A day at Dinefwr Park, Llandeilo - 17/5/14

On Saturday 17th May we ventured to Llandeilo and visited Dinefwr Park. It was a lovely sunny day with hardly any clouds in the sky, which was a lovely change from the rain we previously had. The National Trust owns the park and Newton House, whilst the castle and woods are run by the Wildlife Trust.

You can park in the actual grounds of the park (it's free if you are a National Trust or Wildlife Trust member, or £6 otherwise) – Even though we are Wildlife Trust members we decided to park just outside the park, next to the fire station. The reason being is we wanted to walk through the beautiful meadow and woodland that you would miss if you went straight to the park's car park; it is quite a walk and I would probably park in the car park in the future :)

To the right of the main gate there’s a smaller gate which gives you access to the beautiful wild flower adorned meadows. Buttercups, clover and daisies filled the fields and we were joined by peacock butterflies, ladybirds and shiny green beetles that glistened in the sun. 

The beautiful meadow

Ladybirds were amongst the many insects we encountered in the meadow

  
Whilst walking through the meadows we saw on our right a rather large pond so we went to investigate – it was full of bulrushes, wild flowers and a haven for dragonflies and damselflies. I managed to get a pic of a magnificent Four-spotted chaser dragonfly there.

A pond in Dinefwr

Four-spotted chaser

After exploring the pond we made our way to a stile and followed it across a lane to a path the other side – it was very beautiful with Newton House in the distance. A rustic fence was to our left and meadows full of buttercups on our right. It wasn’t long before the meadow turned into woodland and you could also smell the familiar scent of bluebells that started appearing through the trees. A number of birds could be seen in the woodlands including blue tits and blackbirds as well as not so familiar birds such as redstarts. The ancient woodland is also home to giant oak and ash trees that are 100s of years old and full of character.

Newton House in the distance

Beautiful bluebells adorn the woodland floor

We eventually took a left turn and arrived at Newton House. Newton House gives visitors an idea of what it would have been like in 1912. There is an exhibition inside that tells the Dinefwr's story and more information about the castle and park. We didn't go into the house this time, but were fascinated by what was going on outside it. Swallows were weaving in and out of the outer building and a number of nests could be seen in the roofs. In the field in front of the house are rare White cattle that have been residents in the park for over a 1000 years.

Newton House

The white cattle

Not far from the house is a National Trust tourist information office where you can get different maps for various walks around the park. We also saw a leaflet that said they did badger evenings – unfortunately, that evening’s one had been booked up. After chatting to the friendly lady who worked there we decided to start the ‘Dragonfly’ walk. The map was really easy to read and you just follow the dragonfly symbols around the park to keep on track. Our walk took us past the old dove coot, a pond and sheep that were grazing with their lambs. But of course Dan and I are terrible at keeping to routes and the explorer in us went off track and we ended up in the deer park.

One of the leaflets with one of the walking routes and clear signs

The views were lovely and you could see Dinefwr Castle peeping over the trees, we got to some woodland and immediately heard that familiar tapping noise of a woodpecker. We tried to track him to get a picture but could only manage a blurry one, still lovely to see though. Through the woods you can see the deer park, where a herd of fallow deer graze. 

Me admiring the views with Dinefwr Castle in the distance.

Fallow deer

Down from the deer park we could see the large mill pond so we made our way down here. A boardwalk surrounded it where hundreds of Damselflies were mating. There were loads of tadpoles too.

Dan walks around Mill pond

They were many Red damselflies

We made our way around the pond and took a path down pass the old pumphouse. It was very pretty and hidden away in the woodland – from here we crossed a small stream and made our way deeper into the woods until we came out in an open field with a huge pond to our left. This looked like a fantastic place to have lunch. There were many water birds around: swans, mallard, coot and we were joined by another chaser dragonfly.

The pumphouse

The large pond was so peaceful apart from the odd coot or mallard

After our food we made our way back into the woods and saw to our right the other swan sitting on her nest. Quietly we passed her and made our way back to the pumphouse and then on up to lake  - we continued walking round the rest of Mill Pond and eventually came to the amazing sight and smell of wild garlic, there is nothing quite like the aroma and it truly reminds me of spring. From here we passed through a gate and started making our way up to the castle. 

A swan sits on her nest

Wild garlic in Castle Woods

To get the castle we had to cross over a meadow and then through another gate to get back into Castle Woods – there was still a carpet of bluebells that looked spectacular when the sun hit them through the trees. We then followed the path up to Dinefwr Castle.

The bluebells - the top of the castle peeps over.

The castle stands on top of a steep hill which overlooks the Tywi valley. The castle itself looks really impressive and it’s surprising how much is still intact. A great castle to explore and you can even climb up the towers to see the fantastic 360 panoramic views of Carmarthenshire and the Tywi Valley. Whilst up there we were joined by a red kite hovering above and a number of pied wagtails and swallows flying around the grounds.

Fantastic views from the castle

The fantastic red kite

The castle still looks impressive

We made our way behind the castle and then back into the woodlands until we came to a clearing where we heard a commotion. In a nearby tree we could hear a lot of birds screeching. Then all of a sudden a few small birds flew out followed by a tawny owl, we could hardly believe our eyes especially because it was in broad daylight! We both didn't have time to get a pic but it was an amazing treat. It is rare to see a tawny owl in the day, but apparently if the prey is around they will hunt for food.

From here we pretty much made our way back through the park, but when we passed Newton House we looked at the cattle and noticed there was a tiny calf which we had not seen earlier. We zoomed in on our cameras and realised the calf still had the umbilical cord still attached, it was newly born! Dan went to ask in the tourist information office and they said it was only one hour old. What an honour to be there when one of the rarest cattle in the world had a newborn and wow, he was cute! We watched for awhile as the mum tendered to him and he suckled on her. From here we made our way back through the woodland stopping at the ice house first. Then we just made our way back over the meadow and back to the car.

A white cattle calf is born! (pic by Daniel Turner)

Our day at Dinefwr was fantastic and it truly is a beautiful place with so many things to see and explore. There were a number of amazing things that happened that day – but the icing on the cake was seeing badgers in the wild. I don’t really want to say exactly where we saw the set (due to any evil people that may be reading this) but they were in Dinefwr Park and the whole place is almost 1000 acres big! 

We saw them whilst we were walking away from the beaten track - I noticed a grey flash in the corner of my eye – then I saw the distinctive black strips on the face and screamed “badger!” – Dan looked at me in disbelief, but I pointed to where I saw it and there it was…not just one though, it was joined by 3 others. I couldn’t believe it, I have never seen a badger in my life and to see a family of them popping in and out of their sett was a vision I will never forget. There were no other people around and after taking photos and video we sat and watched them. They were about 20 feet away from us and just happily foraging in the earth and enjoying the sun. We must have sat there for about 20 minutes before they returned to their sett – We were gobsmacked, one to see badgers in the wild, two to see them in broad daylight and three that there was a whole family of them. It made me realise that these animals need protecting more than ever and we must put a stop to these meaningless culls.

A young badger enjoying the sun

The family of badgers - highlight of my day

 

One of the best days of 2014

Red Kite Feeding Centre & Usk Reservoir - 3/3/2014

For years I have wanted to visit the Red Kite Feeding Station in Llanddeusant, situated within the Black Mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park. It was the start of my week off so we thought, why not?

It's almost an hours drive from Swansea and arguably the most scenic route to take is through Pontardawe, then Brynamman and over the breathtaking Black Mountains. As we drove through the mountains we saw a few red kites hovering above us, we pulled over into a safe lay-by and tried to get a pic. Unfortunately they were too high to get a decent pic but we knew within minutes we would see a sight we would never forget.

We got to the Station around 1.30pm and parked in the car park next to a building called 'The Red Kite' which was a cafe and gift shop (unfortunately it wasn't open when we were there and I wonder if it is permanently closed or just for the winter?).

A sign pointing where to go...

The hides are situated 250m down the road on the right hand side, passing the Caravan Park on the left. As we made our way to the hides we could see red kites already hovering above us and, because it was a beautiful clear day, you could see their magnificent colours reflected in the sunlight. There were 3 hides - the middle one was an indoor one with seating, the left and right ones were outside ones without seats - and we opted for the left one, as we didn't mind standing and the view seemed better.

A number of red kites were already circling above.

The gate you enter to go to the hides.

Feeding time was 2pm (it's 3pm in BST) and we could already see at least 20 red kites hovering above and perching in faraway trees - they obviously knew what was coming up and couldn't wait for their treat. As we waited in the hide it began to fill up and just before 2pm both the left and inside hides were totally full. We were relieved to have gotten there early and obtained a good spot. As we were waiting the owner came in to collect our money, which was a very reasonable fee of £3 per adult, £2.50 OAP & £1.50 child.

The red kites wait patiently in the nearby trees.

Just after 2pm he appeared again on the field in front of us with a large bucket full of meat and started throwing the contents (20lbs in total!) on the ground. Within minutes the red kites were diving down, even when he was still throwing the meat. We couldn't believe it - it started with one or two kites, then a few more - before we knew it that were over 30 red kites swooping down and collecting their prize.

Feeding the red kites.

It was amazing to see their agility and viewing them so close was just fantastic - they are definitely one of Wales' best looking birds. Check out the video below to see them getting fed...

 

It was tricky getting photos of the ones swooping down but there was one cheeky kite that stayed grounded throughout the feed, giving us great photo opportunities...

So lucky he stayed grounded, you can really see the fantastic markings :)

Within 20 minutes most of the food  had disappeared and when the red kites appeared to have gone other birds came down to enjoy the leftovers: magpies, crows, even a chaffinch.

A carrion crow gets in on the action...

The owner came back into the hides to give us all leaflets and to tell us there were videos online and to check them out on Facebook. There were only about seven people left now and he said if we all stood at the back of the inside hide the red kites would come back thinking the 'humans' had gone. So that's what we all did, within minutes they were back, swooping down for any last remnants of the meat - I actually got some decent pics from the hide...

Red kites in flight

A red kite flies away with it's meaty treat

Mesmerized by the kites, I noticed a bird perched on a fence and realised it wasn't a red kite. I zoomed in on the camera and realised it was another bird of prey - I was pretty sure it was a buzzard but wasn't 100% sure. So that evening I sent the pic to the respected wildlife photographer Simon King on Twitter and in the morning he replied with this tweet:

@sandraevans Hi Sandra. 100% correct, buzzard (Buteo buteo) it is! Pale phase.
— Simon King (@TVsSimonKing) March 5, 2014

Here is the photo of the buzzard I tweeted to Simon King - such a beautiful bird.

Once the red kites started to fly away we knew it was time to go. We walked back up the road and as we looked up there were still many kites circling around. We got back to the Red Kite building and realised that across the road there was a stunning view of the Black Mountain. As we started taking photos of the landscape the red kites were once again above us and we couldn't resist taking some more pics.

The stunning view of the Black Mountain

The red kites were flying so low you could get some great pics!

After a fantastic experience that I would recommend to every bird lover we headed back to the car. I would definitely do this experience again and knowing that there is a camp site on it's doorstep its the perfect place to go camping in the summer. The only downside was that the cafe/gift shop was closed, it would have been nice to get a memento and maybe a cuppa. Perhaps next time they will be open. Apart from this the day was perfect, after all these birds are wild and there's no guarantee they will come down, so to see so many in one place was mind blowing!

For more information on the Red Kite Feeding Station check out their website here & their Facebook page here - Also for more general information on red kites read this on Wikipedia

5 facts on Red Kites:

1. In the 1930s there were only two breeding pairs of red kites, both in Wales
2. Road-kill plays an  important part of the diet (eg. pheasants, rabbits and squirrels)
3. Red kites usually breed for the first time at 2 or 3 years old and they usually pair for life
4. When the hatchlings are young the female can signal for them to play dead when a predator is near
5. They live in a wide range of habitats from woodlands and valleys to wetland edges and rough pastures

 Usk Reservoir & Mynydd Myddfai Walk

Once back in the car we decided to go to Usk Reservoir as it wasn't far away. Usk Reservoir is situated in the Brecon Beacons National park and took five years to build - it was opened by HM Queen Elizabeth and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh on 6 August 1955.

We parked in the car park near the dam, which had space for many cars. The time was getting on so we didn't walk all the way around the reservoir (which is a 5 miles circular route), but instead crossed the dam and took a forest path up to the Mynydd Myddfai trig point. The views were spectacular and you could even see Pen Y Fan and Carreg Cennen Castle - a really pleasant walk that was about 6 miles. Here are some pics from the walk...

This is the view from the car park - Usk Reservoir is massive!

The dam we crossed that seemed never ending!

The view from the other side of the reservoir

The start of the woodland walk.

A beautiful chaffinch greeted us with his song

The road was quite easy to navigate and the climb was gradual

My first frog spawn sighting of 2014!

As we climbed up to Mynydd Myddfai we had good views of Fan Brycheiniog, Fan Hir and Fan Foel...

 

...also views of a snowy Pen y Fan & Corn Du in the distance

On the way we found a lucky horseshoe, which we took home with us...still haven't won lottery yet though!

At last we reached the trig point...

...just as the sun was setting

Fantastic views from Mynydd Myddfai trig point

The sky resembled an artist's canvas

We headed back the way we came and just missed the sunset on the reservoir - it was still beautiful though.

Usk Reservoir is definitely worth a visit :)

For more information on the Usk Reservoir visit the Brecon Beacons National Park website here