.
TARGET BIRDS WINTER
•Mute Swan
•Mallard
•Teal
•Pochard
•Long-tailed Duck
•Water Rail
•Moorhen
•Coot
•Little Grebe
•Black-tailed Godwit
•Green Sandpiper
•Black-headed Gull
•Mediterranean Gull
•Grey Heron
•Little Egret
•Kingfisher
•Great Spotted Woodpecker
•Jay
•Marsh Tit
•Coal Tit
•Cetti’s Warbler
•Long-tailed Tit
•Nuthatch
•Treecreeper
•Black Redstart
•Grey Wagtail
•Reed Bunting
PRACTICAL INFO
POST CODE: SA71 4LA
(Pembroke Castle)
GRID REF: SM 993 015
MAPS: OS Explorer OL 36, OS Landranger 157, 158 WHERE TO PARK:
A choice of Pembroke town car parks or in the lay-by or car park beside the A4075 on the eastern edge of the town
TERRAIN:
Wheelchair accessible beside the Lower and Middle Mill Ponds; boardwalk through the woodlands beyond the Upper Mill Pond ACCESSIBILITY:
Open at all times throughout the year. The open water of the Upper Mill Pond only visible from Little Gates beside the railway embankment FACILITIES:
All available in Pembroke with the closest toilets beside the Lower Mill Pond