Seal sanctuary

Bodmin, Cornwall, England South West

Recommendation added: 28/03/2006 17:01
By: jsimons128 (YSUK rating +93)

jsimons128 has been thanked 0 times for this contribution

"Seal sanctuary
Situated at the head of the Helford River, the village of Gweek has little today to show us what a busy port it must of once been. Its history as a trading centre goes back at least a couple of thousand years for, although the Romans hardly settled in Cornwall, Mediterranean ships visited regularly to buy tin. Gweek has become the medieval port fro Helston after the 14th century when the entrance to the river Cober was blocked by Loe Bar. The ports three quays, where so many young families set sail in the 19th century seek their fortuned in the new world, can still be seen today. But much of the hustle and bustle has gone, although boats are still built, laid up and repaired in the creek side yards here and coasters still come here occasionally to unload coal for Lizard homes.
The lovely setting of Gweek has proved an ideal environment for the seal sanctuary set up here by Ken Jones to save many young seals that are washed up on Cornish beaches each winter.
Too weak to catch fish and often injured through being buffeted against rocks, the exhausted seals found stranded are brought to Gweek where their injuries are tended too and they are nursed back to health. Most of them are later returned to the sea but some of them have lost the ability to catch fish in the wild and need the security of the pools and the generous supply of small mackerel that they are given twice a day. The number of seals in care varies from month to month, of course, but rarely are there fewer than 30, ranging from babies-perhaps only a few days old, to some old-timers who have been there 20 years or longer. They show no fear to me or any other visitors as they swam up and down their pools to laze in the sun at the waterside. The seals are perfectly at home at Gweek that they even breed here-some of the young seals 'returned' to the sea where actually born in the sanctuary. The seal sanctuary is open daily from Easter-just coming up-to the end of October. It brings lots of other visitors and the village's facilities have been noticeably expanded to cope-they now include a busy general store, a pub, cafes, accommodation and parking."