Autumn Seawatching at Strumble Head

Strumble Head sticks out into the Irish Sea west of Goodwick with a lighthouse on an islet at the end, and a fierce tide running past it. In autumn that combination pulls in birds and cetaceans, and pulls in the people who watch them.

What goes past. Manx shearwaters in numbers, sooty and balearic shearwaters, gannets, skuas harassing terns, storm petrels in the right conditions, and the occasional rarity that brings people from the other end of Britain. It is a passage watchpoint: you sit still and the birds come to you.

The other half. Harbour porpoises work the tidal race almost daily through late summer and autumn, and common and bottlenose dolphins turn up regularly. Watch the standing waves where the tide rips past the headland — that is where the fish are. Seals loaf around below the lighthouse.

The wind you want. Onshore and strong, from the north-west or west, ideally after a gale. Flat calm days are pretty and largely birdless. There is a small stone hut by the car park to shelter in, which in a westerly is not optional.

Practical. The road out is narrow and the car park is small; in autumn you may be sharing it with several telescopes. Take layers, a flask and something to sit on. Binoculars will do; a scope changes the day.

Nearby. Fishguard is fifteen minutes away for food, and the coast path towards Pwll Deri is one of the wildest stretches in the county.