Patrick Aryee travels to West Wales to meet the dolphin-watchers of New Quay, and to encounter some members of the largest group of bottlenose dolphins off the coast of the UK.
New Quay is home to the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, which was set up in 1996 by Steve Hartley, a former fisherman, because he wanted people to know about the amazing array of marine wildlife he saw from his fishing boat. Fishing trips turned into dolphin-watching trips, and now Steve takes researchers out regularly to monitor the marine wildlife. The Centre has become a hub of scientific research and is now part of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. It's manned by volunteers and just a couple of paid scientific officers. Dolphins are a key part of the economy of the area, bringing tourists and visitors who hope to catch a glimpse of these charismatic animals from the harbour wall.
Patrick, a guest presenter on Open Country, has had a fascination for marine mammals since his childhood, when his parents took him to a safari park. But he's hoping to see dolphins in the wild for the first time. Another first is a chance for Patrick to try coasteering with Jethro Moore, who describes the activity as 'everything your mum told you never to do beside the sea'.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.