Welsh Coast Competition Goes Live

Da chi'n caru arfordir Cymru? Rhannwch atgofion o'ch hoff le i ennill taith caiacio byth-cofiadwy yn Sir Benfro...

Do you love the Welsh coast? Share memories of your favourite place and win a fantastic kayaking trip of a lifetime...

How long is a mile of coast?

by Richard Neale

 

“So, how much Welsh coast does the National Trust look after?”

This was the question I was often asked when I started as the Welsh Coast Project Manager.  The answer – as hinted by the title of this blog post – is not quite as simple as you’d think.

Knowing that it was one of the basic pieces of information I needed, I asked – rather too casually, as it turned out – one of our mapping boffins to work it out and the answer came back as 196 miles. 

Suitably impressed, and being prone to a bit of hyperbole, I rounded it up to 200 and started to share the fact with anyone who’d listen.

But it turns out that there was a problem.  I’d omitted to give one vital piece of information to my mapping colleague. That is: what scale I wanted it measured at.   

In my defence, this was before I became aware of something known as the coastline paradox. It turns out that our coastlines are fractal in their nature.  To put it another way, the length of the coastline depends on the method used to measure it. 

 

The more accurately you measure it, the longer the coast gets!

I could get seriously into the science of this, but suffice to say, the National Trust has been using different scales in different parts of the Trust.  This meant that our coastal statistics have been, well…a bit dodgy.

The time has come for a standardised method to be applied.  And after a fair bit of number-crunching at our head office, the answer has now come through and I can now put the story straight.

• The National Trust cares for 156.77 miles of Welsh coast (let's say 157). 
• The total length of the Welsh coast as determined by the same method is 1,465.94 miles
• This means that the NT cares for 10.7 % of the Welsh coast. 
• The length of the refreshingly fractal-free Wales Coast Path is 870 miles, meaning that the NT cares for about 18% of land adjacent to the coast path.

Coronation for Plas Newydd Meadow

By Richard Neale

As an update to my previous post about counting orchids, I'd like to share with you a small article about it which I found today.

 Meadows by royal command!

 Sarah Mellor, Special Sites Project Officer sarah.mellor@nationaltrust.org.uk

In Wales we were lucky enough to have three of our meadows designated as Coronation Meadows to celebrate the 60th anniversary in 2012 of the Queen’s coronation.

The basic premise for the project, led by Plantlife, is for each county in the UK to have a Coronation Meadow (60 were designated across the UK in a first phase but we are expecting more). This ongoing project aims to find a receptor site over the next few years to create a new meadow with green hay/seed taken from each Coronation Meadow.

It is so great to see meadows being used for this kind of project, as it’s so often woodlands that are recognised! Because they are not as visible, meadows can be so easily lost without us even knowing it. The National Trust in Wales is very supportive of this project which really celebrates our meadow heritage.

Plantlife organised a project launch at Highgrove, the Gloucestershire home of Prince Charles, who is Plantlife’s patron.

Nerys Jones, Property Manager for Plas Newydd, Joe Daggett, Head Warden for Mid and South East Wales, and I, along with many other meadow owners and managers from across the UK, were treated to a tour of Highgrove’s gardens, including a walk through the meadow created by the prince himself using green hay from other meadows.

We met the prince in person at the outdoor reception (sunshine, sandwiches, lemonade and Pimms!) where he gave a speech about his passion for the project and took great pains to talk to each of the meadow owners (Nerys ended up talking to him about chickens on wheels – not quite sure how that came about!)

Plas Newydd on Anglesey, a meadow which was formerly used as a sports field and entered haymeadow management 10 years ago. The greater butterfly orchid Platanthera chlorantha has gone from just a few flowering spikes to hundreds during this time. It is one of the best orchid meadows on Anglesey. Recently 60 members of the Botanical Society of the British Isles visited the meadow and found a third orchid species to add to our list.

For more information, visit this website (with a very long name!)

http://coronationmeadows.org.uk/meadow/plas‐newydd‐llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Counting orchids in an accidental meadow

by Richard Neale

Solar panels and orchids soak up the sun together at Plas Newydd

This morning, I joined a group of volunteers counting orchids in a wildflower meadow at Plas Newydd, Ynys Môn. 

We were there for two reasons.  The first reason is pretty obvious: to find out how many common spotted orchids, northern marsh orchids and rarer greater butterfly orchids grow in the field.  The second was that we were volunteer guinea pigs, helping Rachel Dolan, the Trust’s new nature conservation intern on Anglesey, to find out how best to enable visitors to get closer to nature and help with our ecological monitoring.

Our expert guides: Helen and Rachel

The reason why this meadow has survived, when 95% of the UK’s other meadows have disappeared, is an accident of history.  As agricultural improvements were happening all around, this particular field was kept for ball games by the nearby Conway outdoor pursuits centre.  Unbeknown to generations of youngsters from Cheshire, the field, which required summer mowing and winter grazing, became a perfect habitat for wildflowers, including three species of orchid. 

When the centre gave up the field four years ago and mowing was delayed until late summer, our gardeners watched in amazement at it turned into a colourful carpet of pale purple orchids.

Not folk dancing, but this is us ready to count a 3 metre swathe across the meadow

By a happy and somehow appropriate coincidence, the field has recently also become the location for one of the Trust’s solar energy arrays, producing electricity from sunlight; helping to reduce our fuel bills and atmospheric carbon emissions.

All being well, next year’s visitors to the Marquis of Anglesey’s ancestral home will be able to offer an hour or so of their time to help Rachel with this worthwhile and pleasantly relaxing orchid-counting task.

Oh, I almost forgot to say, after a bit of number-crunching back in the office, Rachel informs me that there are over 150,000 orchids in this meadow.

The question now is: are we managing the meadow the right way to retain and enhance its wildlife value?

Why not come to help us by giving up a bit of your time to do some orchid counting next year?

Northern marsh and common spotted orchids (or hybrids thereof)

Greater butterfly orchid

Aberdaron Update

Had a quick visit to Aberdaron today to view progress on our new visitor centre. 

I was with Robert Parkinson the Community Ranger, who will eventually be based at the centre when it's up and running.  It was great to see how the car park has been improved and the foundations are ready for work to start on the walls in the next couple of weeks. 

Boating access to the beach has been greatly improved, and whilst we were there someone was unloading kayaks at the car park and launching directly off the beach.  Before we made the improvements, they would have had to unload the kayaks on the road and drag them through bathers on the beach - so good to see people benefiting from the work already.

Robert and his Llyn colleagues are keen to keep the community and other visitor informed about progress, so we've been discussing how he can use social media to update everyone on how its going.

View of Henfaes, Aberdaron, where the new visitor centre is being built.   Notice the bare soil in the car park, which will eventually be covered with grass.

Get started on the 50 things to do before you're 11¾ challenge

There are 56 National Trust places in Wales where you can do your 50 Things activities.https://www.50things.org.uk 

And if you tried to do all the 50 Things possible at all these places then you would need to do 1,340 activities and that’s a lot to ask of even the most active child over one summer.

Throughout the year there will be special events organised around a 50 Things theme and this week you’ll be keen to try out some of the places in Wales that come out tops in the UK poll of places to do the 50 Things activities.

So to suggest six of the best: here is a list of top places to consider in starting to try out at least one activity.

1. Cook on a campfire – Stackpole (How to get there and more information)
2. Plant, it grow it, eat it – Tredegar House (How to get there and more information) 
3. Go on a walk barefoot - Pembrokeshire, Strumble Head to Cardigan (How to get there and more information)
4. Eat an apple straight from a tree – Llanerchaeron, Ceredigion Coast (How to get there and more information)
5. Catch a crab - Plas Newydd, Anglesey/Ynys Mon (How to get there and more information)
6. Go swimming in the sea - Llyn peninsula, North-West Wales (How to get there and more information)

https://www.50things.org.uk 









Some of the things that are happening in some of the locations this weekend on the 4th and 5th May 

Wild camping at Plas Newydd, Anglesey 
Plas Newyd-things-to-see-and-do-events
Construct a raft, fly a kite, go bug hunting and build a den.

Tree Story Seed to Timber at Colby Woodland Garden, Pembrokeshire
Build a den, climb a tree and find out about all kinds of wood and what it's used for.
colby-woodland-garden-things-to-see-and-do-events

Wildlife Trails at Stackpole, Pembrokeshire

Walks and family wildlife trails.Stackpole-things-to-see-and-do-events

Where’s the best place in the UK to walk barefoot? - WALES of course

In the top ten list of 50 Things activities the best place to take a barefoot walk in the UK is Strumble Head to Cardigan, Pembrokeshire, strumble-head-cardigan-things-to-see-and-do and the best place to cook on a campfire in the UK is at Stackpole Estate, Pembrokeshire. Stackpole-things-to-see-and-do-events

And just to keep you in the picture. The 50 things website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/50things has loads of great information to help you tackle the 50 things adventures. Sign up online and receive:

• Top tips and guidance for each activity
• Secret challenges to unlock
• Special rewards for the best explorers
• The wild test will help you find out what sort of explorer you are
• Your very own virtual explorer to guide you through the 50 things

Get in there quick and your 50 things scrapbooks will be available free at more than 350 participating National Trust properties (subject to availability)

So this year's get started on the 50 things to do before you're 11¾ challenge:

1. Climb a tree
2. Roll down a really big hill
3. Camp out in the wild
4. Build a den
5. Skim a stone
6. Run around in the rain
7. Fly a kite
8. Catch a fish with a net
9. Eat an apple straight from a tree
10. Play conkers
11. Go on a really long bike ride
12. Make a trail with sticks
13. Make a mud pie
14. Dam a stream
15. Play in the snow
16. Make a daisy chain
17. Set up a snail race
18. Create some wild art
19. Play pooh sticks
20. Jump over waves
21. Pick blackberries growing in the wild
22. Explore inside a tree
23. Visit a farm
24. Go on a walk barefoot
25. Make a grass trumpet
26. Hunt for fossils and bones
27. Go star gazing
28. Climb a huge hill
29. Explore a cave
30. Hold a scary beast
31. Hunt for bugs
32. Find some frogspawn
33. Catch a falling leaf
34. Track wild animals
35. Discover what’s in a pond
36. Make a home for a wild animal
37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool
38. Bring up a butterfly
39. Catch a crab
40.Go on a nature walk at night
41. Plant it, grow it, eat it
42. Go swimming in the sea
43. Build a raft
44. Go bird watching
45. Find your way with a map and compass
46. Try rock climbing
47. Cook on a campfire
48. Learn to ride a horse
49. Find a geocache
50. Canoe down a river

by Moyrah Gall

It was. Bloody Nosed...because blood red liquid oozes...

Bloody-nosed Beetle

Timarcha tenebricosa

by Moyrah Gall

Bloody Nosed Beetle at Southwood

The answer to last weeks unidentified beetle found at National Trust's Southwood Estate which is located on the coastal route above Newgale in  North Pembrokeshire is the Bloody-nosed-Beetle

Did you know the bloody nosed beetle is so called because it oozes a blood-red liquid from its mouth which is really irritating if something is attempting to eat it. 

It moves really slow and although a line running down its back might suggesting that it has but, Timarcha tenbricosa has no wings at all to fly.

by Moyrah Gall