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.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
 |
| 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 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.
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.
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.
One of the best days of 2014
 |
| 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
No comments:
Post a Comment