Upload
city-and-county-of-swansea
View
226
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Have a look at these walks through Bishop's Wood in Caswell Valley, near Swansea.
Citation preview
N
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
Sum
m
erland Lane
Caswell D
rive
Bishop’s WoodCountryside Centre
P
PCaswellBay
Caswell Rd B4593
To Swansea
Pwll Du Cliffs LNR
Bishop’s Wood LNR
Killay Marsh LNR
Cwmllwyd Wood LNR
Cadle Heath LNR
Mumbles Hill LNR
2
3
4
5
6
1
PONTARDDULAIS
CLYDACH
PENLLERGAERLLANGYFELACH
BIRCHGROVE
MORRISTON
PENLAN
GORSEINON
GOWERTONFFORESTFACHWAUNARLWYDD
TOWNHILLUPLANDSKILLAY
UPPER KILLAY
WEST CROSS
MUMBLESSOUTHGATE
REYNOLDSTON
LLANRHIDIAN
OXWICH
PORT EYNON
LLANGENNITH
LLANMADOC 3
1 6
5
4
2BISHOPSTON
GARNSWLLT
RHOSSILI
Footpaths around Caswell ....
21088-10
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
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
3 4
76
5
4
3
2
1
Round House
Caswell Road
Picnic Area
To Swansea
Old Quary
To Bishopston
N
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
5
Wildlife Illustrations by: M. Hill
acorn trail:
Beech Leaf trail: