Autumn has most certainly arrived at Penllergare Valley Woods. The dazzling display of colour was even better in the northern end of the estate this year thanks to the reflections on the newly-restored Upper Lake. Isn’t it spectacular!

Early Autumn Colours at Upper Lake. Photo by Carey Beor

As well as the shades of golds, reds, oranges, browns and greens, we’re loving the explosion of mushrooms this Autumn too. This year seems to be a really good one for fungus with a wide array of varieties and all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours in the woods. They really are one of nature’s wonders! Just look at this iconic Fly Agaric.

Fly Agaric 2014. Photo by Crowbuster

While looking through our archive of fungi photos, we came across this painting of fly agaric which apparently came from an original sketch book owned by Emma Charlotte Dillwyn Llewelyn – John Dillwyn Llewelyn’s daughter. Paintings like this give us an indication of what fungi would have been found at Penllergare in the 19th century. Often the name of the fungi is written on the page as well as the date and where it was found. This is invaluable information and we’re so lucky to have it.

WOODLAND VOLUNTEERING

It most certainly has been a damp Autumn but rain or shine our woodland volunteers have been out in force! What a dedicated team we have and we can’t thank them enough for their commitment and efforts in maintaining and restoring Penllergare Valley Woods for everyone to enjoy. Here they are (in their waterproofs!) removing bramble, planting new shrubs and flowers, and laying a new ‘soft’ path in the upper garden area opposite the coffee shop.

Rain or Shine Woodland Volunteers – Oct 2014

What’s more, our woodland volunteers have been cutting and cleaning rhododendron, stone picking, log moving, raking paths of leaves and clearing the drainage. It seems that lots of families are loving the muddy paths though so perhaps we shouldn’t be clearing too much of the drainage! 🙂 A large party from the Hafod primary school even came on a welly walk recently in the pouring rain!

Roger clearing the drainage. Photo by Edward Tucker

Splashing in the Mud. Photo by Cameron Sansom via Twitter

COFFEE SHOP

Great news! Our fantastic team of  volunteers are keen to keep our coffee shop open throughout the autumn and winter to continue to provide you with a friendly welcome, a warm drink and a delicious piece of homemade cake. From 1st November our coffee shop will be open everyday from 10.30am – 3.30pm and our car park will be open from 8am – 5pm. The slightly reduced hours are due to the shorter daylight hours. We hope to see you soon!

Our Sunday Coffee Shop Volunteers. Photo by Julie Osbourne

WATERFALL AND ARCHIMEDES SCREW

With so much rain feeding the river Llan, the waterfall is so powerful at the moment. The hydro turbine surely is having a good run and is generating lots of electricity for us to sell back to the grid. It’s attracting quite a bit of interest too. This month we’ve had visits from the Welsh European Funding Office as part of a tour of renewable energy installations in South Wales and from Dr Emyr Roberts, the Chief Executive of Natural Resources Wales, the Welsh Government sponsored body responsible for ensuring that the natural resources of Wales are sustainably managed, maintained, enhanced and used. They were impressed and encouraged by our ambitions and achievements.

Visit from WEFO – Oct 2014 (Photo by Faye Maher)

OBSERVATORY

Local tree surgeons have felled and cleared away two large Leyland Cypress from near the Observatory. These trees were not only obscuring the views into the Observatory, but also the views out from the observing tower. They were also preventing the free circulation of air around the building and preventing it from drying out. Work will proceed on this scheduled ancient monument shortly.

EVENTS

In October, we hosted a networking event organised by Llais y Goedwig, the network of community woodlands for Wales. It was great to have a gathering at Penllergare Valley Woods to discuss the future of community woodlands in South Wales and to share our experiences with others. The group enjoyed a tour of Valley Woods and a delicious vintage-style buffet in the coffee shop. Thanks to everyone for making it a success.

Tour of Penllergare (Llais y Goedwig Regional Event 2014). Photo by Meryl Thomas

Volunteers John and Janet Childs attended an event in Blaen-y-Maes called ‘Xstream Market Day’ in conjunction with Gwalia Housing and Keep Wales Tidy. We were keen to get involved to showcase our work and to encourage more people to care for their environment. Thanks to John and Janet for putting a lot of effort into preparing information boards and arranging the whole thing.

Volunteers John and Janet Childs at Blaenymaes Xstream Market Day. Photo by Faye Maher

Penllergaer Scouting groups were at the Woodland Centre once again this month. This has become a regular booking. It’s a really exciting and inspiring venue for young children to meet, and it’s great that they’ll get to know Valley Woods even better and hopefully develop a strong attachment to ‘our’ woods. We are pleased also to see that the Forest Schools project with Blaenymaes Primary School – based near Cadle – is also going well. It’s important that we educate the future generation about the importance of Valley Woods and also to encourage play in the outdoors.

Forest School Blaenymaes Project 2014. Photo by Forest School SNPT

FUNDRAISING

We are of course looking to the future as well. There’s a long and growing list of good ideas and projects for 2015 and beyond, ranging from improving paths, the restoration of the walled gardens, through to the provision of better and permanent volunteer facilities and equipment, to repairs to the retaining wall of the carriage drive and more. All will need concerted effort and money, and on top of this we also need to generate sufficient funds to maintain what we already have – over 260 acres in all. We are overwhelmed with the support and positive feedback we are getting from visitors and local people – this is great and really spurs us on. We’re always on the look out for enthusiastic people who are willing to join us on our restoration journey through becoming a Friend, volunteering, giving a donation, leaving a legacy or working with us to raise money. If you love Valley Woods and want to keep it open, safe and welcoming for everyone to enjoy, then please do get in touch. We really do need all of the help that we can get.

The Waterfall in Autumn 2014. Photo by Carey Beor

Thanks again for your interest and support in Penllergare Valley Woods. This month we’ll leave you with a lovely note by supporter Kev Johns which was published in the South Wales Evening Post recently.

“How incredible is the transformation and restoration at the old Penllergare Estate. There’s now a dedicated car park, visitor centre, a cafe and acres of beautiful woodland walks down to the lake and waterfall. It really is a secret and magical place, where you can enjoy the sound of birds and the sight of plants and wild flowers. Despite the fact that the estate is within sight of the M4 when deep in the valley you could be a million miles away from the noise and fumes of the passing traffic. It’s an incredible place and while the trust and local authority are due top marks for the work they have done credit must be given to the volunteers who as a labour of love have helped make the estate the beautiful visitor attraction it is today! It’s an attraction that you need to visit and not just once. Every visit there will be an encounter with something new.”

“It really is one of the hidden gems of Wales!”