CAT Logo
Woodlands & Wildlife

Woodlands & Wildlife

Home » Come to CAT » Groups & Learning » Woodlands & Wildlife

Wander through our sustainably managed woodlands, keeping an eye out for interesting and rare species of wildlife.

When CAT was first established, there was little here except piles of slate. From the start, making the site a better home for wildlife was a priority.

And it has paid off; the site is now home to lesser horseshoe bats, dormice, pied flycatchers, wood warblers, yellowhammers, red kites, buzzards, otters, polecats and peregrine falcons, as well as rare species of mushrooms and a wide diversity of mosses, ferns and trees.

Woodland Management

The woodlands of CAT are managed to be productive and to improve biodiversity. As you walk around, you’ll see mature stands of trees and areas of coppice (a traditional woodland management technique, where areas of woodland are periodically felled for firewood or timber and left to regenerate from the stumps).

kids running on the quarry trail

Quarry Trail

The newly created Quarry Trail takes visitors high above the Visitor Centre to learn about CAT’s sustainable off-grid water systems, to discover the site's thriving biodiversity, and to gaze down over the remains of Llwyngwern Quarry and into our industrial past.

Woodland Activities Area

Just beyond the Forest Garden is our woodland area. Here you can can sometimes find staff making use of coppiced wood on shave horses, pole lathes and cleaving breaks to create a variety of useful items.

The Bee Hut

Located in our Allotment Garden, the bee hut provides incredible insight into these fascinating and important insects. Get a glimpse of their busy lives, learn how they communicate, and find out how to help protect bee species from extinction by planting the flowers they need the most.