Mawddach Valley - Coed Garth Gell

We are slowly opening our reserves and facilities in Wales in line with government guidance on Covid-19. Please check reserve pages for specific details.

Address: Can be accessed via public footpaths. No car park, but take the A496 from Llanelltyd (near Dolgellau) to Barmouth. Between the villages of Taicynhaeaf and Bontddu there are several lay-bys and parking places.

Grid ref: SH683192

See our reserves Covid-19 updates page for which sites are open and other important details.

Nestled in the spectacular Mawddach Valley, Coed Garth Gell is a woodland and heathland nature reserve which is internationally important for the rare mosses, liverworts and lichens which grow amongst the ancient oaks. Pied flycatchers, redstarts, wood warblers and lesser horseshoe bats all call this wonderful place home.

Plan your visit

Car park and trails open.

Free entrance to RSPB members: Yes

Adults: Free, but you can help us continue our work here by becoming a member.

Children: Free, but you can help us continue our work here by becoming a member.

Facilities

Car park
Picnic area
Viewing point
Nature trails

Accessibility

How to get here

By train

The nearest station is at Barmouth. From Barmouth the reserve is 5.5 miles (8 km) to the east between the villages of Bontddu and Taicynhaeaf on the A496.

By bus

The nearest stop is at Taicynhaeaf on the Dolgellau to Barmouth (X94) route. The stop is 0.5 miles (0.75 km) from the reserve.

By bike

The Mawddach Trail runs nearby.

By road

From the A470 heading north from Dolgellau, turn left onto the A496 at the roundabout at Llanelltyd heading for Barmouth. After passing the village of Taicynhaeaf and before you reach the village of Bontddu, almost exactly 4km from the roundabout, there is a right hand turn into a horseshoe shaped layby with a small picnic area, managed by Snowdonia National Park, known locally as Fiddlers Elbow.

There are places for a small number of vehicles to park. The reserve can be accessed by walking from the layby up the public footpath along the private access road going immediately up the hill. As you walk up the access road, look for the RSPB sign on the gate on the left which takes you along the public footpath into the reserve.

Sat nav POI file: If you have a satellite navigation system that can accept POI files, please see our POI page for a download link and instructions.

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Contact Mawddach Valley - Coed Garth Gell

Can be accessed via public footpaths. No car park, but take the A496 from Llanelltyd (near Dolgellau) to Barmouth. Between the villages of Taicynhaeaf and Bontddu there are several lay-bys and parking places.
mawddach@rspb.org.uk
01654 700222

What will you see?

Our star species

Dipper

Look for cheeky dippers feeding around the edges of the river.

Pied flycatcher

It is easy to see how this bird gets its name on a spring walk around the woodland here.

Redstart

Redstarts are typical birds of Welsh woodlands. Watch out for them in spring and summer shivering their reddish tails.

Wood warbler

Listen for the song of the wood warbler coming from the oak canopy from late April into June.

Woodcock

From September onwards, they start arriving in the UK from across the North Sea to escape cold Scandinavia winters.

Nature spectacles

Carpets of lichens cover the trunks and branches of all the trees. Look out for witch's beard or Usnea florida, with its tangled tresses and ‘eyes’.

Try to catch a glimpse of the secretive lesser-spotted woodpecker and the hawfinch - look up to the tree-tops or listen for the ringing call of the woodpecker or the loud robin-like 'tick' of the hawfinch. Late April and May are the most rewarding times for classic oak woodland summer migrants as they are all in full song. On the river, dippers and grey wagtails breed.

The heathland has breeding nightjars, which can be heard 'churring' on clear still evenings from as far away as the other side of the estuary. Open glades are very good for butterflies, including rarer species like the small pearl-bordered and dark-green fritillaries.

Redwings and fieldfares appear on the reserve as they travel westward to winter from their Scandinavian breeding grounds. Large flocks can be seen eating rowan berries at the top of the reserve. Woodcocks are also regularly seen in the wood and you may be lucky enough to see one as it flies quickly through the trees.

An excellent time to see ravens and their dramatic tumbling aerial displays. Great spotted woodpeckers are often heard but not seen, their sharp 'pic, pic' calls are the loudest calls in the wood.

About Mawddach Valley - Coed Garth Gell

Habitat

Coed Garth Gell is a woodland and heathland nature reserve. The oak woods, or Celtic rainforest are internationally important for their rare mosses, liverworts and lichens as the high light levels and humid conditions in the wood are ideal for them. The heathland at the top of the reserve supports migrant tree pipits and nightjars in the summer.

Conservation

The woodland has many ancient and veteran trees, especially oaks that were once more open grown. These trees and the wildlife which thrives on and around them, particularly the lichens and the woodland birds, prefer more open light conditions, and young crowding thickets of dense regeneration and holly threaten to reduce visibility and light levels.

In addition, rhododendron is a constant threat. We are working hard through mechanical interventions and trying to restore appropriate grazing to try and restore the right conditions across the site. An important part of this is ongoing work on the rhododendron to prevent it from recolonising the site.

Site information

Mawddach Valley - Coed Garth Gell is one of the best places for wildlife in the UK, and is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Activities and events

Leisure activities

The visitor trails weave through beautiful oak woodland with a fast-flowing river in the valley bottom. Part of the reserve's nature trail follows the route of an old gold mining track, and the remains of buildings and other structures associated with the abandoned gold mines can still be seen around the reserve. The views at the top of the reserve along the Mawddach Valley and up to Cadair Idris are some of the most admired in Britain. The nature trail is rugged and steep in places, so sturdy footwear is essential.

Marshside

Lytchett Fields

Arne

Mawddach Valley - Coed Garth Gell