6. Coed Dyrysiog Nature Reserve

A beautiful area of ancient woodland and unusually a registered common that slopes down to the banks of the Nant Bran covering an area of 7.3 hectares.

This is a lovely place to come for a peaceful woodland walk with just the sound of the Nant Bran below you and the woodland birds above you.

What to look out for:

Coed Dyrysiog is 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 and the occasional spike of early purple orchids. 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.

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. Summer migrants such as pied flycatchers nest here.

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. Post code LD3 9LS.

OS map sheet 160. Grid reference SN 980 310

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.