Pal-y-Cwrt in spring

Pal-y-Cwrt in Spring.

Pal-y-Cwrt is frontier country. A stone wall separates the wilderness of the Black Mountain from the green Carmarthenshire countryside, like a miniature Hadrian's Wall keeping out the marauding Scots. Its charm lies in being a small, secluded ravine, protected from the worst of the mountain weather - possibly chiseled from the surrounding limestone in previous industrial times. And this protection has allowed a vibrant wildlife community to flourish there.

On the sides of the ravine hawthorn trees have taken root and in early spring these are full of singing redstarts and willow warblers, and it can also be where you will hear your first cuckoo of the season. Wheatears abound, making use of the stone walls and discarded heaps of limestone and if your lucky you may see  a Ring Ousel spending time, browsing the hawthorn trees, before heading back onto the mountain. In the autumn it is also one of the best places in europe to find waxcap mushrooms.

Before leaving Pal-y-Cwrt however, there is one more thing you will need to do. Take a short walk to the top of the ridge on its northern side and you will be rewarded with a magnificent view across the Cennen Valley to Carreg Cennen Castle, perhaps the most photogenic castle in the whole of Wales.