Bishop's Wood Trail

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Local Nature Reserves are sites ofhigh nature conservation value orwhich have local wildlife orgeological interest and are ofparticular value for communityenjoyment, involvement andeducation. They are designated bylocal authorities with advice andhelp from the Countryside Councilfor Wales. Bishop’s Wood LocalNature Reserve was declared a localnature reserve in 1975.There are currentlysix Local NatureReserves inthe City andCounty ofSwansea, thelocations ofwhich are shownabove.

LoCaL natuRe ReseRvesin the City and Countyof swansea

This project hasbeen supported by:

Can you spot any of the species listed below?

Trees /Shrubs � tick

� Oak� Ash� Beech

� Hawthorn� Elm� Field maple

� Holly� Hazel� Sycamore

Wood Plants � tick

� Cow wheat� Wood anemone� Bluebells� Herb paris� Wood sorrel� Wild garlic

� Red campion� Herb robert� Hart’s tonguefern

� Male fern� Honeysuckle

� Wood spurge� Selfheal

Animals � tick

� Badger� Fox� Grey squirrel

� Bank vole� Pip bats� Horseshoe bats� Common lizard� Slow worm� Adder� Wood mice

� Beetles� Centipedes� Orange tipbutterfly

� Brimstone� Speckled wood

Grassland plants/Limestone cliff plants & Fungi � tick

� Meadowsweet� Early purpleorchid

� Meadow thistle� Hogweed� Cow parsley

� Woundwort� Rockrose� Wild thyme� Wood sage� Stonecrop� Artist’s fungus

� Sulphur tuft� King Alfred’s cakes

Birds � tick

Bluebells

MeadowThistle

Badger

75%

to find out moRe…If you would like to arrange an activity, group visit, walk or to discusshow your school or group could be involved with the reserve or if youare interested in helping with its management, please contact Dai orKaren on 01792 361703 or Deb Hill on 01792 635749.

BisHoP’s wood is on tHe swanseasustainaBiLity tRaiL...The Sustainability Trail is a series of projects located acrossSwansea which demonstrate how we can live in a moresustainable way. Take a look at other sites on the Sustainable Trailwebsite www.sustainableswansea.net or call 01792 480200.

� Tree creeper� Nuthatch� Tawny owl� Buzzard� Blackbird� Greenwoodpecker

� Stonechat� Greater andlesser spottedwoodpecker

� Greenfinch� Bullfinch� Jackdaw� Jay� Robin� Blue tit� Long tailed tit� Crow

� Mistle thrush� Song thrush� Wren� Sparrow hawk� Wood pigeon� Pied wagtail� Magpie� Marsh tit� Great tit

Bluetit

Please contact us if you see something different to thespecies listed above or would like a full species list

Lesser Spotted

Woodpecker

Raven

Bank Vole

Buzzard

SpeckledWood

How to get to tHe ReseRveand CountRyside CentRe…

Bishop’s Wood Countryside Centre liesabove Caswell Bay. There are two payand display car parks and a regular busservice (Bus No. 2) that runs from thecentre of Swansea to Caswell Drive. A number of footpaths lead to thereserve including a coastal path from Mumbles to Caswell.

Bishop’s Wood

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Caswell Rd B4593

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Pwll Du Cliffs LNR

Bishop’s Wood LNR

Killay Marsh LNR

Cwmllwyd Wood LNR

Cadle Heath LNR

Mumbles Hill LNR

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Footpaths around Caswell ....

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November 2010

oak Leaf trail:

Bishop’s wood nature Reserve

The nature reserve lies in a narrowsteep-sided, dry limestone valleyrunning north south from Murton toCaswell beach. It is made up of 46acres (19 hectares) of woodland andlimestone grassland and has beendesignated an SSSI, (Site of SpecialScientific Interest) and SAC, (SpecialArea of Conservation), because of its rich biodiversity.The reserve is managed by the City and County of Swansea’sNature Conservation Team to conserve and enhance wildlifediversity and to provide access and information to visitors andlocal schools.

There are three main footpaths running through the valley,which we have marked as three nature trails on the mainmap. These are the Acorn trail, Oak leaf trail and the Beechleaf trail. The nature trails take you through a variety ofhabitats, which support many forms of wildlife.

Length: 1 kmTerrain: Steep steps, uneven narrow path

1 Start at the picnic benches at the top of Caswell car park,the path leads into ancient woodland up steep stone steps.

2 Beautiful viewpoint overlooking Caswell Bay, and on agood day, Devon.

3 There are many badger runs leading to the fields above,these look like little footpaths. If you are lucky you may seefootprints in the soft mud or hairs stuck to the fence. Badgersusually have a territory range of 30 hectares in a rich habitat.

4 Hugging trees; a Hawthorn (smaller one) and an Ashentwined together. You may see black blobs on the Ashbranches, these are a fungus called King Alfred’s cakes.

5 Grave stones or boundary markers? One has a P and theother FAM. They are simply boundary markers, the P isfor Penrice, a large estate on the Gower and FAM is FrankArthur Morgan who owned part of Bishops Wood.

6 The path takes you down woodensteps under huge Beech trees,Green woodpeckers are oftenheard here. At the bottom of thesteps turn right and you will seethe roundhouse. (see Acorn trail)

To get back to where you started, follow the Acorn trail downthe main valley floor.

Length: 450 metresTerrain: Easy, flat all ability path.

Starts from the top of Caswell car park and ends at the roundhouseat the top of the valley.

1 Along the whole length of this path, there is open grassland,along the valley floor. In summer you can see many speciesof butterfly, and meadow flowers, such as Meadowsweet,Selfheal, Hogweed and Woundwort.

2 The woodland to the west has many species thatindicate ancient woodland such as Bluebell, Dog’s mercury, Wood anemone, Wood sorrel andthe rare Herb paris.

3 A beautiful sculpture called Nanci, carved from oakusing a chainsaw by an artist called Nanci Hemming.

4 Ravages of Dutch elm disease, lots of dead wood, important forbats, insects and woodpeckers. This part of the woodland is richin bird life, spot shy Jays, blue tits and other song birds.

5 The roundhouse was built in 2002 using local green timber. It took52 oak trees and 36 tonnes of earth to make and is used as anoutdoor classroom and as a shelter for local community groups.

Length: 1.2 kmTerrain: Steep steps, narrow uneven path.

1 Starts and finishes at a wooden style opposite theCountryside Centre. The style leads you to wooden stepswhich take you through Gorse, Heather, small trees andshrubs.

2 At the top of the step, turn left and the path takes you to anopen grassy cliff top. Enjoy spectacular views over CaswellBay. The limestone soil supports a diverse range of flowers,such as thyme, rockrose and stonecrop.

3 See if you can spot common lizards, slow worms and adders basking in the sun.

4 Entering Oak woodland, the trees are stunted and pruned by the strong salt winds. Acidic clay soils support flowers suchas Cow wheat and Butchers broom.

5 The wooden chalets, dating from the1920’sare part of Owen’s Field, a small local community.

6 The path starts to lead you downhill into the Beech glade. Beech trees cast a heavy shade preventing anything growing underneath. Grey squirrels, Nuthatches, Tree creepers and Woodpeckers are commonly seen here.

7 Downhill through two gates to the roundhouse, the path follows the acorn trail to the car park, then the road back to the countryside centre.

Wood anemone

Adder

The Roundhouse

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Round House

Caswell Road

Picnic Area

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Old Quary

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Oak Leaf Trail: Length: 1 km Terrain: Steep steps, narrow, uneven path.

Acorn Trail: Length: 450 mTerrain: Easy, flat, all ability path.

Beech Leaf Trail: Length: 1.2 kmTerrain: Steep steps, narrow, uneven path.

MAP KEY

Footpath

Pony Route

Scale: 200 metre

Graddfa: 200 metr

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Wildlife Illustrations by: M. Hill

acorn trail:

Beech Leaf trail: