Welsh Journals

NEW NATURE RESERVES (from the Nature Conservancy) COED CAMLYN NATURE RESERVE Coed Camlyn lies on the steep north-west-facing slope of Pen-y-Foel, on the southern flanks of the Vale of Ffestiniog, at an altitude varying from about 50 to 500 feet above sea level. It is approximately half a mile south of the village of Maentwrog on the A.496 road which leads from the village to Harlech and Barmouth, and its main features can be viewed easily from the road. The Reserve, which is a good example of a Sessile Oak wood under rather high rainfall- estimated to be between 60 in. and 70 in. per year with a characteristic moist ground flora, covers approx- imately 57 acres and has been established under a Nature Reserve Agreement with the owner, Mrs. M. C. Inge. The woods are situated on a stabilised scree-slope with local rock outcrops, but the long continuous slope is not rocky in general character. Sessile Oak is the dominant tree and at the base of the slope it averages about 60 feet in height higher up the height diminishes, being only 20 to 30 feet at the upper limit of the wood. At this level, where crag outcrops occur, the tree height in some places does not exceed 8 to 10 feet. There is also much Birch and some Hazel, Holly and Ash. The ground flora consists of Bilberry with abundant Purple Moor-grass and many mosses, including woodland species and conspicuous patches of Sphagnum quinquefarium. Rock outcrops in the wood are frequently covered with dense Ling, Bell Heather and Bracken. Hard-fern and Wavy Hair-grass are common. This local variation in the ground flora may well be due to a change in the nature of the parent rock, since this community is one typical of acidic soil conditions. Access to the Reserve will be by permit only, and those wishing to visit, to collect specimens of animals or plants, or to undertake research should apply to the Regional Officer for North Wales, The Nature Conservancy, Y Fron, The Crescent, Upper Bangor, Bangor. CRAIG-Y-CILAU NATURE RESERVE Craig-y-Cilau, lying between the 900 and 1,500 feet contours and overlooking the Usk Valley a few miles west of the Monmouth- shire border, is probably the best-known of the botanically interest- ing Carboniferous Limestone outcrops in Breconshire. The