Llanelli Naturalists Newsletter - December 1984
Richard Pryce

Extract from original in the library of the Botany Department National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, and reproduced here with permission of the Keeper

27/07/1932 Burry Port

Vile day, wild West wind with big rain showers; cold. Trains from Aberystwyth to Burry Port (where we stayed at the Neptune Hotel by the railway station).

Evening, wandered over the sand dunes near the sea past Pembrey (Ashburnham golf links) and the dismantled war munitions works: a dull and dreary and utterly despoiled bit of country opposite to Gower.

Of birds we saw few (at very low water).

Common Gulls - a couple on the sands among Blackheads

Ringed Plover - 3 seen

Wheatears - a family party, and several singles.

Starlings - large flocks about here over the dunes and beaches

House Sparrows - many about here

Whinchat - one seen.

Stonechats – several.

Flora

A curiously mixed flora of natural dune plants, odd "escapes” and more or less flourishing “aliens”. Among the latter;

• Evening Primrose — Takes pride of place being firmly established hereabouts, it grows in large sheets for miles along the dunes, on the railway and in meadows and c. (in fact, all over this corner of Carmarthenshire) .
• Canadian Fleabane - well established round the masses of ruined munitions and - factory buildings over a mile or two of sand.
• Pale Striped Toadflax (Lineria repens) - Growing on the sand-hills near the munitions factory ruins; also (in plenty) along the edge of the asphalt road thence into Pembrey, Saw a few plants of –
• Purple Loosestrife - growing high on the sandhills in an incredibly dry situation.
• Violet (Viola curtisii) - Pretty abundant and now in flower.
• Sea Spurge – abundant

On Pembrey Dunes (and the slacks) and marshes on 28th July we found a rich flora - close to the ruined "Powder Factory" buildings but on less spoilt ground.

We saw

• Common Gromwell
• Brookweed (Samolus) - abundant in slacks,
• Centaury - very fine big plants - abundant,
• Yellow-Wort - ditto
• Sagina nodosa – very abundant
• Marsh Helleborine - a magnificent show, much still flowering.
• This colony is spread across marshes, ‘slacks’ and even onto the dunes themselves, for perhaps 2 miles or more (?). By far the widest spread colony that Oldham or I have ever seen..
• Bartsia viscosa - abundant. Also very wide spread over marshesby the dunes for miles. Growing in some cases in very dry situations.
• Gladdon – some big patches on the sand dunes (as at Castlemartin).
• Filago germanica – abundant.
• Filago minima – abundant.
• Salix repens – miles of this in the slacks and c.
• Gentianella amarella - in plenty.
• (Liparis loeselii - grows in the 'slacks' here - teste Mrs, Vachell and H. Hyde of Cardiff. But we could not find any tonight.)

Although Bertram Lloyd's diaries cover a number of years in the 1930's, the entry for 27th July 1932 is the only one which contains Carmarthenshire records, I am greatly indebted to Mr. S.B. Evans and his staff for scrutinizing the diaries and passing the above on to me.