Before you are wonderful, damp, acid hay meadows. Here you can find tormentil, bluebells, heath and common spotted orchids, southern marsh orchids, small copper and heath butterflies. By ‘cut and collecting’ the grass in late summer, we control the bracken and encourage wildflowers to grow. The meadows are divided by ancient tree lines that branch from the main woodland, connecting wildlife to all parts of the nature reserve.
Grab a hand lens and scan the ground, trees, rocks, and riverbanks, and you will find a wonderful diversity of the mosses, liverworts, lichens, and fungi that make a Celtic rainforest so special. The woodland is fantastic moth habitat and a superb place for foraging bats, while polecats hunt voles and field mice. Listen out for cuckoos, nightjars and wood warblers, and scan the skies for sparrowhawks and goshawks hunting jackdaws over the woodland.