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Part of the RCT Living Landscape Project

Rhos Llanilltud Faerdref

Based in Llantwit Fardre alongside the Church Village bypass, this site is a part of a wide network of wetland habitat that are important for biodiversity and species such as the endangered marsh fritillary butterfly.

 

Rhos-Llanilltud-Faerdref
Marsh-Fritillary 2
Marsh Fritillary | © Bethan Dalton

Habitat

Llantwit Fardre Marsh is a superb wetland, supporting species rich marshy (rhos) pasture, peatbog, and floodplain fen-meadow. These rare habitats are maintained by conservation grazing and hay cuts. Can you spot the friendly cows looking after the marsh?

When to Visit

In spring, listen for the jingling song of reed buntings and the trilling of tree pipits. The fen-meadow in summer is full of flowers: bog bean, marsh valerian, and ragged robin to name a few. In the peatbogs you’ll see cotton-grass and sphagnum moss. In autumn a haze of blue-purple devil’s-bit scabious flowers transform the marsh. This is home to the marsh fritillary butterfly, their larval webs feeding on scabious leaves – not to be mistaken for spider webs!

 

Biodiversity

Enjoy the flowering of petty whin, lousewort, tormentil, heather and cross-leaved heath, the beautiful meadow thistle, and the dense white-pink flower heads of the heath spotted orchid. Keep a look out for small, spherical grass nests - these are the homes of harvest mice. They weigh as little as a 2 pence piece and are the only British mammal with a prehensile tail, able to grip to tall grass stems with ease!

We Live Here... Can You Spot Us?

Devils-Bit-Scabious

Devil's-Bit Scabious - © Bethan Dalton

Harvest-Mice

Harvest Mice - © Philip Orris

Marsh-Fritillary-Larval

Marsh Fritillary Larval Web - © Vaughn Matthews

Lousewort

Lousewort - © Lyn Evans

Ragged-Robin

Ragged Robin - © Bethan Dalton

Reed-Bunting

Reed Bunting - © Tate Lloyd

Tormentil

Tormentil - © Lyn Evans

Heather

Heather - © Bethan Dalton