Red Kites & Starry Nights: A Photography Trip to Wales

No one books a trip to Wales expecting four days of blazing sunshine, but life – and wildlife photography – are always full of surprises. On my recent Red Kite & Night Sky Photographic Workshop we were blessed with wall-to-wall blue skies, not a cloud in sight, and barely a puff of wind. If it wasn’t for the rolling gorse-covered hills and fluffy lambs wandering about in the road, I’d have thought I’d accidentally ended up in the Caribbean.

The weather made the perfect backdrop for a packed few days of photography in the Elan Valley with star wildlife photographer Sean Weekly, who was both an excellent guide and an incredibly patient teacher. He even lent me his fleece when the temperature plummeted to single figures after dark (I’d got over-excited by the sunny forecast and failed to pack properly for our nighttime adventures).

But those crisp, clear skies were ideal for astrophotography. Each night after dinner we headed out into the dark, staying up till past midnight learning how to capture stars and constellations over the dams and reservoirs of the Elan Valley. On the final night, we napped till 2am and then went out to capture the Milky Way rising over the Garreg Ddu reservoir and the Foel Tower. With no moon, it was pitch black, and the sky was ablaze with stars. The two hours we spent perfecting the shot before dawn began to lighten the horizon flew by in what felt like minutes.

On the second day, we drove to New Quay, a pretty seaside town packed with picturesque rows of pastel-painted houses and ice cream parlours offering 30 different flavours. From there, we boarded our private boat charter around Cardigan Bay to look for bottlenose dolphins. The flat, calm sea sparkled in the sunshine – a perfect day to be out on the water. We spotted a few porpoises and dolphins, a harbour seal, and cliff ledges packed with guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, and even a few dive-bombing gannets.

But the real avian highlight of the trip was the two afternoons we spent photographing red kites at the Gigrin Farm feeding centre. From their tower hide, we had an eye-level view as around 250 red kites swooped and dived for food in a chaos of feathers and talons. One rare leucistic kite – a pale version thought to be one of only ten in all of Wales – made a ghostly appearance, its white feathers dazzling in the sunshine.

Practising panning and tracking the birds in the frenzy was a serious challenge, but Sean was a brilliant teacher, blending guidance and encouragement with patience at my grumbling that my shoulder hurt from holding up the heavy 100-500 mm lens for too long. After hundreds of failed attempts, I eventually got a few images I’ll be proud to share with the readers of my travel website, Passport & Pixels.

What I enjoyed most about the trip was the variety. We weren’t just standing in one spot with tripods for four days – we got to try our hand at everything: wildlife, landscapes, night skies, long exposures, fast shutter speeds. One day we were photographing waterfalls on a sun-dappled hillside, the next we were learning about the Victorian engineering marvels of the Elan Valley dams. It kept things interesting, and gave everyone a chance to find what they enjoyed most.

The group itself was great too, all keen, well-travelled photographers with stories and tips to share, and all equally obsessed with getting great shots. And being such a small group meant we had plenty of time for one-to-one tuition with Sean, which made all the difference when you needed a bit of help to crack a tricky setting or nail a composition.

It’s easy to assume that real wildlife adventures only happen abroad, in some remote rainforest or African plain, but this trip was a reminder that we’ve got incredible natural spectacles right on our doorstep. Wales gave us starry skies, dolphins, red kites and rolling hills, all without the airport stress or jet lag.

If you've been inspired by Bella's trip, check out our Red Kite & Night Sky Photographic Workshop today, or contact our expert team for further information.