Dinefwr
Dinefwr Park and its associated castle is an iconic place in the history of Wales. These days , Dinefwr is an 800 acres estate about a mile from the centre of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire.
The estate is owned by the National Trust, with a mansion - Newton House - in the centre.
The highest point of the estate is occupied by the ruined Dinefwr Castle, ancient seat of the Deheubarth kingdom. The powerful Lord Rhys held court at Dinefwr and influenced decisions in Wales. The estate fields are surrounded by lush woodland - Castle Woods.
These are ancient woodlands, and contain a large number of ‘veteran trees’, which are extremely large and old - some of the oldest oaks in the UK can be found here.
The trees are home to a wide variety of other wildlife, such as lichens and ferns. Birds such as nuthatches, woodpeckers and treecreepers are common, and summer visitors include willow warblers, chiffchaffs, redstarts and pied flycatchers. In the winter, woodcock use the woodlands.
Also within the woodland, on a site still owned by the Church in Wales, stands Llandyfeisant Church. - pictured to the right. I frequently take photographs of the Church - trying to capture that 'perfect image'.
The woodlands around Dinefwr Castle and Llandyfeisant Church are now managed for wildlife by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. They are broadleaved woodlands, with oak, ash, beech and sycamore the commonest trees, with Elm a recovering species.
Watching the changing seasons in Dinefwr
I hope that you enjoy this portfolio is seasonal images of Dinefwr. Just click the links to go to each season.
Spring
Also worthy of note is the wild garlic - usually in flower just before the bluebells - most prolific in the woods near the hide overlooking the lake.
Summer
In the evenings, scores of swifts dart over the fields. The Estate grows hay wild flowers (late Spring to early summer) to in the fields - a haven for many butterfly species.
Autumn
Go directly to the Autumn portfolio to view the impact that the unusual summer weather had on nature.
Winter
So the weather in winter for Dinefwr is more about rain, mists, and fog than long spells of cold and snow.
What on Earth Is THAT?
Again, wandering the fields and woods of Dinefwr every day leads to some amazing chance encounters.
The images below are examples of slime molds captured during the Autumn.
Slime molds are neither plants nor animals; they are a type of organism called a protist. They exist in different stages: some are single, amoeba-like cells, while others can clump together to form a larger, single-celled mass called a plasmodium. They are a completely different group of organisms than fungi, plants, and animals. The two images below are of the same species, commonly known as "dog vomit slime mold" (yep, really) or "scrambled egg slime". Its scientific name is Muciturbo crustacea.
The image in black is this slime mold in the fruiting stage - the black 'heads' are spore bearing.
