Crymlyn Bog is a nature reserve near Swansea City Centre. It is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and is the largest area of lowland fen in Wales.
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. |
The paths were well laid and each side has plenty of flowers, butterflies and an unusual looking wasp or bee which I think is actually a striped hoverfly.
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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 |
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.
