St Brides Bay ( cy, Bae Sain Ffraid) is a bay in western Pembrokeshire,

West Wales West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheub ...

. Either

Skomer Island Skomer () or Skomer Island is an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, in the community of Marloes and St Brides in west Wales. It is well known for its wildlife: around half the world's population of Manx shearwaters nest on the island, the ...

or the mainland extremity of Wooltack Point at the western end of the

Marloes Marloes is a village and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the Marloes Peninsula west of Milford Haven and forms the western tip of the southern shore of St Brides Bay. It is within part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The parish ...

Peninsula marks the southern limit of the bay whilst its northern limit is marked by

Ramsey Island Ramsey Island (Welsh: ''Ynys Dewi'') is an island about 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 in area. Ramsey means (in Old ...

off St David's Head. The mouth of the bay is about wide and extends some eastwards from this line.

Geology

The northern and southern shores of the bay are mainly rocky in nature, backed by cliffs up to high. Its eastern shore comprises a series of large and small sandy beaches between rocky sections. The geological exposures around the bay reveal great complexity with considerable

folding Fold, folding or foldable may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Fold'' (album), the debut release by Australian rock band Epicure * Fold (poker), in the game of poker, to discard one's hand and forfeit interest in the current pot *Abov ...

and

faulting In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

of the strata. The cliffs of its southern shore are formed from

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

s of

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya. T ...

and Devonian age together with a suite of both intrusive and extrusive

igneous Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...

rocks, some of which are Precambrian in age. Those in the north comprise a series of Precambrian and Cambrian age rocks of both

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

and igneous origin. In contrast, the eastern shore is formed from the more readily eroded rocks of Carboniferous age. These are largely the sandstones and mudstones of the Coal Measures but include a small section of shales and sandstones assigned to the Millstone Grit Series. Contorted coal seams within the Coal Measures were once worked though the

Pembrokeshire Coalfield The Pembrokeshire Coalfield in West Wales is one of the smallest British coalfields, but continuously worked from the 14th to 20th centuries. The main coalfield extends across south Pembrokeshire from Saundersfoot on Carmarthen Bay westwards to B ...

was never of major economic importance.

Designations

The coast surrounding it forms a part of the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of three national parks in Wales, the others b ...

which was designated in 1951 in recognition of the outstanding quality of its landscape. Much of the coastline is also defined as heritage coast. The whole of St Bride's Bay along with adjoining areas of sea around the Pembrokeshire Coast is protected under European environmental law as a

special area of conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

(or 'SAC'). Parts of the coast are additionally defined as

special protection area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...

s (or 'SPAs'). There are also three or four

sites of special scientific interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(or 'SSSIs') around its perimeter.Countryside Council for Wales 2008, ''Internationally protected areas in Wales'' (poster)

Villages and amenities

The bay's coast is dotted with small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

s including St Brides,

Martin's Haven Martin's Haven is a small bay in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK, on the Dale Peninsula, with views across St Bride's Bay towards St David's. Its shingle beach has a stone slipway which acts as an embarkation point for the ferry which visits the near ...

Little Haven Little Haven ( cy, Hafan Fach) is a village at the south-east corner of St Bride's Bay, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Together with Broad Haven to the north, Little Haven forms The Havens community for ...

Broad Haven Broad Haven ( cy, Aberllydan) is a village and seaside resort in the south east corner of St Bride's Bay at the western terminus of the B4341 road in south Pembrokeshire, Wales. Broad Haven and Little Haven together form the Havens community an ...

Nolton Haven Nolton Haven is a hamlet halfway along the coast of St Bride's Bay in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is included within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Together with the larger inland village of Nolton which is about 1 km to the southeast ...

, Newgale and

Solva Solva ( cy, Solfach) is a village, community and electoral ward in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village comprises principally Lower Solva and Upper Solva. The community also includes Middle Mill and Whitchurch. Location Solva lies on the north ...

, whilst Britain's smallest city,

St David's St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, , "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, W ...

lies nearby. The

Pembrokeshire Coast Path The Pembrokeshire Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Sir Benfro), often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a long-distance walking route, mostly a ...

follows its entire coastline. It is well known among residents and

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

. Image:St Davids from Cloisters Pembrokeshire.JPG, New cloisters, St. David's Image:Solva Colours.JPG, Colourful cottages in Solva Image:Clock Tower Marloes Pem.JPG, Clock tower, Marloes Image:Fishing Sunset Little Haven Sunset.JPG, Fishing at sunset, Little Haven Image:St Bride's Inn Little Haven Pem.JPG, St. Bride's Inn, Little Haven Image:Seal St Davids Pembrokeshire.JPG, Seal at St. David's, Pembrokeshire

References

External links

Photographs of St Brides Bay and surrounding area on Geograph
{{Coord, 51.81, -5.23, type:waterbody_region:GB_dim:50000, display=title Bays of Pembrokeshire