Garn Wood, Kilkiffeth Wood & Dan-Deri-Cwm Felin-Ban

Also within

Dyfed County Arfordir Penfro / Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

Climate exposure

This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland, Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Geological Feature: Gorge / Ravine · Geological Period: Ordovician

Landscape processes: Coastal, Fluvial, Glacial, Volcanic / Igneous

Description

Description These three areas of semi-natural broadleaved woodland, with their numerous small waterfalls and gorges, clothe the steep valley sides in the middle reaches of the River Gwaun. Nationally important epiphytic lichen communities occur, with many species indicative of ancient woodland. Scarce woodland ferns are also present. At Garn Wood, the Gwaun has carved a low, boulder-strewn gorge through hard volcanic rocks. Elsewhere, on Ordovician shales, the dry acidic slopes are dissected by steep-sided, bryophyte-rich stream valleys or gorges with numerous damp flushed areas. Overgrown sessile oak Quercus petraea coppice with some hybrid oak Quercus robur x petraea dominates the tree canopy. Downy birch Betula pubescens and, in the more base-rich or flushed areas, ash Fraxinus excelsior and alder Alnus glutinosa, are frequent. Several non-native tree species, including sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus, beech Fagus sylvatica and hornbeam Carpinus betulus also occur. hazel Corylus avellana and holly Ilex aquifolium are important components of the shrub layer. The ground flora exhibits many species which seldom occur away from ancient woodland sites in West Wales, such as woodruff Galium odoratum, wood melick Melica uniflora, wood millet Milium effusum, common cow-wheat Melampyrum pratense and bearded couch Elymus caninus. The rich epiphytic lichen flora features 21 species that are indicators of woodland sites with a long history of continuity. The paucity of lichens throughout the neglected coppice re-growth contrasts with the abundance in gorge and steep stream-sides where old oak standards, ash, hazel and holly persist. Cwm Felin-Ban and an area in Kilkiffeth adjacent to the abandoned enclosures are of particular note. At the latter, the pollution-sensitive beard lichen Usnea articulara festoons ancient hazel stems and other suitable phorophytes in quantities unusual for West Wales. Many species characteristic of the Lobarion and pre-Lobarion communities are found at Cwm Felin-ban on the larger standard oaks which may be 200 years or so old. Carillaria pulverea, C. sphaeroides, Lecanactis premnea, Pannaria conoplea, Phyllopsora rosei, Lobaria pulmonaria, Leptogium lichenoides and Sticta fuliginosa thrive in the humid, gladed conditions of the Cwm. Smooth bark species of the Pyrenuletum on holly and hazel may also be found in the coppiced areas where these shrubs survive in suitably sheltered and moist conditions. These include Biatorina atropurpurea, Porina leptalea, Enterographa crassa and Thelotrema lepadinum. A rare species of moist woodland, Ochrolechia inversa, is also present in Cwm Felin-ban. More widespread old forest species occurring throughout these woodlands include Dimerella lutea, Stenocybe septata, Arthonia vinosa, Pyrenula chlorospila and Usnea ceratina. Of western Atlantic distribution, the diminutive Tunbridge filmy-fern Hymenophyllum tunbrigense flourishes amongst shaded hard rock outcrops in the high humidity of the sheltered gorge at Garn Wood, where it carpets near vertical rock faces in the largest known ‘Pembrokeshire’ population. Another uncommon oceanic fern, hay-scented buckler-fern Dryopteris aemula, is found by the small waterfall that cascades through Kilkiffeth Wood. Documentary evidence supporting the antiquity of these woodlands is provided by the Elizabethan historian, George Owen, who mentions ‘Killkythed’ amongst others as ‘woodes of divers gentlemen sufficient to serve their houses of fuell and some for buildings’ in his ‘Description of Pembrokeshire’. Remarks: The site lies within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Plant communities