Llanelli Naturalists Newsletter - September 1983
Ian Morgan

Around Furnace

Furnace, formerly called Cwm Ddyche, takes its name from the iron furnaces which can still be seen on the right-hand side of the road to Carmarthen, just past the edge of the village, these furnaces were the property of Alexander Raby - one of Llanelli’s early industrialists (and owner and worker of coal mines); his now-ruined residence ‘The Dell’ (built 1798) stands across the road from the furnaces. North from the furnaces are found the Trebeddod Reservoirs or “Furnace Ponds” as they are locally known; Treboddod means literally “The inhabitation/place of the graves” and local legend has it that human remains were found at the site.

The areas described above are probably the most interesting for the naturalist and they will now be considered in more detail. Nothing exceptional, ornithologically-speaking abodes in the area through a wide variety of common birds can be seen. Various duck species - Mallard, Tufted Duck, Pochard, and even Shelduck and Goldeneye have been recorded on the (better) Upper Pond; whilst in summer Yellowhammers are a characteristic feature of the bracken-choked hillsides above the Pond with their sleepy song. Older local ornithologists remember Nightjars as regular summer visitors - in days gone by this species was also known from Mynydd Penbre (recorded again here in the mid. 1970’s), Stradey Woods and around the Upper Lliedi Reservoir; it was known locally as “Bran Nos” or “Night Crow”.

A pleasant walk, at any season, is to follow the footpath either north to Cwtta Farm or north-east towards Ty-du, the former is perhaps the more interesting for the path passes a greater variety of habitat including alder-wood, oaks and brackeny slopes. Buzzards may be seen soaring overhead (especially on fine March-April days) and in early April 1982 one was seen engaged in a type of display flight described best by Cohn Tubbs in his excellent monograph on this species –

“The soaring bird, usually comparatively low over the territory, breaks into a level flight in which the wings are raised high above the body and pass very deliberately downwards to a point well below the body. The bird usually progresses in an arc, the long wing strikes and deceptively slow movement leaving an almost owl-like impression”

Tubbs believes this to be a form of aggressive display by the male towards an intruder and adds that he has watched this display “frequently enough in the New Forest but seldom elsewhere”. It would be interesting to know whether other members have witnessed this display; certainly Buzzards are numerous in Carmarthenshire (Wales has one of the highest densities of this species in Europe).

Looking down (westwards) from the path to Cwtta Farm, one may see many common (and scarce!) birds – Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatches, Great-spotted Woodpeckers, Redpolls and if one is lucky in winter, Woodcock and Siskin’s. This “cwm” also holds the Purple Hairstreak and the magnificent Silver-washed Fritillary, the former butterfly is elusive for it frequents the topmost foliage of oaks, but descending (especially early in the morning) to sip dew. In spring this narrow valley is bright with common wild flowers - Wood Anemones, Wood Sorrel, Bluebells, Violets and the easily-missed Moschatel.

Around the west side of the Upper Pond may be seen the grey-green stems of Glaucous Bulrush (Scirpus tabernaemontari), standing erect at the water’s edge, whilst the north side has Trifid Bur—Marigold (Bidens tripartita) in quantity; here also a large expanse of Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile) graces the shallows. Underwater grows Canadian Pondweed (Elodia canadensis) and the rare Elodea nutallii - only the second known site for this species in Wales.

In shallow water with a rocky bottom grows Shoreweed (Litorella uniflora).

Interesting species recorded on the limestone chippings of the paths are Hoary Plantain (Plantago media), a type of flax (Linum sp.) and Wild Carrot (Daucus carota) only the last still survives. The Upper Pond has some common damselflies and the rather scarce large, blue and green Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator).

Two species of Maple (excluding Sycamore) can be seen, Field Maple (Acer campestre), with bluntly-pointed smallish leaves along the path to Ty-du and the Norway Maple (Acer platanoides), with large, pointed maple leaves near the start of the path to Cwtta farm. Both were probably originally planted, but the first is native of parts of Britain (mostly South-east England and the Midlands).

Miss Innes *, who lived in nearby Old Road botanized this area in the 194O’s - some of her finds are now extinct or very rare in the county (none have been seen since near Furnace). The parasitic (on nettles and hops) Greater Dodder (Cuscuta europaea) was recorded at Bryn-ar-y-Mor (new the Stradey Park Hotel), Round-leaved Fluellen (Kickxia spuria) and Basil Thyme (Acinos arvensis) en the Stradey Road.

Alexander Raby’s ruined house has many garden plants, trees and shrubs still surviving - such as Prunus avium var. ‘Plena’ (a double flowered white cherry which in April has masses of white blossom overhanging the main road competing with a nearby cultivated apple. Beside the paths Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) grows in profusion, it was introduced into Britain from France and Spain in the Middle Ages and was used as a source of red dye; since then it has been used for tinting oils and cheap port wine. Bullace (Prunus domestica ssp. institia) — like a heavy-fruited Blackthorn - grows near the top of the steep path, while the overgrown garden has a few nesting Collared Doves - that spectacular colonist from the Near East and South-east Europe. It was unknown in Britain before the 1950’s; now it is a familiar suburban bird.

* related to John lnnes, author of “Old Llanelly” (1902) and the landscape painter J.D. Innes who painted a scene of LIanelli from Furnace’s (now disused) Pennant Sandstone quarry in 1907-8. This painting is now in the collection of works by this artist in the National Museum of Wales.

Access to all the areas is available to the public via a system of public footpaths.