6. Coed Dyrysiog Nature Reserve

This reserve is a beautiful area of wooded common that slopes down to the banks of the Nant Bran covering an area of 7.3 hectares.

What to look out for:

Both the great spotted and the rarer lesser spotted woodpecker have been recorded at the reserve. In the damper parts of the wood, woodcock can be seen, although their brown colouring gives them ideal camouflage. They have a long slender beak and, when flushed, a clattering of wings is heard.

Coed Dyrysiog is also home to a range of wildflowers. In the early spring the woodland floor is speckled white with the flowers of wood sorrel and wood anemone. In the late spring, bluebells give the woodland a blue and purple hue.

The cavities in trees provide roosts for species such as Daubentons and noctule bats. The natural roosts have been supplemented with bat boxes within the woodland, and in the summer, they are used as maternity roosts for whiskered bats. The woodland glades provide ideal insect hunting areas for bats.

How to get there:

The reserve adjoins the minor road which runs north-west towards Soar from Aberyscir. If travelling from Aberyscir, the reserve is on the left opposite Llyn-Llwyd Farm.

There are no formal parking facilities apart from two small pull-ins along the roadside.

Nearest town: Aberbran, Brecon
OS map sheet 160. Grid reference SN 980 310

Accessing the Reserve:

The reserve is an open access reserve, 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.

There is a waymarked circular trail around the wood, starting at its north-eastern corner, along unsurfaced trails. The site can be wet at all times of year.

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Click on image for a larger view Many of the large oaks are covered in mosses and ferns

Click on image for a larger view Water avens can be found where streams cross the site path