RSPB Ynys-hir — Attraction in Ysgubor-y-coed

Had an absolutely lovely day out here! There are three loops to do, but the longest is 2 miles, so we spent about 3 hours and went around the whole park. The three loops are in three different environments, with a beautiful meadow/grassland connecting them. Hides are scattered around, overlooking utterly stunning views- and a couple had birds nesting in them! The walks might be minorly challenging if you are not especially fit (as I am not) as especially the woodland walk involves a large hill. If you are unsteady on your feet, I would not recommend it due to uneven paths- we’re in our 20s (and a but clumsy) and found ourselves tripping quite a lot. Be aware that entry is £6 for an adult, although there is a 20% discount for students, and children get in for £2. However, entry is free for RSPB members, and the friendly receptionist did try quite hard to get us to join! We don’t know much about birds, but I would recommend coming for the views alone, but the beautiful wildlife (including dragonflies, squirrels, snakes, butterflies and horses as well as birds) makes this a truly...

A relatively old nature reserve, this site has a small car park and limited facilities in terms of visitor centre, food/drink & shop. However, it is has helpful staff to help give advice about the site and the various pathways. The site is not easily accessible, with very limited facilities - the pathways and hides are older and not designed for wheelchair access etc, some paths are narrow and have short relatively steep sections, and the accessible toilet facilities are very basic. However, the site has a lovely range of bogs, marshlands, small lakes, and wonderful old oak woodlands. When I visited in the spring, the bluebells were out enmasse and the woods full of birds singing. The hides gave good viewing over the lake, river valley and surrounding hills. The site is a lovely more natural contrast to the nearby more modern facilities of the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust Dyfi Osprey Project, and in between there is a layby overlooking the river Dovey...

We visited in the pouring rain on a Saturday in early September and it was very quiet, which was great. We almost had the place to ourselves! Parking is plentiful & free, but there are very narrow lanes in places to get there. The visitor centre is up a slope and the paths are not particularly suitable for wheelchairs or buggies. It is possible though, to see & hear quite a lot of birdlife just from the carpark!

The visitor centre has facilities for food (cake & icecream for example) & drink (takeaway coffee for example), plus tables to sit at. There is a small gift shop and at the time of our visit, there was a very informative guide who told us the best route to take across the reserve & hide to visit for the bad weather.

There is a bird feeder just outside the visitor centre entrance where we saw nuthatch, coal tits & several other small birds. Further into the reserve you can view out over the Dyfi estuary. We saw widgeon & other duck...