The Best Wildlife Reserves Near Snowdonia

Snowdonia National Park is a key tourist destination, attracting millions of visitors each year, however there is plenty more to see in the surrounding area, including many nature reserves. 

A short drive from our North Wales holiday cottages, you can find areas bursting with wildlife, where you can see everything from migrant birds to exotic looking butterflies. 

Gwaith Powdwr North Wales Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve

Gwaith Powdwr is a 24 hectare wildlife and nature reserve where you can see a vast array of birds, butterflies and even horseshoe bats. The horseshoe bat is the smallest bat species in Britain, roughly the size of a plum, so if you're around at dusk you'll have to keep your eyes peeled to spot one.

The reserve also has sheep grazing all year round and an explosive industrial history. During the second world war a factory in the area employing over 500 people produced over 17 million grenades. The factory did so well due to it's remote location and natural, steep-sided valleys, making it the perfect hideaway. Nowadays however it's only exploding with nature. 

Caeau Tan y Bwlch North Wales Wildlife Trust nature reserve

Caeau Tan y Bwlch is located closest to our Llyn Peninsula cottages, at just a 20 minute drive away. It's known for its huge variety of wildflowers, where you can see plants of all different shapes, colours and styles. 

The reserve is at its most colourful in June and July, but the meadows can still be very boggy, so it's advised that when you visit you wear wellies or walking boots. There is also cattle, sheep and ponies grazing all year round. 

Traeth Glaslyn North Wales Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve

Due to its unique landscape, Traeth Glaslyn is a haven for birds, but it can also teach you a lot about nature in general due to it being a salt marsh and estuarine reserve. The reserve will look entirely different depending on what time of year you visit it, with it often being flooded or completely submerged during the wetter months.

Witness the tides in all their glory, the impressive landscape and see how many different species of birds you can spot. 

Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife

Another hot-spot for bird lovers, the trust is famous for the osprey, a spectacular bird of prey. The osprey is listed as a Schedule 1 species on The Wildlife and Countryside Act, due to its rapid decline in the natural world, largely due to hunting. They are typically seen in Scotland, however Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife reserve is one of the few places you can now see them in England and Wales.

The reserve also has a visitors centre, where you can find out more about the birds and other wildlife. 

Looking for more Snowdonia related things to do and see? Read our post on Snowdonia beaches with epic views here.