For almost six decades, a mid-Wales nature reserve prized for its rare temperate rainforest came in two separate pieces. Now the gap has been closed. RSPB Cymru has bought Gallt-y-bere, a 96-hectare stretch of ancient woodland and upland habitat beside the River Tywi in North Carmarthenshire, uniting the two halves of its Gwenffrwd-Dinas reserve for the first time in almost 60 years.
The conservation charity describes the land as the "vital missing link" between the reserve's separated sections in the Elenydd. Reconnecting it lets wildlife move freely across a once-fragmented landscape, knitting scattered fragments into a single, larger and more resilient whole — the kind of continuous habitat that struggling species need to recover.
Rainforest, bog and rare birds
The area is a patchwork of internationally important habitats: Atlantic oak woodlands, so damp and mild they are known as Celtic rainforests, alongside ffridd — the upland fringe — ancient woodland and peat bogs. It is a stronghold for the pied flycatcher, a summer migrant that breeds in oak woodland, and shelters cuckoos, wood warblers, pine martens and whinchats. With the new land joined to existing heath, the reserve is now big enough to support breeding hen harriers, a red-listed bird seen there only occasionally and not known to have nested recently.
The purchase was made possible by a philanthropic loan and, crucially, by donations from thousands of supporters who answered the charity's fundraising appeal. "Gallt-y-bere is a truly magical place," said Jonathan Cryer, site manager at RSPB Gwenffrwd-Dinas, calling the acquisition a chance to strengthen ancient woodland and restore upland habitats so that rare wildlife can flourish.
The RSPB has worked at Gwenffrwd-Dinas for more than a century, beginning with efforts to protect red kites when the bird was on the brink in Wales. Surveys this summer, funded by Natural Resources Wales, will catalogue the species and habitats now under the charity's care and shape how the land is managed. The RSPB also plans to work with local farming tenants to show how nature recovery and sustainable farming can sit side by side — securing, it hopes, a landscape that supports wildlife for generations to come.