Coed Cwm Doethie – Mynydd Mallaen | Celtic Rainforests Wales

Coed Cwm Doethie – Mynydd Mallaen

Habitat

Cwm Doethie – Mynydd Mallaen, consisting largely of steep-sided valleys and upland tracts, is located in the southern part of the Cambrian Mountains. It is of outstanding interest for its heath and woodland habitats and wildlife and, in particular, its birdlife.

Doethie – Mynydd Mallaen has a large area of old sessile oak wood along a series of inter-connected valleys. The site is one of several examples representing this habitat in the core of its Welsh range. Sessile oak Quercus petraea woodland predominates, with a typical acidic ground flora and rich lower plant component.

The RSPB reserve at Gwenffrwd-Dinas nestles along these steep sided valleys clothed in woodland. The reserve contains important habitats of oak woodland, wet alder woodland and scrubland, all subject to high levels of rainfall and with fast flowing rivers.

Conservation

The habitat supports important populations of lower plants, particularly of lichens and bryophytes. These green carpets cover the trees, ground and boulders making everything verdant and damp. The woodlands are managed for the diversity of lower plants as well as for their key populations of woodland birds, many of them migrants, such as the pied flycatcher, tree pipit, wood warbler and redstart. Management seeks to create the right conditions of humidity and light, with a variety of structures from more open wood pasture through to scrubby wet woodland, to provide all the niches for the range of different birds.

Grazing is an important conservation tool helping manage woodland structure and preventing all areas of woodlands from becoming dominated by bramble and scrub and keeping some areas open including the staggeringly beautiful bluebell carpets.

Leisure activities

The Dinas trail is open from dawn till dusk, and the trail around the Dinas takes about 2 hours to complete. There is a boardwalk at the start of the trail from the carpark, however the majority of the trail is rugged, steep in places and next to a fast flowing river and to fully complete requires some scrambling.

There is a short steep trail from the main footpath up through the Dinas to Twm Sion Cati’s cave, the Welsh Folklore figure often often referred to as the Welsh Robin Hood, where he was reputed to have hid to avoid capture from the authorities.