Maritime heath
Found close to the sea, where the vegetation
is influenced by salt-spray and wind, maritime heaths are at their
best in spring, when the blue spring squill and pink thrift are in
flower.
Scoured by the wind and spray, maritime heaths are usually
low-growing, with stunted heather bushes and plenty of bare soil
and rock. Some maritime heaths have a distinctive layer of
grey-white Cladonia or dog-lichens between heather bushes. Others
have strange, wave-shaped heather bushes created by the action of
the wind.
Maritime heath is the rarest of the three main heathland types,
with only 950 hectares recorded in Wales. The diagram below shows
the breakdown of maritime heath recorded during the Phase II survey
for each Unitary Authority. In Wales, you’ll find maritime heath in
four main areas: Anglesey, Gwynedd, Swansea and Pembrokeshire, with
a very small area (less than 1ha) recorded in Ceredigion.
The exposed coasts of Pembrokeshire support the largest area of
this habitat, but it is also quite extensive along the west and
north coasts of Anglesey. Both the Llŷn Peninsula and Gower
(Swansea) have much smaller areas of maritime heath as a result of
more sheltered coastlines. On the Llŷn, this is possibly also due
to historical management, which has reduced the area of maritime
heath.
If you want to see maritime heath in Wales, you could head for
the RSPB reserves at South Stack on Anglesey or Ramsey Island in
Pembrokeshire. Another good location is Breakwater Country Park,
near Holyhead on Anglesey.
