The Warren

This part of the Gregynog Estate is known at the Warren. Where you are standing is one of its highest points at 820ft, where on a clear day extensive views can be enjoyed of a variety of landscapes.

In the days before Myxomatosis, the Warren was alive with rabbits - hence the name! Like the Great Wood, on the other side of the valley, it is of great conservation importance for the lichens and insects which rely on ancient trees and dead rotting wood. One rare lichen found here, known as Lecanora sublivescens, is found at just 30 sites in Britain, and otherwise only known to exist in a small area of southern Sweden! Consequently, the British populations are considered to be of international significance.

But not everything at the Warren requires a magnifying glass to see in full splendour! In the evenings badgers come out to snuffle and feed whilst secretive polecats pass through and by day, the brown hare dashes through the fields.

In the wetter rushy pasture you might spot a snipe and in winter, large flocks of fieldfare and redwing fly south from Scandinavia and feed here. They are rather partial to the red hawthorn berries. In spring the white hawthorn flowers are chock-full of beetles, flies and bugs sucking up a rewarding nectar energy drink.