CADAIR IDRIS Site Guides for Recreation Protected Landscapes of Wales 1. CADAIR IDRIS Site Guides for Recreation CADAIR IDRIS Protected Landscapes of Wales P Introducon Cadair Idris is one of Wales’s most iconic Naonal Nature Reserve (NNR) upland landscapes. As Wales’s 18th highest th Special Area of Conservaon (SAC) peak, it is regarded as the outdoor Pa y ‘honeypot' locaon of Southern Snowdonia. Pon Site of Special Scienfic Interest (SSSI) On a good day the views stretch far and Tyrrau Mawr wide: west to the Barmouth estuary, east to NB Marked areas may have mulple designaons the Cambrian Mountains, south to the Brecon Beacons, and north to the Rhinogydd and the main Snowdonia massifs. What Llyn Gafr makes Cadair Idris so special, apart from it being rich in stories, myth and legend, is its array of biological, geological and landform Cyfrwy Llyn y Gadair features. Pen y Gadair Mynydd Moel Designaon C a d a i r I d r i s Cadair Idris NNR lies within the • Special Areas of Conservaon (SACs) Snowdonia Naonal Park and is part of for a wide range of habitats and species the Cadair Idris SAC and SSSI. Covering other than birds. Cadair Idris 5500ha it is one of the largest SSSIs in In addion to these internaonal Mynydd Pencoed Llyn Cau Wales. This encompasses Cadair Idris designaons there are UK conservaon mountain and the lower slopes, which are designaons: a mosaic of sessile oak woodlands, wet • Sites of Special Scienfic Interest meadows, upland habitats and grassland. (SSSIs) are the most important sites for The reserve is managed by Natural Wales' natural heritage and are legally Resources Wales (NRW). designated under the Wildlife and The European Union have idenfied the Countryside Act 1981. Visitor Centre most important sites for wildlife in Europe • Naonal Nature Reserves (NNRs) are as the Natura 2000 sites. There are two designated under the Naonal Parks and P types of Natura 2000 sites: Access to the Countryside Act 1949, or • Special Protecon Areas (SPAs) under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. designated because of rare or migratory See back cover for more informaon on birds and their habitats. designaons . 1km e al-y-llyn Lak yngil / T Llyn Mw Site Guides for Recreation CADAIR IDRIS Protected Landscapes of Wales Spring One of the first signs of spring is Myth The large boulders, Cerrig ermine the primrose and wood anemone Tewion, translated to 'fat stones', on coming into flower. The star-like white the lower slopes by Llyn Cau are said to flowers of the wood anemone with 5-8 be the irritang pebbles the giant Idris Winter High winds and freezing petals are poisonous to humans! Its kicked out from his shoe! temperatures create difficult living Welsh name, blodyn y gwynt ‘wind condions. Stoats are a rare sighng flower’ reflects its lan root of the word wood anemone during the colder months, hunng anenome (anemos / wind). They are prey amongst the scree of Llyn Cau surprisingly slow to spread, only 6 feet in in their white, winter coat. Their a hundred years, relying on the growth collecve noun is a ‘gang of stoats’, of its root structure rather than the Pen y Gadair even though they are typically spread of its seeds. Because of this it is a solitary hunters. Oen referred to as good indicator of ancient woodland. ermines in their white coats, stoats were widely hunted for their luxurious warm fur, in the 15th Century by Catholic monarchs. Summer The classic trio of Welsh oakwood birds; the pied flycatcher, wood Llyn Cau warbler and redstart can be heard in the ancient woodland at the foot of the Minffordd path. July is Gorffennaf in Welsh, the end of summer. The flycatcher lingers a rôche moutonnée Autumn The dense canopy of week beyond this, feeding on the oakwood sessile oak trees, with ash, lime, caterpillars, then quite suddenly they are hazel, birch and alder, at the foot of th gone and the woods fall silent. Pa Minf fordd the Minffordd Path is an area of internaonally rare habitat known as temperate rainforest. Its proximity filmy fern to the relavely warm Atlanc Ocean, and the abundant rainfall swells Nant Cadair, increasing the humidity making the condions Dôl Idris The parkland was donated to ideal for several rare species of Visitor Centre the Snowdonia Naonal Park Authority moss. Wales' smallest fern, Wilson's in the 1980's by Thomas Howell filmy fern and the Tunbridge filmy Williams whose family are famous for fern thrive in these dark, damp redstart producing the well known 'Idris' so condions. The ferns are oen pied flycatcher drinks. He added 'Idris' to his surname tangled with mosses which disguise woodwarbler by deed poll in 1893. Today, Idris Fiery their presence. The thin translucent Ginger Beer is sold throughout Britain leaves with veins growing right to and is manufactured by Britvic. the p are a key characterisc. Site Guides for Recreation CADAIR IDRIS Protected Landscapes of Wales q Peregrine falcons hunt high GEOLOGY & LANDSCAPE BIRDS on the crags of Cadair Idris. Known as hebog tramor in Welsh, Landscape The landscapes of Cadair Idris are some of the most which directly translates to dramac in Snowdonia; this wild and rugged place is full of clues about ‘foreign hawk’. the formaon of the mountain. Charles Darwin visited Cadair Idris to study the effects of glaciaon when forming his theories about the age of the earth. Rôche moutonnée At the entrance to Llyn Cau is a large, smooth boulder called a ‘Rôche moutonnée' which was formed by glacial acon when the glacier flowed over and around a parcularly resistant outcrop of rock. The upstream side of the rock was ground smooth by ice and rock debris, the acon being called 'abrasion', where as the downstream side was made steep and rough from the ice falling away around it, called 'plucking'. Lines or 'striaons' on the rocks surface are tell-tale sign to signify the direcon the ice was moving in. Llyn Cau Over 460 million years ago, deep under the sea, volcanic acvity forged the hard and resistant rocks at the core of the mountain, q Ring ouzels are called whilst soer rocks were formed from layers of mud and silt on the floors mwyalchen y mynydd in Welsh, of the surrounding seas. 11,000 years ago when the ice from the last ice p Chough Look out for the Cadair Idris. Being migratory birds which means 'mountain blackbird' age melted, the glaciers scoured and scraped at the hard unfolded rock. chough, the rarest member of the they travel thousands of miles and are actually members of the The immense power of ice flowing under gravity gouged out Llyn Cau, one crow family, who occasionally from their winter sites in Central thrush family. They are summer of the deepest lakes in Wales - nearly 50m at its deepest point. The lake is visits the cropped grassy slopes to Africa. The Welsh name for migrants to the UK, having flown made deeper by a natural dam formed from rocky deposits le when the forage for insects and grubs. wheatear is nwen y garn, from North Africa, following the glacier melted. Three quarters of the UK chough perfectly describing it as a 'white seasonal growth of the juniper populaon live in North Wales, rumped bird of the rocks'. berry. They are predominantly an predominantly on sea cliffs. Their upland bird in steep decline due Welsh name brân goesgoch to changes in their Brish habitat. means red-legged crow. During the 17th Century the chough would have been common in the UK. Legend has it that the soul of King Arthur departed this world in the form of a chough, its red feet and bill signifying Arthur's violent and bloody end. u Wheatears are ground dwelling birds with a white rump and black 'T' shape to its tail. They can be seen hopping or running along the open, rocky ground of Site Guides for Recreation CADAIR IDRIS Protected Landscapes of Wales MYTH, BATS, BEES & BROOM Arcc Plants Cliff-dwelling arcc-alpine plants such as purple saxifrage HISTORY & and dwarf willow are usually found in the cold climes of the Arcc and at the great heights of the Alps. They grow in mats or cushions and have CULTURE short flowering seasons to keep them safeguarded from the dramac Cadair Idris, the ‘Chair of Idris’, weather of the mountain. Did you know, some species on Cadair grow is made up of the summit, Pen y here at their most southerly locaon, whilst in flower at the same me is Gadair (head of the chair) and the locally rare, hairy greenweed (a type of broom), not seen anywhere Cyfrwy (the saddle). The chair was further north. created by Idris himself to sit and Bats Careful management of the roof space in the NRW visitor centre view the heavens! has created an ideal breeding roost for one of Britain's smallest bats. The Annwn With its changeable rare lesser horseshoe bat gets its name from its disncve horseshoe- inclement weather, dramac shaped nose, which they use in echolocaon. Hibernang in winter, lesser peaks and swirling cloud, it is not horseshoe bats are nave, rare and endangered in Wales, they are a surprising why in Welsh priority species in the UK Biodiversity Acon Plan, which details the acon mythology, Cadair Idris takes on a needed to halt the decline in the most threatened species and habitats in more malevolent reputaon. It is Idris The name Idris appears in Paned o De Just below the the UK. said to be the hunng ground of many guises in the Welsh rocky summit knoll there is a solid Bees The bilberry bumblebee is somemes called the mountain Gwyn ap Nudd, Lord of the Celc tradion - as a giant, a prince and stone hut.