Minera Quarry NWWT Nature Reserve, near Wrexham, Denbighshire
Sat 2 - Sat 2 July 2022
10.30
Leader: Barbara Allen Maximum Number 15 Meet for a 10:30 start in the small reserve car park at the end of Maes-y-Ffynnon Road, Gwynfryn, Minera, LL11 3DE.…
A meeting in Mid Wales
These meetings may be booked as individual days.
Wednesday 8th June: Cors y Llyn NNR, Newbridge-on-Wye, Mid Wales
Leader: Ray Woods.
Meet 10:30 in the car park for Cors y Llyn Reserve. (Detailed directions will be sent on booking)
Cors y Llyn National Nature Reserve lies to the west of the A470 mid-way between Newbridge-on-Wye and Builth Road on OS sheet 200 at SO016556 to the south of a farm called Graig Goch.
Cors y Llyn is an internationally important peat bog known as a ‘schwingmoor’ since the surface vegetation floats over open water. Fortunately it is provided with a boardwalk to facilitate access. One of the best wildflower-rich meadows in mid-Wales is at the reserve entrance and some of the trees in the boggy section are over 100 years old even though they are only a few feet tall! It hosts a small population of Royal Fern Osmunda regalis and Narrow Buckler-fern Dryopteris carthusiana with a good range of other peatland species such as Round-leaved Sundew Drosera rotundifolia and White-beak Sedge Rhynchospora alba in a community more reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands than Mid Wales. The bog is surrounded by agriculturally unimproved fields with several sedge species and now uncommon plants such as Petty Whin Genista anglica and Dyer’s Greenweed Genista tinctoria . Some of these fields have never been explored botanically, since their main purpose is to provide a buffer around the bog to reduce the risk of fertilizer runoff.
If time permits we may also visit another SSSI, a small common called ‘The Bog’ at SO015574. Aquatic plants such as Bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata, Marsh Cinquefoil Comarum palustre, Lesser Bladderwort Utricularia minor and a recent and potentially undesirable arrivee Tufted Loosestrife Lysimachia thyrsiflora occur in abundance.
(NB Ray Woods is a botanist whose interest has taken him into the realms of lichens and fungi. On a recce for this meeting last year our first “spot” was Elm Tree Sap Weep lichen Bacidia incompta. We are guaranteed a fascinating day! JJ)
To book, contact Janet John wfs.meetings@gmail.com or phone 01753 884490
Thursday 9th June: Penrhiw Farm, Newbridge-on-Wye, Mid Wales
Leaders: Gwyndaf and Janet John
Meet at 10:30 at Penrhiw farm OS Explorer 200 grid ref SN995 582. (Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book)
Penrhiw farm is a small farm tucked away in Powys. Some of the fields have never been ploughed or fertilised. There is a wide range of habitats including woodland, an old quarry, marsh, rocky ridge, slopes and fields and meadows leading to an abundance of wild flowers including Whorled Caraway Trocdaris verticillata and Bird’s-foot Ornithopus perpusillus. The farmer, Gina Lawrence, is intent on maintaining the diversity of flora and fauna as well as birds, bugs and butterflies. The farm has been used for a Biodiversity event and is used by a forest school. A recent bryological survey recorded over 80 species.
This is a wonderful opportunity to step back in time and enjoy the wealth of natural history. Over 150 species of flowers, sedges and grasses were spotted when we did the recce for this meeting last June. We also have a bryophyte list and a butterfly list for the site which you can request on booking.
To book, contact Janet John wfs.meetings@gmail.com or phone 01753 884490
Click to bookImportant information about Two Day Meeting
- Field meetings are open to all members of the Society. Guests may also attend meetings. Children are welcome but remain the responsibility of parents/guardians at all times.
- Leaders have received updated procedures and recommendations to ensure the safety of members on meetings with regard to Covid-19. These include maintaining social distancing and perhaps limiting numbers at a meeting depending on terrain.
- To receive monthly updates with details about availability of places or changes to arrangements in meetings and information about extra meetings, sign up for the WFS Alerts system.
- Please DO NOT bring dogs as many field meetings are held in nature reserves or where there are grazing animals. Registered guide dogs may be exempt from this requirement, unless they are prohibited by the landowners. Please check with the meeting organiser.
- Transport and accommodation is the responsibility of the attendee. However, members who do not drive or who have difficulty in reaching the starting point should contact the leader, whose details you will be given when you book, to see if transport might be available.
- Please arrive promptly for the meeting. If you have traffic problems let the leader know so they can advise on the route and how you can find the group.
- When you arrive at the meeting, park considerately, act responsibly, bearing in mind the Countryside Code, and stay with the group. Always inform the leader if you must leave before the end of a meeting.
- Packed lunches are usually required and need to be carried.
- All those attending Wild Flower Society field meetings do so at their own risk.