CASTLEMARTIN TRAINING AREAS AND RANGES

The War Office requisitioned the area in 1938 from the Cawdor Estate, and many ruins of the former settlements that belonged to the 53 farming communities, which had to be relocated, can still be seen.  The land was returned to farming after the Second World War, but in 1951 the Korean War saw its reactivation for range use, which has remained in being ever since. Nevertheless, farming has also continued alongside the range’s primary use, with flocks of sheep and, in the winter, cattle as well.  Castlemartin is the largest single part of DTE P, covering about 5,900 acres (2,390 hectares) of freehold land on the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. 

The range is open to all regular and territorial Army, Cadet forces, other services and some overseas forces.  But in particular Castlemartin is the only UK Army range normally available for armoured units for direct-fire live gunnery exercises and associated manoeuvres, with both on-land impact areas and a large offshore safety area. The facility is therefore mainly used for so-called ‘mounted’ and ‘dismounted’ (i.e. in-vehicle and on foot) field firing up to company level; but when such exercises are not under way it is also used for dismounted ‘dry’ training (i.e. without live firing) across most of the area.  It is also used by civilian organisations and research establishments.  During non-firing periods the public have access to a section of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path – from Trevallen, via Stack Rocks, to the lower Warren Road.

A UNIQUE HERITAGE

The use of Castlemartin, in particular, as a training area has preserved a spectacular coastal landscape, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).  It is also home to a range of flora and fauna already lost in other parts of Great Britain.  These factors, along with its guardianship of significant archaeological and geological interest, including fossil records of international significance, mean that the DTE and its sister organisation, Defence Estates, manages this special heritage to preserve it for future generations.  There are many rare or uncommon species of birds, insects and plants; and Castlemartin has the highest concentration of seabirds on the Pembrokeshire mainland, including guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes.  It also accommodates the chough, now extinct in England. These shy birds do not settle in areas to which people have regular access, and Castlemartin supports about a dozen pairs.  The grazing regime on the coastal heath and unimproved grassland encourages many birds such as wheatears, skylarks, meadow pipits, stonechats, and various species of warblers.  There is a breeding population of barn owls, and other predators such as ravens, buzzards, peregrines and kestrels occur frequently.  Some of the pre-war farm buildings still survive, others are now in ruins.  Some are used for military training, and Flimston Chapel, maintained in good condition, may be visited, and regular services are held there. The ancient St Govan’s Chapel, a tiny, much-visited building on the foreshore near St Govan’s Head on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, is leased to the National Park.