Читать книгу Walking in Carmarthenshire онлайн

13 страница из 39

Nature reserves and wildlife habitats

In a county as large as Carmarthenshire, and with so many diverse habitats, it is not surprising that nature and wildlife is well catered for. The county is justly renowned for its magnificent coast, quiet estuaries, steep wooded valleys and vast expanses of mountain and moorland. On top of this there are hundreds of kilometres of hedgerow and hedgebank, many of which are of historical importance. With the patchwork of woodlands throughout the county and the thousands of acres of fields, it soon becomes evident that the biodiversity is huge. Add to this the rich abundance of species that live in the sea and on the seabed around the Carmarthenshire coast and the wildlife habitats increase even more.

The magnificent ruins of Laugharne Castle (Walk 26)

The Mynydd Du, in the east of the county, falls largely within the boundaries of the Brecon Beacons National Park and all the protection legislation that that affords. There are 12 nature reserves, cared for by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and 81 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), covering over 17,000ha and ranging in size from small fields to long rivers, disused quarries to large areas of mountainside, and this excludes the ones that are found in the Carmarthenshire part of Brecon Beacons National Park. There are two Special Protection Areas (SPA) and seven Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), sites considered to be of international importance for nature conservation. Carmarthenshire also has five Local Nature Reserves (LNRs), sites designated by local authorities as supporting a rich variety of wildlife or geological features and which allow local people contact with the natural environment. The RSPB have a reserve at Gwenffrwd-Dinas, in the north of the county and there is also the splendid National Wetlands Centre Wales, on the Bury Inlet, where it is possible to see wild birds up to 50,000 strong during the winter months.