Crymlyn Bog
Encyclopedia
Crymlyn Bog is a nature reserve
and a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest
of international significance, near Swansea
, south Wales
.
It is the largest area of lowland fen
in Wales and lies immediately to the eastern side of Kilvey Hill
just north the industrial area of Crymlyn Burrows
.
Plantlife found in the bog
is more typical of that found in East Anglia
. Habitats range from swamps, carr (fen), water meadows and tall reed bed
s to waterlogged scrub consisting mainly of willow
, where wetter areas merge with woodland
. There are a number of plants found in the wetland which are rare in Great Britain
. Examples of which include the slender cotton grass and lesser water plantain
.
In 2003 surveys of Crymlyn Bog, Pant-y-Sais Fen and the inter-connecting wetlands identified the area as one of only three locations in the UK at which the fen raft spider is found. The extent of the population is unknown but the quality of habitat at the site is considered good enough for the population to be stable.
The reserve is a heaven for birds. Predatory visitors like the hen harrier
, buzzard
, hobby
and the occasional marsh harrier
visit the site regularly. The site provides an important refuge for a range of wetland birds like the bittern
, water rail
, sedge
and reed warbler
s, bearded tit
and grey heron
, which can often be seen or heard there.
There is a visitor centre in the bog which is frequented by nature and bird watching enthusiasts.
and River Neath
which once flowed through the present day site of the bog.
Part of the land was previously occupied by a BP
oil refinery
,. Pany y Sais fen was largely owned by the CEGB
who used the fen to dump PFA
and by Swansea City Council who used is as a landfill
. Small parts were owned by the Neath and Tennant Canal
Company and small parts of the canal
still exist at the site.
With the surrounding industrialisation, encroaching residential districts and a polluting waste dump beside it, it was uncertain that the bog would survive. Andrew Lees, who later became Campaigns Director of Friends of the Earth
started a campaign with the Swansea branch of FoE to protect the bog. At the northern limb of the bog at Pant-y-sais fen, there is a memorial to Mr Lees, which carries a quotation from him: "At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the butterflies?"
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
and a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
of international significance, near Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, south Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
It is the largest area of lowland fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
in Wales and lies immediately to the eastern side of Kilvey Hill
Kilvey Hill
Kilvey Hill is a hill in Britain. It rises in south Wales, to the east of Swansea city centre. Kilvey Hill is high and is classed as a Sub Marilyn...
just north the industrial area of Crymlyn Burrows
Crymlyn Burrows
Crymlyn Burrows is an area of land in Wales, UK to the east of Swansea city centre, and south of Crymlyn Bog. It is bounded by Jersey Marine Beach to the south and the River Neath to the east...
.
Plantlife found in the bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
is more typical of that found in East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
. Habitats range from swamps, carr (fen), water meadows and tall reed bed
Reed bed
Reed beds are natural habitats found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions andestuaries. Reed beds are part of a succession from young reed colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground...
s to waterlogged scrub consisting mainly of willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
, where wetter areas merge with woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
. There are a number of plants found in the wetland which are rare in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. Examples of which include the slender cotton grass and lesser water plantain
Baldellia
Baldellia is a genus of aquatic plants commonly known as lesser water-plantains. It includes two species found in Europe and occasionally in northern Africa. The genus is named in honor of the Italian nobleman Bartolomea Bartoloni-Baldelli...
.
In 2003 surveys of Crymlyn Bog, Pant-y-Sais Fen and the inter-connecting wetlands identified the area as one of only three locations in the UK at which the fen raft spider is found. The extent of the population is unknown but the quality of habitat at the site is considered good enough for the population to be stable.
The reserve is a heaven for birds. Predatory visitors like the hen harrier
Hen Harrier
The Hen Harrier or Northern Harrier is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA, and in northern Eurasia. This species is polytypic, with two subspecies. Marsh Hawk is a historical name for the American form.It migrates...
, buzzard
Common Buzzard
The Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is usually resident all year, except in the coldest parts of its range, and in the case of one subspecies.-Description:...
, hobby
Eurasian Hobby
The Eurasian Hobby , or just simply Hobby, is a small slim falcon. It belongs to a rather close-knit group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis.-Description:...
and the occasional marsh harrier
Western Marsh Harrier
The Western Marsh-harrier is a mid-sized harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian Marsh-harrier....
visit the site regularly. The site provides an important refuge for a range of wetland birds like the bittern
Great Bittern
The Eurasian Bittern or Great Bittern is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds applies.-Etymology:...
, water rail
Water Rail
The Water Rail is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this species is a permanent resident in the warmer parts of its breeding range...
, sedge
Sedge Warbler
The Sedge Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge Warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa...
and reed warbler
Reed Warbler
The Eurasian Reed Warbler, or just Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds across Europe into temperate western Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa....
s, bearded tit
Bearded Tit
The Bearded Reedling is a peculiar small passerine bird. It is also frequently known as the Bearded Tit due to some similarities to Long-tailed Tits, or Bearded Parrotbill since it was later placed with these after it was removed from the true tits in the family Paridae...
and grey heron
Grey Heron
The Grey Heron , is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions...
, which can often be seen or heard there.
There is a visitor centre in the bog which is frequented by nature and bird watching enthusiasts.
History
It developed in ancient times in the estuary of the River ClydachRiver Clydach
The Lower Clydach River is a river in South Wales which rises on the slopes of Mynydd Betws west of Cwmgors and flows for around 10km through Cwm Clydach to its confluence with the River Tawe at Clydach. It runs through the RSPB's Cwm Clydach Nature Reserve just to the north of Clydach. -...
and River Neath
River Neath
River Neath is a river in south Wales running south west from its source in the Brecon Beacons National Park to its mouth at Baglan Bay below Briton Ferry on the east side of Swansea Bay.Several minor rivers rise on the southern slopes of Fforest Fawr...
which once flowed through the present day site of the bog.
Part of the land was previously occupied by a BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
oil refinery
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
,. Pany y Sais fen was largely owned by the CEGB
CEGB
The Central Electricity Generating Board was the cornerstone of the British electricity industry for almost 40 years; from 1957, to privatisation in the 1990s....
who used the fen to dump PFA
Pulverised Fuel Ash
Pulverised fuel ash , is a by product of pulverised fuel fired power stations. The fuel is pulverised into a fine powder, mixed with heated air and burned. Approximately 18% of the fuel forms fine glass spheres, the lighter of which are borne aloft by the combustion process...
and by Swansea City Council who used is as a landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
. Small parts were owned by the Neath and Tennant Canal
Neath and Tennant Canal
The Neath and Tennant Canals are two independent but linked canals in South Wales that are usually regarded as a single canal. The Neath Canal was opened from Glynneath to Melincryddan, to the south of Neath, in 1795 and extended to Giants Grave in 1799, in order to provide better shipping...
Company and small parts of the canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
still exist at the site.
With the surrounding industrialisation, encroaching residential districts and a polluting waste dump beside it, it was uncertain that the bog would survive. Andrew Lees, who later became Campaigns Director of Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
started a campaign with the Swansea branch of FoE to protect the bog. At the northern limb of the bog at Pant-y-sais fen, there is a memorial to Mr Lees, which carries a quotation from him: "At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the butterflies?"