Ynysangharad War Memorial Park

In the early spring, hundreds of flowering snake’s-head fritillaries flaunt their purple and white bells. Through to the end of summer there is a further succession of flowers. You’ll see a sea of buttercups, cuckooflower, meadowsweet, greater bird’s-foot trefoil, black knapweed and purple loosestrife. In the autumn chaffinches feed on fallen beech mast. In the winter, goosanders ‘white water raft’ between the rocks on the River Taff and kingfishers dart past in blazes of azure.

Orange-tip and small copper butterflies, bee flies, tree bumblebees, and tawny mining bees are just a few insect highlights at Ynysangharad. You can also see treecreepers scurrying up trees in search of insects in the trunks’ crevices, and greenfinches feeding on flower seeds. Blackbirds are attracted to the worm rich grassland, and at night, if you're lucky, you may spot a tawny owl hunting field mice. Salmon spawn on the gravel riverbeds and otters pass through quietly in the shadows.