Melincwrt Valley and Cwm Caca
Dyffryn Melin-cwrt a Chwm Caca
A short walk from the village of Melincwrt, near Resolven, will take you along the Melincwrt Brook into a little nature reserve managed by The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. It is an easy walk that takes you into the lower Melincwrt Valley as far as the photogenic waterfall, Sgwd Rhyd yr Hesg, which falls spectacularly into a jumble of sandstone boulders at its base.
Bydd taith fer ar droed o bentref Melin-cwrt, ger Resolfen, yn eich arwain ar hyd glan Nant Melin-cwrt i warchodfa natur fach sy’n cael ei rheoli gan Ymddiriedolaeth Bywyd Gwyllt De a Gorllewin Cymru. Mae’n dro hawdd sy’n eich arwain i mewn i ran isaf Dyffryn Melin-cwrt mor bell â rhaeadr ffotogenig Sgwd Rhyd yr Hesg sy’n disgyn yn drawiadol dros y casgliad o greigiau tywodfaen oddi tani.
In places, the perpendicular walls of the valley are covered in mosses and liverworts, with sheets of Straggling Pouchwort draped over the wet rocks which are splashed by the cascading water, while Royal Fern clings on to the rock behind the waterfall. The path-side river bank is wooded with Wych Elm and Small-leaved Lime in places, and a rather inaccessible, north-facing vertical slab of rock here is covered with Tunbridge Filmy-fern in its only known location in NPT.
The steep wooded sides of the valley are dominated by Sessile Oak, with a ground flora that includes Common Cow-wheat, Bluebell and Wood Sorrel. In previous decades, Pied Flycatcher bred in this woodland but they haven’t been recorded here in recent years. However, Grey Wagtail and Dipper are commonly found along the brook, and further upstream, above the waterfall, Spotted Flycatcher and Redstart are often seen.
The steep, gorge-like upper Melincwrt Valley, above the waterfall, is little explored, but wet rocks and splash zones there support interesting liverworts such as Compressed Flapwort and the exquisite Handsome Woolywort. Where the brook meanders through Cwm Caca there are banks of Ivy-leaved Bellflower and a large area of marshy grassland filled with rushes and bog mosses. Base-rich flushes in this vicinity have attractive swards of Thick-nerved Apple-moss, and small amounts of Beech Fern reside in the shade of rocky outcrops.
Mewn mannau, gorchuddir waliau unionsyth y dyffryn gan fwsoglau a llysiau’r afu, gyda haenau o Godlys Traphlith wedi’u taenu dros y creigiau gwlyb lle mae’r rhaeadr yn tasgu a Rhedyn Cyfrdwy yn glynu at y graig y tu ôl i’r rhaeadr. Mae glan yr afon ar ochr y llwybr yn goediog gyda Llwyfenni Llydanddail a Phisgwydd Dail Bach mewn mannau, ac mae darn o graig fertigol sy’n wynebu’r gogledd ac sy’n anodd iawn ei gyrraedd wedi’i orchuddio gan Redynach Teneuwe Tunbridge, unig leoliad hysbys y rhywogaeth yn CNPT.
Derw Mes Di-goes yw’r nodwedd amlycaf ar ochrau coediog serth y dyffryn, gyda fflora daear sy’n cynnwys Gliniogai, Clychau’r Gog a Suran y Coed. Mewn degawdau blaenorol, roedd Gwybedogion Brith yn bridio yn y coetir hwn ond nid ydynt wedi’u cofnodi yma yn y blynyddoedd diwethaf. Fodd bynnag mae Siglennod Llwyd a Throchyddion i’w canfod yn gyffredin ar hyd y nant ac ymhellach i fyny’r nant, uwchben y rhaeadr, mae Gwybedogion Mannog a Thingochion i’w gweld yn aml.
Nid yw rhan uchaf Dyffryn Melin-cwrt a’i hochrau serth, fel ceunant, uwchben y rhaeadr wedi cael ei harchwilio’n fanwl, ond mae’r creigiau gwlyb a’r parthau lle mae’r dŵr yn tasgu yn cynnal mathau diddorol o lysiau’r afu megis yr Ysgol-lys Cywasg a’r Gwlanlys Hardd. Lle mae’r nant yn ymdroelli trwy Gwm Caca, ceir llethrau o Glychlys Dail Eiddew ac ardal helaeth o laswelltir corsiog llawn cyrs a migwynau. Mae’r llaciau tra-fasig yn y cyffiniau hyn wedi denu clystyrau o afal-fwsogl Philonotis calcarea ac mae ychydig o Redyn Corniog i’w canfod yng nghysgod y creigiau bargodol.
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