Gwenffrwd-Dinas reserve

hi thomo, there isn't much in way of facilities at Gwenffrwd-dinas i'm afraid. there is a car park and picnic area and nature trails,plus an Abba Loo toilet which is only available from April to October. however there is no cafe / shop available at this site. hope this is helpful? if i can be of any more help, please get in touch, Dana

Here is a reply, I received to my email from the Gwenffrwd and Dinas reserve from earlier this year.

Hi there. Great to find these updates. It is possible to access the Gwenfredd by parking at the end of the lane of the cottage where the old volunteer cottage is. I used to work there as a volunteer in the 1990s so enjoy my trips back there. It's an amazing reserve and very easy to walk around. The part which is not so well maintained must be on other side of mountain near the old wardens farmhouse.

Hi Simon. Great to hear about your links to RSPB Gwenffrwd Dinas. Unfortunately there is no longer public access to the Gwenffrwd valley area of the reserve, due to the deterioration of the visitor infrastructure (boardwalk, steps and footbridge etc.) this area of the reserve was closed a number of years ago. This was partly due to the change in staffing on the reserve, as you mentioned in your post there used to be a full time warden, an assistant warden and residential volunteers. At present there is only a warden and they have responsibility for Gwenffrwd Dinas and another reserve, however this is a step forward from where we were a few years ago with one warden who covered four sites stretching from Snowdonia to Swansea. Thankfully they also have some local volunteers who help out, but the number of people on the ground is still less than it used to be. There is public access to the Dinas and there are permissive paths across other areas of the reserve but at present the Gwenffrwd valley is unsafe for visitors. Based on photographs posted on social media over recent weeks the publicly accessible parts of the reserve are providing outstanding views of returning migrants including pied flycatcher, redstarts and wood warbler so there is still plenty to see and I hope you continue to enjoy visiting the reserve.

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Unknown said:

Hi Simon. Great to hear about your links to RSPB Gwenffrwd Dinas. Unfortunately there is no longer public access to the Gwenffrwd valley area of the reserve, due to the deterioration of the visitor infrastructure (boardwalk, steps and footbridge etc.) this area of the reserve was closed a number of years ago. This was partly due to the change in staffing on the reserve, as you mentioned in your post there used to be a full time warden, an assistant warden and residential volunteers. At present there is only a warden and they have responsibility for Gwenffrwd Dinas and another reserve, however this is a step forward from where we were a few years ago with one warden who covered four sites stretching from Snowdonia to Swansea. Thankfully they also have some local volunteers who help out, but the number of people on the ground is still less than it used to be. There is public access to the Dinas and there are permissive paths across other areas of the reserve but at present the Gwenffrwd valley is unsafe for visitors. Based on photographs posted on social media over recent weeks the publicly accessible parts of the reserve are providing outstanding views of returning migrants including pied flycatcher, redstarts and wood warbler so there is still plenty to see and I hope you continue to enjoy visiting the reserve.

Why was the full time position  for a full time Warden for the Gwenffrwd/Dinas reserve no more. As has happened at other RSPB reserves of the RSPB generally over the many decades. I do know there used to be full time wardens in East Anglia and RSPB reserves in East Anglia hada full time Wardens such as Havergate Island, North Warren etc in addition to Minsmere and the less well known RSPB reserve in Suffolk, Wolves Wood had a warden called a Summer Warden for those smaller RSPB reserves. I won’t say less important. But I’ve been a member for do long of the RSPB since the early 1970’s and birdwatching since 1958 as a 5 year and a good memory from that far back. So what was the actual reasoning for disbanding the position of the full time warden of the Gwenffrwd/Dinas reserve which in many ways sadly stopped visitors being allowed to visit  the Gwenffrwd Valley which is larger than than the smaller Dinas part of the reserve which is still open. I do know about cuts generally within the RSPB over many years. But when this situation happened and stoped RSPB members and the public from not being able to visit the Gwenffwed Valley for quite a few decades now, I would like to know why this happened? Thanks!