St Brides Bay ( cy, Bae Sain Ffraid) is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

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 '' Deheu ...

. 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 At ...

or the mainland extremity of Wooltack Point at the western end of the Marloes Peninsula marks the southern limit of the bay whilst its northern limit is marked by Ramsey Island off

St David's Head St David's Head ( cy, Penmaen Dewi) is a headland in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, southwest Wales, which marks the divide between the Irish Sea and the Celtic Sea. It is noted for its wildflowers and wildlife, and for the remains of ...

. 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 and faulting of the

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

. 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. ...

and

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, w ...

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 o ...

rocks, some of which are

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of th ...

in age. Those in the north comprise a series of Precambrian and

Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million years ag ...

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 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 be ...

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 cert ...

s (or 'SPAs'). There are also three or four sites of special scientific interest (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 to ...

s including St Brides, Martin's Haven, Little Haven, Broad Haven, Nolton Haven,

Newgale Newgale ( cy, Niwgwl) is a village with an almost stretch of beach in the parish of Roch, Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The beach is situated in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and has rugged coastal scenery ...

and Solva, whilst Britain's smallest city, St David's lies nearby. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path 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 (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

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 ...

. 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