Cors Erddreiniog National Nature Reserve

Recommended by

Overview

Cors Erddreiniog NNR is the largest of the Anglesey fens, located 3 miles west of Benllech on the northeast of the island, between the villages of Capel Coch and Brynteg. The reserve is of international importance due to the rarity of this type of wetland, and because of the huge range of wildlife to which it plays host. The area is home to many specialised plants like the fly orchid and the carnivorous sundew, and it also hosts a rich population of insects, especially butterflies, moths, damselflies and dragonflies. Butterflies include the rare marsh fritillary, one of the UK’s most threatened species. The fen also attracts a wide variety of birds and, in winter, you may see hunting hen harriers, or gatherings of lapwings. During the summer, birds such as willow tit can be seen, and, if you’re lucky, grasshopper warblers. Animals include toads, adders, otters, brown hares and water voles.

Location

Brynteg

About the area

Some of the oldest rocks in Britain form the 125-mile coastline of the 85 square mile Anglesey Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which includes Holy Island with its busy port of Holyhead, the terminus for the Dublin ferry. The terrain inland is mainly a fertile plateau worn flat by the action of the sea, with low ridges and shallow valleys, while the sheer limestone cliffs of the east coast and on the north coast at Holyhead Mountain represent some of the most spectacular sea cliffs in Britain.