Coed Cymerau

Part of the Meirionnydd Oakwoods and Bat Sites SAC.

This beautiful wood lies next to the Coed Cymerau National Nature Reserve near Blaenau Ffestiniog. Visitors will enjoy a relatively level circular walk through woodland and meadow with spring displays of woodland flowers including bluebell and wood anemone.

Coed Cymerau Isaf is a substantial upland oak woodland within Snowdonia National Park and forms part of an extensive area of oak woodland in the vale of Ffestiniog, linking Coedydd Maentwrog SSSI to the south-west and Coed Cymerau NNR/SSSI adjacent to the western boundary. The site forms part of the Meirionydd Oakwoods and Bat Sites Special Area of Conservation.

The tree canopy is dominated by sessile oak with downy birch, on very acidic, shallow soils. Hazel is present where deeper and richer soils permit. Rowan, holly, ash, and the occasional beech and sycamore are also present. There is abundant regeneration of oak. Bilberry is abundant with some heather, a mixture of grasses including wavy hair and a distinct and typical community of mosses, liverworts and ferns.

Bluebells are a feature in May. Bracken and bramble are locally abundant. The eastern and southern boundary slopes are characterised by developing woodland (the southeastern section was partially planted by the Woodland Trust in 1985) with scattered mature trees, mainly birch. The internal landscape of the site is complex with rocky knolls, moderate slopes and valleys and open areas of semi-improved grassland and mire. Most of the fields and two of the mires are fenced and grazed by cattle in late summer/ early autumn. Part of the woodland to the west has also been fenced with the intention of grazing it lightly with sheep.

The old Cymerau Isaf farmhouse (now a privately leased residence) lies at the centre of the property. Numerous old wall boundaries, barns and stock pens are scattered through the woodland: one barn provides an important summer roost for lesser horseshoe bats. There is an easy circular way-marked trail through the woods. Other routes include a section of the old Blaenau Ffestiniog to Maentwrog road (now a footpath only) and a link path to an attractive waterfall viewpoint just outside the site to the north. The woodland is a popular local amenity, offering an accessible route for families and older walkers close to suitable parking.