Upper Tawe Valley - Living landscape

Brecknock Wildlife Trust (BWT) has received funding from WREN’s Biodiversity Action Fund to help develop its Upper Tawe Valley Living Landscape project. Lying on the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, the Upper Tawe Valley has been identified as an area of great potential for wildlife with many priority habitats and species present.

One such species is the marsh fritillary butterfly that breeds here in Rhos pasture containing both its food plant, devil's bit scabious and thick tussocks of grass that shelter the caterpillars over winter. This area holds a key population of the butterfly and is one of the best sites in Wales. However, marsh fritillaries require extensive habitat networks for their long term survival and with continual fragmentation of habitat it has become a scarce butterfly that has suffered a severe decline in its distribution over the last century.

The Upper Tawe Valley Living Landscape project aims to restore, create and re-connect priority habitat to benefit wildlife such as the marsh fritillary, as well as benefitting people by providing access and opportunities for engaging with wildlife. It will initially do this by bringing together the management of four key sites, two existing BWT reserves (Werm Plemys and Craig y Rhiwarth) and two new large sites BWT is negotiating to acquire that will then form the back bone of a series of sites along the Upper Tawe Valley creating a Living Landscape in which wildlife populations will be safeguarded and can adapt to climate change.

Things to see in the project area:

• BWT Werm Plemys nature reserve – a mosaic of broadleaved woodland and wildflower-rich meadows with interesting plants such as southern marsh orchid and whorled caraway.
• BWT Craig y Rhiwarth nature reserve - a limestone escarpment supporting some of the finest limestone plant communities in Brecknock with e.g. rock rose, mossy saxifrage and rare whitebeam trees.
• Rhos pasture with Devil’s bit scabious.
• Marsh fritillary butterflies.
• Frogs, toads, grass snakes and common lizards.
• Green and great spotted woodpeckers, ravens and redstart.

Getting there:

Werm Plemys is found at grid reference SN788093 (Map), just south of the centre of Ystradgynlais. Turn off the B4599 as it crosses the River Tawe on to Pantyffynon Road and continue to the end of Heol Glantawe past the Gough Inn. Park by the entrance to Diamond Park and follow the short signed walk to the nature reserve.

Craig y Rhiwarth is found at grid reference SN843157 (Map). Park at Craig y Nos country park on the A4067 Ystradgynlais to Sennybridge road. Walk through the park to the nature reserve.

Visit Brecknock Wildlife Trust's website for more information on these reserves and project progress.