Pwll y Wrach Nature Reserve

The woodland is particularly beautiful in early spring when white patches of wood anemones merge with a yellow carpet of lesser celandines. In late spring bluebells fleck the woodland floor with shimmering blue and the white flowers of wild garlic give the air a pungent smell.

Location

Nearest town: Talgarth.

OS Map Reference

Main entrance: SO 162 328

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Know before you go

Maint

17 hectares

Pris mynediad

Free

Manylion parcio

There is very limited rough parking on site please consider walking from Talgarth free car park so that less able people are able to enjoy this reserve.

Anifeiliaid pori

Occasional stray cattle and deer.

Llwybrau cerdded

You are allowed to visit the reserve on foot for your quiet enjoyment of the wildlife present. Please keep to the paths and any dogs under close control. This is to protect ground nesting birds, dormice and otters which are easily disturbed.

Mynediad

A gravelled access path, with a gradient suitable for people in wheelchairs and pushchairs, leads from the main car park into the heart of the reserve. Currently there is a bench at the end. From here, a more uneven and sometimes muddy path leads to the main waterfall. There are numerous steps up above the waterfall to complete the circular walk back past the quarry. A network of other unsurfaced trails run around the reserve which can be uneven, muddy and feature steps in several places.

Please keep to the paths to prevent erosion to the fragile woodland flora and river banks. There is no right of access to the stream.

Dogs

Ar dennyn

Dogs on lead all year round. There are dormice and deer and rarely otters which can be easily disturbed by dogs.

When to visit

Amseroedd agor

Open access reserve

Amser gorau i ymweld

Spring and summer

Am dan y warchodfa

Look out for the strange looking toothwort plant near the base of trees (especially hazel), down by the river. It lacks chlorophyll and is parasitic on the trees.

Dormice live in the reserve, although you are unlikely to see these golden brown creatures. In some parts of the reserve small groups of trees have been felled to encourage the food-plants of dormice, such as bramble and honeysuckle, to grow.

Species and habitats:

Habitats

Mixed deciduous Woodland, Rivers & Streams

Species

Alder, Ash, Bird's-nest Orchid, Bluebell, Bracken, Bramble, Caddis Fly, Chiffchaff, Common Frog, Dipper, Dog violet, Dog's Mercury, Dormouse, Early-purple Orchid, Enchanter's nightshade, Field Maple, Ground-ivy, Guelder-rose, Hart's-Tongue, Hawthorn, Hazel, Herb Robert, Holly, Honeysuckle, Ivy, Lady-fern, Large White, Lesser Celandine, Lords-and-Ladies, Male-fern, Meadow Brown, Pied Flycatcher, Pygmy Shrew, Ramsons, Rowan, Sessile Oak, Speckled Wood, Spindle, Sycamore, Wood Anemone, Wood Avens, Wood Mouse, Wood Warbler, Wood-sorrel, Wych Elm, Yellow Archangel