News

The Skomer Island Project

Published

10 years ago

April 28, 2016

Tom Sinclair

Skomer: famed for its wildlife and for the survival of its ancient field systems

AT THE BEGINNING of this month, the Skomer Island Project team returned to Skomer to undertake the latest phase of archaeological research on the Island.

The Herald contacted the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales (RCAHMW) who kindly provided us with an update and photographs of their latest visit to Skomer.

Skomer Island is a highly protected landscape famous for its puffins and other breeding seabirds, but it is also home to some of the best preserved prehistoric field systems and settlements anywhere in Britain.

The Royal Commission began the Skomer Island Project in 2011, together with colleagues from the University of Sheffield and Cardiff University, to find out more about the prehistoric communities who lived once and farmed here.

New airborne laser scanning has allowed detailed mapping of every field and round house while fieldwork has demonstrated that settlement on the island extends back some 5000 years.

This year archaeologists Louise Barker and Toby Driver (RCAHMW), Bob Johnston (University of Sheffield) and Oliver Davis (Cardiff University) were delighted to be joined by geographer and environmental scientist Sarah Davies of Aberystwyth University.

The aims of this year’s work were twofold; to excavate one of the Island’s main archaeological features, a prehistoric field boundary and the continuation of geophysical survey within the improved fields surrounding the old farm in the centre of the Island.

Despite Storm Katie cutting short our planned four days of fieldwork, we managed to achieve our goals in the two sunny and still days we had and were also lucky enough to witness the return of the puffins.

The focus of our small evaluation trench was a substantial lynchet, part of the Northern Field Systems on the Island.

A lynchet is a bank of earth that builds up on the down slope of a field ploughed over a period of time and the resulting earth or plough soil is important for helping us reconstruct the environmental history of the Island, identify what was being cultivated and possibly at what date.

Therefore, the principal focus of the excavation was to recover samples of the soils within the lynchet which will now be carefully analysed over the coming months.

Preliminary results from the geophysical survey also look positive. Within the improved fields surrounding the farm in the centre of the Island, there is little evidence for surviving archaeology; however geophysics undertaken in 2012 did reveal subsurface archaeological features and we wanted to see if this was the case elsewhere.

This was indeed the case, and in the area surveyed directly to the west of the farm, the gradiometer detected a linear feature, perhaps a ditch cut by later cultivation ridges.

As ever the Skomer Island Project team would like to thank the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and the Skomer Wardens for their continued support and help with our work on the Island.

Community

End of the line for Intercity 125s as GWR retires Castle Class fleet

Published

18 minutes ago

December 12, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Final services mark the end of an era for West Wales rail passengers

THE LAST remaining Intercity 125 High Speed Trains on the Great Western network will make their final scheduled journeys this Saturday (Dec 13), bringing to a close nearly 50 years of service on routes across Wales and the West Country.

Great Western Railway confirmed that its refurbished “Castle Class” sets – shortened HST formations powered by the iconic Class 43 locomotives – will be withdrawn from passenger use after this weekend. The trains, first introduced in 1976, were once the backbone of long-distance travel between West Wales and London Paddington, including the direct Milford Haven–Paddington service used by generations of students and commuters.

Although the Castle sets stopped operating long-distance routes in 2019, they continued to run regional services between Cardiff and Penzance, and were a familiar sight in Pembrokeshire during summer diagrams. Until a few years ago, it was still possible to see a 125 working into Pembroke Dock on weekend services.

To manage expected public interest, GWR will operate an additional farewell round-trip on Saturday, leaving Plymouth at 3.16pm, running to Penzance (calling only at Par), before returning at 5.32pm.

GWR said the trains will be replaced by its existing diesel fleet alongside 26 recommissioned Class 175s, which will roll out gradually during 2026.

The retirement brings a wave of nostalgia for many West Wales passengers who remember the era when a full-length 125 left Milford Haven each morning bound for London. The distinctive Valenta engine note, table seating, and early laptop users powering their machines from the staff hoover socket made the service part of local student life in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Saturday’s farewell run will mark the final chapter for a train that transformed long-distance travel and, for nearly half a century, connected Pembrokeshire to the capital at high speed.

If you’d like, we can add a nostalgia breakout box revisiting the Milford Haven–Paddington days, the Red Dragon breakfast service, and the 125 summers on the Pembroke Dock branch.

Local Government

Carmarthenshire welcomes new council leader

Published

56 minutes ago

December 12, 2025

Tom Sinclair

New Cabinet confirmed following Full Council meeting

COUNCILLOR Linda Evans has been appointed Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council and Chair of the Cabinet following a meeting of Full Council on Wednesday (Dec 10).

A long-serving Plaid Cymru councillor for the Llanfihangel-ar-Arth ward, Cllr Evans has served on the authority since 2008 and has been a Cabinet Member since 2015.

Her appointment was formally confirmed during the meeting, where she also announced her Cabinet team — a 10-member executive responsible for the council’s overall business. The Cabinet meets fortnightly to make key decisions and recommendations to Full Council and, in some cases, decisions can be taken individually by Cabinet Members.

All members of the previous administration have retained their roles, with one change: Cllr Emlyn Schiavone joins the Cabinet as the new Cabinet Member for Homes.

The full Cabinet is as follows:

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure, Culture and Tourism: Cllr Hazel Evans
Cabinet Member for Education: Cllr Glynog Davies
Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, Communities and Welsh Language: Cllr Carys Jones
Cabinet Member for Organisation and Workforce: Cllr Philip Hughes
Cabinet Member for Resources: Cllr Alun Lenny
Cabinet Member for Homes: Cllr Emlyn Schiavone
Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste and Infrastructure Services: Cllr Edward Thomas
Cabinet Member for Integrated Health and Children and Adult Social Services: Cllr Jane Tremlett
Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability: Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen
Leader of the Council: Cllr Linda Evans

Speaking after her appointment, Cllr Evans said:
“It’s an honour to be elected as Council Leader and I look forward to working with the Cabinet and all members across the chamber for the benefit of the residents of Carmarthenshire.”

Crime

Two further prison deaths in Wales confirmed by Ombudsman

Published

1 hour ago

December 12, 2025

Tom Sinclair

One death is linked to HMP Parc, one post-release from HMP Cardiff

TWO more deaths connected to Welsh prisons have been confirmed by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), adding to what campaigners describe as a deepening crisis across the prison system in Wales.

The PPO has opened an investigation into the death of Kenneth Male, born 12 December 1957, who died on 22 November 2025 while serving his sentence at HMP/YOI Parc in Bridgend. The case appears in the Ombudsman’s official listings with the investigation currently marked as in progress.

Campaigners say his death is the 40th linked to Parc since 2022.

In a post shared widely on social media, campaign spokesman Zackery Lee Griffiths described the number of deaths as “the highest at any prison in England and Wales since 2022”, adding that bereaved families “could have been spared months or even years of grief if action had been taken earlier”.

A second new case has also been listed by the Ombudsman. Scott Price, born 12 February 1996, died on 13 November 2025, shortly after his release from HMP Cardiff. His death is categorised as post-release, with the PPO investigation also ongoing.

Both deaths will be subject to full independent investigations, which will examine the circumstances leading up to each case, the care provided, and any wider systemic issues.

Background: growing scrutiny of Welsh prison safety

The Herald has been reporting extensively on conditions at HMP Parc, including allegations of drug use, violence, failures in safeguarding, and patterns of deaths linked to synthetic drugs and medical emergencies.
Concerns have been raised repeatedly in the Senedd, with Welsh ministers and several MSs calling for urgent intervention and a full review of G4S’s running of the Bridgend facility.

The UK Government, which oversees justice and prisons in Wales, has so far resisted calls for removing the contract from G4S.

Campaigners say the latest death strengthens the case for major reform.

What happens next

The PPO will now conduct two independent investigations, with reports expected to be published publicly once completed. The Herald will continue to follow developments.