Gwaith Powdwr Nature Reserve

Gwaith Powdwr

© Ian Roberts

Gwaith Powdwr_railway bridge

© Damien Hughes

Gwaith Powdwr Nature Reserve

Gwaith Powdwr Nature Reserve

Gwaith Powdwr_pond

© Damien Hughes

Redstart

Redstart © Mark Hamblin 2020VISION

A small brown bat with large rounded ears, at least a third of it's body length, and wings spread wide as it leaps from the tree on the left side of frame. The background is pitch black as it is night, with a few branches of green leaves coming in from the left where the tree is.

Brown long-eared bat © Hugh Clark

A large orange-red bracket fungi, that grows in flat layers like a shelf. It sits high up on a large oak tree.

Chicken of the woods fungi © Steve Waterhouse

nightjar

nightjar_David Tipling2020Vision

A fantastic post-industrial nature reserve with an explosive history.

Location

Penrhyndeudraeth
Gwynedd
LL48 6LT

OS Map Reference

SH621389
OS Explorer Map OL18
A static map of Gwaith Powdwr Nature Reserve

Know before you go

Size
24 hectares
z

Entry fee

No
P

Parking information

Either on the industrial estate itself or by the bridge over the Dwyryd River.

Grazing animals

Sheep, all year round.

Access

The majority of the site has tracks that are useable by pushchairs and wheelchairs (please contact us for the gate code in advance), and disabled visitors are also able to get their vehicles on to the site with prior arrangement: please phone Head Office for more details. Upland tracks, however, are rough, steep and contain steps. Take care when around areas of open water – they are often deeper than they look. 

Dogs

On a lead

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times

Best time to visit

All year round

About the reserve

Explosive past, wild future
From 1865 until 1995 this corner of West Wales was world-renowned for its explosives expertise. The remote location and natural, steep-sided valleys made it the perfect place for a specialist factory which, at its height, employed over 500 people. During the Second World War, over 17 million grenades were produced at this site!  The Wildlife Trust took over the site when it was decommissioned – since then, it’s nature that has exploded …

Today, wandering through the lovely mixture of habitats and gazing out at the spectacular views, it’s hard to imagine the site’s industrial history.  The woodland provides homes to nesting redstarts, pied flycatchers and tree pipits and, on a summer day, the grassy glades are great places to spot butterflies and wildflowers. The heathland that covers the higher ground hides secretive nightjars and basking reptiles: four of the six UK reptile species are commonly seen here. The site’s industrial past has provided perfect habitats for its most significant residents, the lesser horseshoe bats, who make their homes in the old buildings and tunnels.

Did you know?
Lesser horseshoe bats are one of the UK’s smallest species – whilst roosting, with their wings wrapped around them, they are about the same size as a plum!  They are also very particular, preferring to roost in brick- or stone-built buildings with slate roofs.

Directions
Take the road out of Penrhyndeudraeth towards Pont Briwet (the bridge over the River Dwyryd to Harlech).  Take the first road into Cooke’s Industrial Estate, following it for approximately 80m to the reserve gates. Parking can be found either here (SH 616 388) or further down the road towards Pont Briwet (SH 618 384).

Contact us

Luke Jones
Contact number: 01248 351541

Environmental designation

Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
Special Areas of Conservation (SAC)

©NWWT

Redstart

Redstart © Mark Hamblin 2020VISION

Reserve guide and map

Download
Gwaith Powdwr Nature Reserve

Gwaith Powdwr Nature Reserve

A man in warm winter clothing on the left, in the middle of hammering a nail on the bottom of a bird box to the right, to attach it to the tree. The bird box has a simple round hole in the front, weather proof roofing on the lid and a latch on the left side to hold the lid. The tree it is being attached to is no thicker than the box, and in a small group of other similar trees, all covered with mosses and other vegetation growing on them.

Volunteer putting up a nest box © NWWT Katy Haines

Volunteering

Find out more

Support us

Join today!

Young woman birdwatching at Rutland Water
From £3.00 a month

Individual membership

Individual membership for one person
Couples membership
From £3.50 a month

Joint membership

Joint membership for two people
A small boy carrying a stick, walking through a woodland with large old trees and bluebells carpeting the floor. Behind him is a young girl running up to him, and a woman bending down to look at the flowers.
From £4.00 a month

Family membership

Family membership with extras for kids