Cwm Clydach

Clydach Vale Country Park is large site full of biodiversity and many interesting habitats all coming together to support the wildlife that call it home. You’ll see lots of water birds on the upper lake, and an old quarry where the Deptford pink flowers.

Grey Heron | © Wayne Withers

Habitat

Clydach Vale Country Park, with its coil spoil grassland, ffridd, woodland, heath, stream and lakes is wonderfully biodiversity rich. Once the site of the Cambrian Colliery, this superb mosaic of habitats hosts an array of spectacular species.

When to Visit

At any time of year, the two lakes are great for waterbirds. Spring is best for the dawn chorus and sunny, cool mornings for spying common lizards. Through to autumn there is a succession of beautiful native wildflowers, with orchids at their peak in June. In winter look out for tumbling ravens and listen for twittering flocks of siskin and redpoll in alder trees.

Biodiversity

The quarry is one of the few places in Wales that supports a nationally important colony of the rare Deptford pink flower. Maintaining the plant’s home on the sunny rock ledges is key to its survival. The lakes are great invertebrate habitat, so look out for broad-bodied chaser and black darter dragonflies, while house martins and swallows catch may and stone flies. Coot, moorhen, little grebe and heron can all be seen, and a flash of blue along the stream will likely be a kingfisher.