Cefn Don

Hirwaun’s glacial cwms tower over this beautiful wildflower meadow. Visit to see goldfinches, chaffinches, bee flies and common blue butterflies feast on black knapweed and devil’s-bit scabious.

Common Blue - © Wayne Withers

Habitat

With tremendous views of Hirwaun’s glacial cwms, Cefn Don is a great reminder of the beauty and biodiversity that we have on our doorstep. Here is a new wildflower meadow, a place where mown grass has been replaced by natural wildflowers through a simple management change. All summer the grassland is allowed to flower and seed before the hay is cut and removed in the early autumn. This is all that is needed to encourage wildflowers.

When to Visit

From April to September the grassland is full of wildflowers and alive with insects. On summer evenings you may see hedgehogs as they search for slugs and snails to feast on. In the winter you can see song thrushes, blackbirds, fieldfares and redwing hunting for earthworms in the wet soil or feeding on hawthorn and rowan berries.

Biodiversity

Common carder bees, bee flies, as well as meadow brown, ringlet, and common blue butterflies are just some of the insects you can spot here. The meadow's black knapweed and devil’s-bit scabious seeds are an important food source for finches. At night, Cefn Don is the perfect habitat corridor for bats that roost in nearby houses, allowing them to feed and move through the village effortlessly.