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Guide to the Nature Reserves and other top Wildlife Sites in Wales

Heathland at South Stack Puffin on Skomer Island

Tables of Reserves pages can be arranged in the order that best suits your needs.

Arrange A to Z by Nature Reserve Names
Arrange by Region (North, East, Southwest) and then A to Z by County
Arrange A to Z by nearest town
Arrange A to Z by your main interest - Birds, Fungi, Insects, Mammals, Plants etc

Reserve
Name

Region of
Wales

Nearest
Town

Primary
Feature

Aberbargoed Grasslands East Bargoed Insects
Allt Rhyd y Groes Southwest Llandovery Plants
Allt y Benglog North Dolgellau Plants
Anglesey Fens North Pentraeth Plants
Bardsey Island North Aberdaron Birds
Berwyn/Y Berwyn East Bala Birds
Cadair Idris North Dolgellau Geology
Carmel Woods Southwest Llandeilo Plants
Ceunant Cynfal North Llan Ffestiniog Bats
Ceunant Llennyrch North Gellilydan Bats
Claerwen East Rhyader Birds
Coed Cymerau North Blaenau Ffestiniog Bats
Coed Dalgarrog North Llanrwst Plants
Coed Ganllwyd North Maentwrog Bats
Coed Gorswen North Conwy Plants
Coed Llyn Mair North Maentwrog Bats
Coed Rheidol Southwest Aberystwyth Plants
Coed Tremadog North Tremadog Bats
Coed y Cerrig East Abergavenny Plants
Coed y Rhygen North Trawsfynydd Bats
Coedmor Southwest Cardigan Lichens
Coedydd Aber North Bangor Plants
Cors Bodelio North Pentreath Plants
Cors Caron Southwest Tregaron Birds
Cors Erddreiniog North Benllech Plants
Cors Geirch North Nefyn Plants
Cors Goch Llanllwch Southwest Carmarthen Plants
Cors Goch North Pentraeth Plants
Cors Gyfelog North Caernarfon Plants
Cors y Llyn East Newbridge on Wye Plants
Craig Cerrig Glesisiad a Fan Frynych East Brecon Plants
Craig y Cilau East Crickhowell Bats
Crymlyn Bog and Pant y Sais Southwest Swansea Plants
Cwm Cadlan East Hirwaun Plants
Cwm Clydach East Brynmawr Plants
Cwm Glas Crafnant North Betws y Coed Plants
Cwm Idwal North Bethesda Geology
Dan yr Ogof East Ystradgynlais Geology
Dinefwr Southwest Llandeilo Fungi
Dyfi Southwest Borth Plants
Fenn's Whixhall & Bettisfield Mosses North Whitchurch Birds
Fiddlers Elbow East Monmouth Plants
Gower Coast Southwest Swansea Geology
Grassholm Island Southwest Haverfordwest Birds
Great Orme/Maes y Facrell - Pen y Gogarth North Llandudno Plants
Gregynog East Newtown Lichen
Hafod Elwy North Betws y Coed Birds
Hafod Garregog North Porthmadog Plants
Kenfig Pool and Dunes East Kenfig Plants
Lady Park Wood East Monmouth Plants
Llangloffan Fen Southwest Fishguard Birds
Llyn Eiddwen Southwest Aberaeron Plants
Meirionydd Oak Woodlands North Porthmadog Bats
Merthyr Mawr East Bridgend Plants
Morfa Dyffryn North Barmouth Plants
Morfa Harlech North Harlech Plants
Nant Irfon East Llanwrtyd Wells Plants
Newborough Warren North Newborough Plants
Newport Wetlands East Newport, Gwent Birds
Ogof Ffynnon Ddu East Ystradgynlais Geology
Oxwich Southwest Swansea Plants
Pengelli Forest Southwest Cardigan Birds
Penhow Woodlands East Newport Plants
Ramsey Island Southwest St. David's Birds
Rhinog North Dolgellau Birds
Rhos Goch East Builth Wells Plants
Rhos Llawr Cwrt Southwest New Quay Insects
Roundton Hill East Newtown Plants
Skomer Southwest Haverfordwest Birds
Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa North Llanberis Plants
Stackpole Southwest Pembroke Bats
Stanner Rocks East Kington Plants
Ty Canol Southwest Fishguard Lichens
Waun Las Southwest Carmarthen Fungi
Whiteford Southwest Gowerton Plants

Arrange A to Z by Nature Reserve Names
Arrange by Region (North, East, Southwest) and then A to Z by County
Arrange A to Z by nearest town
Arrange A to Z by your main interest - Birds, Fungi, Insects, Mammals, Plants etc

Reserve
Name

Region of
Wales

Nearest
Town

Primary
Feature

Arthog Bog RSPB Reserve North Dolgellau Birds
Conwy RSPB Reserve North Deganwy Birds
Glaslyn RSPB Osprey Project North Porthmadog Birds
Gwenffrwd Dinas RSPB Reserve Southwest Llandovery Birds
Lake Vyrnwy RSPB Reserve East Welshpool Birds
South Stack Cliffs RSPB Reserve North Holyhead Birds
Valley Wetlands RSPB Reserve North Holyhead Birds
Ynys-hir RSPB Reserve Southwest Machynlleth Birds

Arrange A to Z by Nature Reserve Names
Arrange by Region (North, East, Southwest) and then A to Z by County
Arrange A to Z by nearest town
Arrange A to Z by your main interest - Birds, Fungi, Insects, Mammals, Plants etc

Reserve
Name

Region of
Wales

Nearest
Town

Primary
Feature

Abercorris NWWT Nature Reserve North Machynlleth Plants
Afon Lleiniog LNR North Llangoed Plants
All Wales Coast Path All All coastal All
Bryn Pydew NWWT North Llandudno Plants
Cae Blaen Dyffryn Plantlife Reserve Southwest Lampeter Plants
Cemlyn Bay NWWT North Cemlyn Birds
Cors Dyfi MWT Reserve East Machynlleth Birds
Glaslyn Ospreys North Porthmadog Birds
Goodwick Moor WTSWW Southwest Fishguard Birds
Llangloffan Fen WTSWW Southwest Fishguard Plants
Llyn Crafnant Circuit (Walk) - Forestry Commission North Betws y Coed Plants
Mariandyrys LNR North Llangoed Plants
Minera Quarry NWWT North Minera Plants
Nant Porth NWWT Reserve North Bangor Plants
Priory Grove Woods, Woodland Trust East Monmouth Plants
Secret Marsh, Pembrokeshire National Park Nature Reserve Southwest Tenby Birds
Spinnies Aberogwen North Bangor Birds
Teifi Marshes WTSWW Southwest Cardigan Birds
Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre Southwest Llanelli Birds

What you will find on this Website

The view from Roman Steps

Thinking of North Wales conjours up images of mountains and the dramatic scenery that accompanies them: the rushing rivers, valleys, moorlands and mires that lie within and between the ranges of Snowdonia, the Clwydians and the gentler Berwyns.

But let's not forget the lovely coastline with its fabulous sandy beaches and dune systems; and, set back from the coast, the fens, raised bogs, woodlands and limestone pavements. Each of these unique habitats is a support system for numerous plants, insects and animals.

Sand dunes on the western coast of Wales

Southwest Wales, equally well known as a holiday destination by the thousands of people who flock there each year, also has a hidden side: the lovely rivers protected in their own right because of the precious wildlife that lives in them, the beautiful bluebell woods that are also home to many rare and interesting fungi species in the autumn, the ancient meadows that support numerous wild orchids and other unusual plants, and the inshore islands that are home to internationally important colonies of nesting sea birds and many other unique wildlife species.

Foxgloves on a hillside

East Wales, perhaps less known as a holiday destination, still has more than its fair share of interesting places to see wildlife in habitats that are threatened or endangered in many other parts of Britain. Here you will find the Montgomery Canal, the Brecon Beacons and the Wye Valley. Kenfig - it also has one of Wales's best known coastal nature reserves - is home to numerous wild orchids including the rare Fen Orchid. This area also contains an increasingly rare habitat, unimproved lowland acid grassland - a good example of this is Roundton Hill National Nature Reserve - and there is a management programme running in East Wales to restore some of the numerous fragments of this precious environment to good ecological state. The terrain is characterised by thin soils lying on rock which are home to special plants referred to as 'spring ephemerals' - plants that germinate, grow, flower and set seed in the space of around eight weeks or until the soils dry out in the increasing heat of early summer.

This website is a guide to these special places. It provides not only detailed descriptions of the wildlife of Wales's protected habitat, but also location maps and clear directions for finding each nature reserve plus details of facilities and the accessibility, or otherwise, of the terrain at each site.

Finding your way around the Nature Reserves of Wales

The nature reserves are listed on a main index page (this page), and in dropdown menus accessible from every nature reserve page, enabling you to move quickly from one site to another. The index table of NNRs can be sorted in four ways: alphabetically by reserve name, by region and county, by nearest town, and by species interest - birds, bats, wildflowers, fungi, butterflies and so on. There are regional maps for North, Southwest and East Wales showing the location of the reserves, with links from each map point to the relevant dedicated reserve page.

For those interested in the conservation designations of the wild places of Wales there is a page listing the conservation designations accorded to the sites in Wales together with a description of what each designation - Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Area (SPA), Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Ramsar Site etc - means in terms of its national, European or international importance.

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