A huge wetland jewel forgotten in the heart of Wales – what an opportunity for adventure with a marvellous cast of wildlife, says

Fergus Collins

ost in the seldom visited tranquillity of inland Ceredigion, this wilderness of bogs, reed grasses, woods and deep, dark lagoons comes as a huge surprise to travellers venturing along the road north of the ancient farming town of Tregaron.

On the OS map, Cors Caron National Nature Reserve

Lappears as a huge, intriguing area of wiggling blue lines and marshy tufts but when you see it for the first time, the strange vastness appears to stretch to distant smoky hills – the view punctuated by the silhouettes and cries of waterbirds. In fact, it’s actually three bogs surrounded by pools and streams and feels like a place of Welsh myth and mystery.

BURSTING WITH LIFE

This otherworldly atmosphere is somewhat dispelled on a sunny summer’s day when the sheer intensity and volume of life is heartening rather than disquieting. You’re surrounded by hopping, buzzing, whirring, skating and bugling hordes, as Cors Caron is home to myriad insects. Dragonflies are the summer stars: 16 species dwell here as does the super-rare large heath butterfly. Otters stalk the waterways, hunting eels and trout, while summer birdlife ranges from resident wildfowl to an orchestra of redstarts, sedge warblers, meadow pipits and a host of other more familiar species. Cors Caron is also a stronghold for adders, slow worms, frogs and newts.