Wildlife

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Young pretenders

Thousands of new trees have been planted to maintain wildlife habitats at Dinefwr Park, Llandeilo © National Trust

Thousands of new trees have been planted to maintain wildlife habitats

© National Trust

Some of the oaks in the deer park have been growing for 700 years.

They've been home to generations of beetles and lichen. The trees at Dinefwr are left in place to die slowly, as dead wood is a rich habitat for many insects. We've planted thousands of new trees to make sure there's a ‘continuity of habitat’.

Life in the lichens

Lichen on a veteran tree in the deer park at Dinefwr, Llandeilo © National Trust

Lichen on a veteran tree in the Dinefwr deer park

© National Trust

For over 20 years the magical deer park has been managed to encourage lichens and beetles.

More than 160 lichens have been recorded on the deer park trees, making it the most important parkland site for lichens in South Wales. As well as this, over 400 species of beetle live here. Dinefwr is one of the top 20 sites in Britain for invertebrates that depend on dead wood.

Did you know?

  • Dinefwr became Wales's first parkland National Nature Reserve in 2007
  • The Heronry Spring is used to provide drinking water for Newton House
  • Growths of tufa (porous rock) show the spring water is rich in lime
  • Beetles that live in dead wood are called saproxylic
  • They have names like Rhinoceros, Darkling and Four-banded longhorn
  • There are oxbow lakes on the Tywi floodplain below Dinefwr Castle
  • These are home to rare plants like bladderwort and curled pondweed
  • The rocks and fossils of the area are called Llandeilo flags
  • They were first illustrated by Roderick Murchison in the 1830s

Veteran tree walk

Winter trees against the sunset

To see more of the veteran trees at Dinefwr, why not explore one of our waymarked routes?

Venerable trees

Veteran oak trees in the deer park at Dinefwr, Llandeilo © National Trust

You don't need a tape measure to recognise veteran and ancient trees - you can use hugs instead.

Other ancients

Veteran Tree at Lanlay meadows © Will Lewis

Wales is rich in veteran trees. If you're visiting Brecon, call in at the Tarrell Valley to meet some of their old stagers.