Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Tenby |
Coordinates | 51°40′14″N4°41′32″W / 51.67056°N 4.69222°W |
Length | 0.2 km (0.12 mi) |
Width | 0.06 km (0.037 mi) |
Highest elevation | 34 m (112 ft) |
Administration | |
Wales | |
County | Pembrokeshire |
St Catherine's Island (Welsh : Ynys Catrin) is a small tidal island linked to Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales, by Castle beach at low tide. The island, which is known colloquially as St Catherine's Rock, is the location of St Catherine's Fort. [1]
The Earl of Pembroke (previously Jasper Tudor, the uncle of Henry VII), owned St Catherine's Island until the reign of Elizabeth I. Later, ownership passed to the Corporation of Tenby, which took possession of a number of crown lands. [2] It is recorded in 1856 that a few sheep inhabited the island. An observer described them as "half wild sure footed creatures that run, turn and look, run again and leap from crag to crag almost with the agility of the Alpine Chamois". [3]
For many centuries a tiny church was the only building on the island. The construction of St Catherine's Fort in 1867 necessitated the demolishing of the remains of the church.
A family trust has owned the island since 1962. [4] The island operated as a zoo from March 1968 to 1979. [5] [6] In April 2014 the island was opened to the public for visits and tours. It was closed from Saturday 27 August 2016 [7] to 12 April 2017 [4] and remains open to the public as of 2019.
In 2016 The Final Problem , the third and last episode of the fourth series of the BBC TV series Sherlock was filmed on the island, with it standing in as a maximum security prison. [8]
Formed from an outcrop of limestone, on average 25m high, the island is riddled with tidal caves. The island is approximately 200 metres (660 ft) long and 60 metres (200 ft) wide. [7]
The area below the high waterline at St Catherine's Island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The stretch directly in front of the island is known as the Catterns. [9]
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and administrative headquarters of Pembrokeshire County Council.
Pembroke Castle is a medieval castle in the centre of Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in Wales. The castle was the original family seat of the Earldom of Pembroke. A Grade I listed building since 1951, it underwent major restoration during the early 20th century.
Carmarthenshire is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as the "Garden of Wales" and is also home to the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales and South West England. It extends from the smaller Severn Estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean. It takes its name from the English city and port of Bristol.
Carmarthen is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy 8 miles (13 km) north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, down from 15,854 in 2001, but gauged at 16,285 in 2019. It has a claim to be the oldest town in Wales – Old Carmarthen and New Carmarthen became one borough in 1546. It was the most populous borough in Wales in the 16th–18th centuries, described by William Camden as "chief citie of the country". Growth stagnated by the mid-19th century as new settlements developed in the South Wales Coalfield.
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales.
Ramsey Island is an island about 1 kilometre off St David's Head in Pembrokeshire on the northern side of St Brides Bay, in southwest Wales, in the community of St Davids and the Cathedral Close. It is 259 hectares in area. Ramsey means Hrafn's island.
Caldey Island is a small island near Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, less than 1 mile (1.6 km) off the coast. With a recorded history going back over 1,500 years, it is one of the holy islands of Britain. A number of traditions inherited from Celtic times are observed by the Cistercian monks of Caldey Abbey, the owners of the island.
Tenby is a seaside town and community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies within Carmarthen Bay.
Kenfig is a village and former borough in Bridgend, Wales. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) inland on the north bank of the Bristol Channel, and just south-west of the M4 motorway. To the east is the town of Bridgend, at approximately 6 miles (10 km), and the capital city of Cardiff, at 24 miles (40 km). To the west lies Port Talbot, at approximately 7 miles, and Swansea at approximately 18 miles.
Burry Holms, a tidal island with the height of is at the northern end of Rhossili Bay in the Gower Peninsula, Wales. During spring and summer, Burry Holms is covered by flowers such as thrift and sea campion.
Penally is a coastal village, parish and community 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village is known for its Celtic Cross, Penally Abbey, the neighbouring St. Deiniol's Well, WWI Practice trenches, and Penally Training Camp.
Penarth Head is a headland in Penarth on the south coast of South Wales near the Welsh capital city of Cardiff.
Carew is a village, parish and community on an inlet of Milford Haven in the former Hundred of Narberth, Pembrokeshire, West Wales, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Pembroke. The eastern part of the parish is in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
Pembrokeshire County Council is the local authority for the county of Pembrokeshire, one of the principal areas of Wales.
Carmarthen Castle is a ruined castle in Carmarthen, West Wales, UK. First built by Walter, Sheriff of Gloucester in the early 1100s, the castle was captured and destroyed on several occasions before being rebuilt in stone during the 1190s. The castle was captured by Owain Glyndŵr in 1405. Henry VII's father died at Carmarthen Castle in 1456. During the Wars of the Roses the castle fell to William Herbert and, during the Civil War, was captured by Parliamentary forces. It was dismantled by order of Oliver Cromwell in the mid 1600s.
St Catherine's Fort is a 19th-century Palmerston Fort on St Catherine's Island, at Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Brecon Castle is a castle in the town of Brecon, Wales. It was built by the Norman Lord Bernard de Neufmarché in 1093, and was frequently assaulted by the Welsh in 13th and 15th centuries. The castle's ownership changed numerous times. It began falling into ruin when Henry VIII executed the last dukes of Buckingham, who at the time controlled the castle. It was renovated and made into a hotel in the early 19th century.
The coastline of Wales extends from the English border at Chepstow westwards to Pembrokeshire then north to Anglesey and back eastwards to the English border once again near Flint. Its character is determined by multiple factors, including the local geology and geological processes active during and subsequent to the last ice age, its relative exposure to or shelter from waves, tidal variation and the history of human settlement and development which varies considerably from one place to another. The majority of the coast east of Cardiff in the south, and of Llandudno in the north, is flat whilst that to the west is more typically backed by cliffs. The cliffs are a mix of sandstones, shales and limestones, the erosion of which provides material for beach deposits. Of the twenty-two principal areas which deliver local government in Wales, sixteen have a coastline, though that of Powys consists only of a short section of tidal river some distance from the open sea. Its length has been estimated at 1,680 miles (2,700 km).