We were established in 2017 with the support of Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Your Shore Rangers Project and Cornwall Council. Three Bays Wildlife Group (3BW) held its first AGM in March 2018 at which it became a constituted organisation and shortly afterwards became affiliated to Cornwall Wildlife Trust as a local group. 3BW is a voluntary community organisation and we our ever grateful for all that are involved and support us. The aims and operations of 3BW are set out in its constitution. The extract below from the constitution cover’s the aims of the group:

The aims of Three Bays Wildlife shall be to conserve, further discover and enhance the special natural environment of the Three Bays Wildlife area (defined as Carylon Bay to West Portholland its adjacent coastal waters and river catchment areas in-between).

To achieve this we will:

(a) Survey and monitor the natural capital of the Three Bays area to better understand protect and conserve what we have now.

(b) Embark upon conservation and development projects working with other organisations, businesses and other key local stakeholders to complement their initiatives, in order to enhance our special environment.

(c) Engage local people, organisations, businesses and other key local stakeholders by involving them in wide-ranging biodiversity/sustainability projects, from education, discovery and data collection to practical activities with positive community outcomes.

(d) Seek to inform both local, county and national policy and practice in favour of wildlife interests.

Our patch is wonderful for wildlife and is officially the area between West Portholland and Carylon Bay and the river catchments areas in between.<Br>Though of course wildlife does not always stand still and things that effect it can happen anywhere.

The Three Bays of St Austell, Mevagissey, and Veryan are some of the wildest and most beautiful stretches of coastal waters in Cornwall. Inland the landscapes are dominated by the largest town in the area, St Austell, many small villages and farmland with pockets of wetland, woodland and heathland. Like much of Cornwall the communities of the Three Bays have been shaped by the traditional industries of fishing, farming, and mining, all of which have left their fingerprints on the landscapes. Cornwall is changing rapidly, but many communities in the Three Bays have retained their character and wildlife.

St Austell Bay is a great horseshoe of coastline containing a ribbon of golden sand beaches, including Par Sands and Crinnis, and several isolated rocky coves. The bay is guarded in the east by Gribben Head and its unmissable red and white striped daymark. The bay sweeps round to the steep rocky cliffs of Black Head. Black Head was once an ancient defended cliff-top fort, now it's a rugged, remote place rich in wildlife with expansive views of the coast in both directions. In the middle of the bay is the sheltered, picturesque harbour of Charlestown, which became wealthy shipping china clay around the world. Charlestown is perhaps now more famous as a tourist hotspot, film set and for its visiting tall ships. The clear waters of St Austell Bay host a wonderful diversity of resident and visiting seabirds and cetaceans and seals are often spotted in the waters. Looking back towards land from the water the town of St Austell and its nearby villages rise up towards the pyramidal waste heaps of china clay industry. These high peaks dominate the skyline and once gleamed white from fresh clay, giving them the nickname 'The Cornish Alps' but are now mostly re-vegetating with heather, gorse, and scrub while birds of prey, such as buzzards and peregrines, soar overhead. Rivers and streams flow to the sea from these high places through heathland, woodland, industrial estates, and housing.

Mevagissey Bay is a little smaller than its neighbour St Austell Bay, but equally as dramatic as it continues round the coast from Black Head. First stop is the village of Pentewan, which was once a working port, but is now more popular for watersports, a huge campsite, and long golden sandy beach. The White River flows into the sea here, so called because it used to run milk-white with china clay wastes. Now much cleaner the river flows through King's Wood, one of the great old woodlands in the Three Bay's patch, and a popular walking and cycling trail that follows the river towards St Austell. On from Pentewan is the working fishing village of Mevagissey, which has still retained its distinctive character even under all the pressures of the modern world. Just next door to Mevagissey is the small cove of Portmellon, whose calm, shallow waters are an excellent snorkelling spot to look for marine wildlife. Three Bays Wildlife Group regularly go hunting for seaweeds on this rocky shore. A footpath inland leads up Portmellon Valley towards the village of Gorran, through an exceptional river valley of ancient woodland, wetlands, and grassland hosting a wealth of wildlife. At the head of the valley the Woodland Trust planted a small woodland, Millennium Wood, which is maturing nicely. The next community is Gorran Haven, a sheltered spot and another old fishing harbour. Just a short walk from the village is the isolated Vault Beach, one of the jewels of the Three Bays. The grasslands above Vault are rich in wildflowers, bees and butterflies, while the sandy shore and rockpools teem with marine life. Gannets and other seabirds can often be seen hunting in the clear blue waters. The white sands of Vault are guarded on the west by Dodman Point, the highest point on the south coast of Cornwall. Looked after by the National Trust the Dodman, or Deadman, is a wild place where peregrines soar overhead and deer roam the steep slopes. The grasslands come alive in the spring with wildflowers and in the autumn with fungi. The Three Bays Wildlife Group meet here, at the huge stone cross, on the first Sunday of every month for a SeaWatch, where dolphins and other marine animals are regularly seen.

Veryan Bay is another beautiful horseshoe of coastal waters, which stretches from the Dodman to the imposing Nare Head on the Roseland Pensinsula. The Three Bays patch itself stretches about half-way along Veryan Bay to the parish of St Michael Caerhays, where Caerhays Castle can be found looking over Porthluney Bay. The walk from the Dodman to Caerhays is a spectacular coastal route that takes in quiet beaches and wonderful coastal grasslands and woodlands. The first beach is Hemmick, empty save for an old cottage on the beach. Just inland the lanes from Hemmick to YHA Boswinger are windy and tiny and give a glimpse of an older, quieter Cornwall. About halfway between Hemmick and Caerhays is Lambsowden. Lambsowden is a steep coastal grassland site, which has been restored by the National Trust. Although spectacular all year round, it's definitely worth visiting in spring for the kaleidoscope of wildflowers, including bluebells and orchids, and unrivalled views south towards Lizard Point. Caerhays itself is a sheltered bay and is surrounded on all sides by ancient woodlands and grasslands. Ravens and peregrines soar in the skies and the beach is an excellent site for its marine wildlife. The spring gardens of Caerhays Estate are famous for their collections of rhododendrons, magnolias, and camellias. Right next door to Caerhays are the tiny twin beaches of East and West Portholland, which mark the boundary of the Three Bays patch. The sandy beaches are connected by a network of rockpools, which are among the finest on the south coast to discover rocky shore wildlife, including seaweeds, anemones, crabs, and molluscs.