Y Berwyn National Nature Reserve

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Overview

The Berwyn NNR is the largest area of heather moorland in Wales and stretches from near Llangollen in the north to Mallwyd in the south. The area is valued for its moorland habitats, which support upland breeding birds and birds of prey as well as many rare plants. The reserve is one of Wales’ most important remaining upland strongholds of merlin, hen harrier, peregrine falcon and red kite. Red and black grouse, curlew, golden plover, snipe, dunlin, short-eared owl, wheatear, stonechat, raven, winchat (Saxicola rubetra) and ring ouzel are also found here. Deep peat blanket bogs are found on the ridge tops and plateaux of the Berwyn, and this habitat is characterised by plants dependent on soil conditions that retain water continuously. These include a variety of peat-forming mosses such as sphagnum, while heathers and cotton grass can also be found, interspersed with species such as sundew, bog asphodel, and cloudberry. Two other rare Berwyn species – bog rosemary and tall bog sedge – are also found in these habitats.

Location

Pennant

About the area

The north-east Wales county of Denbighshire shares a name – though not the same borders – with one of Wales’s thirteen historic counties. It includes the seaside holiday towns of Rhyl and Prestatyn; the medieval county town of Denbigh; and the tiny cathedral town of St Asaph.