Nature Reserves

Glan Yr Afon Nature reserve - Kidwelly

The reserve forms a western extension to the Llanelli Millennium Coastal Park with its three Local Nature Reserves – Ashpits Pond/ Pwll Lagoon, North Dock Dunes and Pembrey Saltings - contributing greatly to the biodiversity of the area.

Twenty years ago, Glan Yr Afon was a landfill site. It has now, however, been transformed into a large expanse of marshy grassland and is home to an abundance of wildlife, including one of Wales’ largest population of Bee Orchid – to date over 300 plants have been recorded here

Access
New footpaths, financed by Kidwelly Town Council, with grant aid from CCW, provide a circular walk around the reserve and can be accessed by people of all abilities. The reserve also joins the Sustrans cycle track, linking the reserve to the Millennium Coastal Park.

Highlights

The site, which borders the Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries Special Area of Conservation (SAC), is home to a variety of butterflies, including marbled whites, green veined whites, meadow brown and common blue. Linnets, barn owls, skylarks and meadow pipits are also frequent visitors.

Caeau Ffos Fach Butterfly Reserve

A 7 hectare relic of old Rhos pastures (wet purple moor-grass pasture), which were once widespread on the coal measures of Southern Wales. A landscape of wet grassland and heathland bounded by mature hedgerows, forming the main part of a SSSI and the core of the most important Marsh Fritillary population surviving in the county.

Highlights:

Butterflies

·         Marsh Fritillary

·         Marbled White

Moths

·         Double Line

·         Small Chocolate-tip

Location: Go west on the A48 from Pont Abraham Services towards Carmarthen. At Cross Hands Retail and Business Park take the slip road and turn right at the mini roundabout and go over the A48. Go straight across the next mini roundabout and take the next right into Meadows Road. Continue down Meadows Road and after a sharp left hand bend the reserve is on the left hand side. The National Cycle Network Route 47 passes just north of Cross Hands at Cwm-y-glo.

Whiteford Burrows National Nature Reserve

An amazing 3000 acre nature reserve of sand dunes, beach, marsh and mud flats, on the edge of the Gower Penisula on the banks of the Burry Inlet.

Highlights:

Wide range of seabirds, ducks geese and waders including oystercatchers, snipe, curlew, lapwing, redshank. reed and sedge warblers and buntings.

Butterflies: Common and Small blues, Dark Green fritillaries, Graylings.

Location:

On the north west corner of the Gower Peninsula. Park in Llanmadoc and walk along the footpaths northwards, along the dunes or by the marsh. 

Local Nature Reserves 

Local Nature Reserves are havens for wildlife and are open to all to experience the peace and quiet of the natural world. Carmarthenshire County Council, with support from the Countryside Council for Wales, looks after Local Nature Reserves as part of a commitment to safeguard biodiversity that was agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Brazil, 1992.

There are three Local Nature Reserves in Carmarthenshire: Pembrey Burrows and Saltings, Ashpits Pond and Pwll Lagoon, and North Dock Dunes.

Pembrey Burrows is a large dune system which is actively being built up, a rare feature, where you can see all the different types of sand dune including embryo dunes, large semi-stable yellow dunes and the more stable grey dunes that form dune grassland. It is renowned for its plant diversity and is home to many rarities including Dune Pansy, Dune Gentian, Sand Catchfly, Bloody Cranesbill, Fragrant Evening Primrose and Kidney Vetch. The insect life that relies on this plant diversity is also unique and you can find the Small Blue and Marbled White butterfly as well as many species of solitary bee and wasp such as the Brown-banded Carder Bee. The ungrazed saltmarsh is home to the rare Rock Sea Lavender which fills the saltmarsh with purple flowers in August. Golden Samphire and Sea Aster also flower later in the summer with a blaze of yellow.

North Dock Dunes is protected because it is a rare sand dune habitat with a high diversity of specialist plants and animals. The plants and animals that live in the dunes are specially adapted to withstand the harsh conditions. In summer the dunes are hot and dry whilst in winter they are windblown with a salty sea spray. Colourful plants adorn the dune grassland in spring such as lady’s bedstraw, cat’s-ear, wild pansy and the parasitic common broomrape while sea holly and greater knapweed occur on broken ground. The specialist invertebrate life of the dunes contains species that are more commonly associated with warmer climates further south, for example, the ‘sand hill snail’ originates in the Mediterranean and here is at the most northerly point in its world distribution. In summer many can be seen clinging to plant stems to avoid the hot sand.

Ashpits Pond and Pwll Lagoon were formerly used as settling lagoons for pulverised fuel ash from the now demolished Carmarthen Bay Power Station. Ashpits Pond is an important area for breeding wetland birds and the area of reed surrounding the pond provides shelter for breeding and resting birds. Mute swan, mallard, tufted duck, little grebe, great crested grebe, coot and moorhen all breed here. Reed warbler, sedge warbler and reed bunting breed in the reedbeds, whilst the rare Cetti’s warbler is found in the willow carr. Water rail and pochard occur in winter.

Pwll Lagoon forms a wet woodland and fen community particularly rich in plant life. An interesting feature of the site is the presence of both lime-loving and lime-hating species growing close together. This occurs because the pulverised fuel ash is initially very alkaline. Six species of rush including the localised blunt-flowered rush are found here. Ragged-robin, purple loosestrife and southern marsh-orchid grow along with common reed. More open areas of fen are covered with sedges, such as false fox-sedge whilst there are also populations of lesser centaury and common sundew. Within the birch-willow woodland acidophile plants occur such as royal fern and lemon-scented fern.