The Guardian Weekly

GWENFFRWD- DINAS

Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK Jennifer Jones

The map’s contour lines, tight and strained, warned of steep slopes careering down towards the Afon Tywi. Otherwise, it showed little of what to expect from the GwenffrwdDinas RSPB reserve. This glorious 600 hectares of Atlantic oak woodland is a mere remnant of what once was a much larger Celtic temperate rainforest, covering most of the west coast of Britain. This kind of habitat feels aptly precious.

Water is monarch here, sustained by westerly Atlantic storms. Rains decant through tree canopies, and creep into cracks and crevices in gnarled sessile oak boughs, while moss cushions trap and retain the water, maintaining forest humidity. Epiphytic ferns cling to oak branches like arboreal hitch-hikers. Mosses pave the forest floor, creep up fence posts and drape over fallen stones.

We followed a boardwalk into the woodland. Green was resurgent, a mosaic of emerald, olive and sage. Tissue-paper thin leaves, emerging under spring warmth, imposed a gentle, verdant light.

The boardwalk merged into a footpath. Among increasing cover of willow, downy birch and oak, we caught sight of a monochrome flicker: a male pied flycatcher, with a female perched close by. A male common redstart, its tail flashing like fire, landed on a fence. A distant cuckoo called, my first of the year.

A splinter of sound alerted us to a goldcrest in its nest: a fragile hammock quilted from spider’s web, moss stems and lichen fragments melded among the branches.

Bluebells spangled the woodland floor. Huge ancient rocks had tumbled downslope to the Tywi, one providing a diving board. Trees thinned, slopes eased and light flared. A friend whispered: “This place is magical.” It is.

Diversions

en-gb

2023-06-02T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-02T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://theguardianweekly.pressreader.com/article/282565907522986

Guardian/Observer