Vincent Wildlife Trust’s (VWT) Pine Marten Recovery Project features on Saturday 18th September as part of Barmouth Walking Festival, when a free guided walk will take in the sights and sounds of Cwm Mynach, a thousand-acre site managed by Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales.
Participants will be taken through the hidden valley running through the wild and beautiful Rhinogydd mountain range, exploring diverse habitats, including the stunning upland lake, Llyn Cwm Mynach.
Considered a ‘Celtic Rainforest’ due to the almost constant rainfall (200 days a year), Cwm Mynach is an important site for plants which thrive in moist conditions, but the wood is also brimming with diverse wildlife including Pine Martins.
Birdlife is plentiful, with several upland species red-listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Lucky visitors can catch a glimpse of playful otters fishing in the lake, fallow deer roaming in small numbers, and even red squirrels high up in the trees. But it’s the elusive Pine Marten who many come to the woods to learn about.
Matthew Davies, a volunteer with Vincent Wildlife Trust’s (VWT) Pine Marten Recovery Project will be leading the walk; he has been monitoring the spread of the Pine Marten since they returned to Wales in 2015.
Between 2015 and 2018, VWT translocated 51 adult pine martens from Scotland to Mid Wales where they were heading for extinction. It was the first carnivore recovery programme of its size in Britain, the culmination of many years’ research, a detailed feasibility study, extensive community engagement and the hard work of dedicated scientists, conservationists and local volunteers.
The Welsh Pine Martens were radio-tracked for their first year, allowing the Vincent Wildlife Trust to record their patterns of movement and territorial behaviour. Once the radio collars were removed, tracking continued using remote cameras and regular scat hunts – helped by an army of enthusiastic local volunteers. Breeding has taken place every year since 2015 and, with the help of volunteers and remote cameras, Vincent Wildlife Trust continues to monitor the martens’ spread as they set up new territories away from the original release area.
This guided walk through Pine Marten territory will take around 4-5 hours, taking in some gentle slopes and uneven ground, mainly on forestry tracks, starting at 450ft above sea level and rising gently to nearly 1100ft with beautiful views of Rhinog Mountains and Cader Idris.
Essential Event Info:
- This event is free to attend; to book your place, call 01341 242646.
- Please bring drinks and lunch, wear strong shoes or boots and bring waterproof clothing.
- There are no toilets on site – nearest public toilets are at Penmaenpwll via toll bridge or in Dolgellau and Barmouth.
- Participants will meet at the Dragon Theatre, Barmouth, and travel in convoy to the wood.
- Children aged 8 and above welcome if accompanied by a parent or guardian.
- Unfortunately, this wood and event are not wheelchair accessible. There may be patches of uneven ground and / or tree roots that may be slippery in wet weather.
To find out more about the Pine Marten in Wales, visit: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/animals/…
About Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK. It has over 500,000 supporters. It wants to see a UK rich in native woods and trees for people and wildlife. The Trust has three key aims:
- protect ancient woodland, which is rare, unique and irreplaceable,
- restoration of damaged ancient woodland, bringing precious pieces of our natural history back to life,
- plant native trees and woods with the aim of creating resilient landscapes for people and wildlife.
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,200 sites in its care covering approximately 29,000 hectares. These include over 100 sites in Wales, with a total area of 2,897 hectares (7,155 acres). Access to its woods is free, so everyone can benefit from woods and trees.
The Trust’s Welsh language name, “Coed Cadw”, is an old Welsh term, used in medieval laws to describe protected or preserved woodland.
Image Credit Anne Marie Kalus / WTML
Other Walks and Walking news
www.welshcountry.co.uk/chepstow-walking-festival-is-back/ and www.welshcountry.co.uk/moelwyn-mawr-snowdonia/
