It is open all year round and is fairly easy to find just off Fabian Way (see Google Map below). There are plenty of parking spaces, as well as a visitor centre* and a few benches in this area where you can sit and enjoy the views. (*NB the visitor centre was closed when we were there and I am not sure when it opens)
Our walk began by reading the information sign and then following the green way markers through a wooden gate and onto the path.
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| An information plaque showing the map |
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| A wooden gate with a waymarker sign. |
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| Striped hoverfly |
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| Centaury Flower |
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| Gatekeeper butterfly |
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| Meadow Brown on Clover |
We arrived at some boardwalks which were surrounded by bog and reedbeds and it wasn't long before we saw our first dragonfly - a beautiful Common Darter. We could also see little black lizards, but they were impossible to get pictures of. We continued along the boardwalk and came to a dead end where there was another information plaque and a large pond. There were several huge dragonflies flying around and we waited patiently for a kingfisher or heron to make an appearance.
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| The boardwalk |
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| Common Darter |
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| An information plaque showing what you could potentially see |
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| Full of lilies and huge dragonflies |
We doubled backed on ourselves and made our way through some deciduous trees and arrived at some more boardwalks. This time we saw another dragonfly and it seemed the lizards were getting bigger and were basking in the sun so we could get some decent pics of them.
We continued walking around the boardwalk and saw a variety of insects and more and more lizards were appearing - in fact they were everywhere!. We also saw a beautiful Black Tailed Skimmer dragonfly. The boardwalks are fantastic and some parts the reed beds were really high and full of critters.
When we left the boardwalks we passed some horses grazing in the long grass and visited a lovely pond that looked like an ideal place where a kingfisher could perch - unfortunately no kingfisher this time, but there were plenty of tiny toads. We also saw a gorgeous looking juvenile robin, it didn't seem too bothered that we were taking pics of it.
Back at the visitor centre and the car park we had a well deserved rest near the pond. There was plenty of activity around the pond including a damselfly and a pond beetle I couldn't identify.
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| The path through some woodland |
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| A chaser dragonfly (not sure of exact species) |
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| A pair of juvenile Common Lizards |
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| A close up of a common lizard |
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| You can see how tiny they are from this pic (the lizard is just on the side of the boardwalk) |
We continued walking around the boardwalk and saw a variety of insects and more and more lizards were appearing - in fact they were everywhere!. We also saw a beautiful Black Tailed Skimmer dragonfly. The boardwalks are fantastic and some parts the reed beds were really high and full of critters.
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| Hogweed Beetles |
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| Lizard with no tail |
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| Adult Common Lizard |
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| The boardwalk surrounded with high reeds |
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| Adult Common lizard |
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| Pregnant (?) Common Lizard |
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| Such striking colours on this one |
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| Black Tailed Skimmer Dragonfly |
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| Horses grazing in the long grass |
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| I can just imagine a kingfisher on that perch |
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| Tiny toad... |
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| ...only the size of my finger nail awwwww |
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| Juvenile robin |
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| We could get really close to him - so cute! |
The last section takes you through a farmer's field where we passed several horses (with a cute foal) and saw many butterflies including a Brimstone and a Comma. Closer to the visitor centre we saw an impressive puffball fungi.
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| Horses with an adorable foal |
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| Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar |
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| Comma Butterfly |
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| Brimstone butterfly |
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| Puffball fungi |
The walk was topped off by eventually managing to get an half decent photo of a Southern Hawker Dragonfly.
Crymlyn Bog is a fantastic hidden gem and is really easy to get to. We were blown away by the amount of nature there and have never seen so many lizards in one place. We will definitely be going back to see how it changes throughout the seasons.
Crymlyn Bog is a fantastic hidden gem and is really easy to get to. We were blown away by the amount of nature there and have never seen so many lizards in one place. We will definitely be going back to see how it changes throughout the seasons.
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| The pond near the visitor centre |
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| Damselfly |
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| Some kind of water beetle |
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| Southern Hawker Dragonfly |
A map to Crymlyn Bog from Fabian Way...
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