10.12.24

On a sunny day, there aren't many better places to escape city life and reconnect with nature than on an isolated island like Flat Holm. But during a storm, life on a tiny island in the Bristol Channel is far from paradise, as Simon Parker the island's resident warden found out during Storm Darragh.

"It was wild. I've had a few storms out here, but this was by far the worst. The farmhouse is a pretty solid building, but it was just shaking. You couldn't sleep because of the noise, glass smashing, roof tiles smashing. These huge waves just battering the island."

The island's lighthouse on a sunny day

Storm Darragh saw the Met Office issue a rare red weather warning for wind. At the centre of the warning area was Flat Holm, a few miles off the coast of Cardiff, in the Bristol Channel.

"We knew it was coming," said Simon, "so we took a lot of precautions, fastened everything down and made sure there was nothing lying around but there was still lots of debris flying around, bits of corrugated iron from shelters. I lost a few doors."

Missing tiles from the roof of the island's farmhouse

During the storm itself, it was too dangerous to venture out, so Simon's only option was to hunker down in the farmhouse, catch up on some admin work and watch "bad Christmas movies" until the weather improved, and he could get out to inspect the damage.

"It's going to take a lot of tidying up," Simon said. "I even found a signpost from somewhere in the Wye Valley down on the beach and there's a massive traffic bollard in the middle of the island too. I have no idea how it got there."

A traffic bollard, found on the island after Storm Darragh

A signpost from the Wye Valley which was washed up on the island during the storm

The storm wasn't an issue for all the island's residents. "The sheep were looking a bit miserable, but" in Simon's words, "they're hardcore, so they were fine. And the gulls were loving it, just cruising around."

To find out more about Flat Holm island, including how you can pay it a visit (once the weather improves), visit: https://www.cardiffharbour.com/flat-holm-island/