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News and inspiration for visitors to our woodlands and National Nature Reserves.
There’s lots of natural beauty to enjoy at this time of year from leaves glittering with a coat of frost to the pop of colour provided by winter berries.
The woodlands and reserves in our care are open all year round but please check our website before you set off as we may need to close car parks, trails or other facilities in snow, strong winds or other bad weather.
Winter can bring additional challenges when you want to visit the outdoors especially if weather conditions worsen and the temperature drops. At this time of year it’s particularly important to check the weather forecast and make sure you have the right gear before you set off.
The AdventureSmart website has tips to help you prepare for the outdoors during the winter months.
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If running is on your list of New Year’s resolutions, you may want to try out one of our running trails.
There are running trails in these four places:
- Newborough National Nature Reserve and Forest, Anglesey
- Coed y Brenin Forest Park, near Dolgellau
- Bwlch Nant yr Arian Forest, near Aberystwyth
- Spirit of Llynfi Woodland, near Bridgend
The trails vary in length and difficulty and provide an opportunity to run off-road on traffic-free routes.
Every trail has an information panel at the start and is waymarked so that you can feel confident about following the route, and the view is much nicer than in a gym!
Remember that you’ll need footwear and kit to suit the conditions and some sections of the longer trails follow muddy footpaths where trail shoes are recommended.
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If you want to get a good view of the stars this winter then head for a Dark Sky Discovery Site.
Two of our woodlands are Dark Sky Discovery Sites: the Arch (13 miles south east of Aberystwyth) and Coed y Bont woodland (6 miles north of Tregaron). Both woodlands are located in the Cambrian Mountains which have some of the darkest night skies in Europe.
Use the links to our website below to find out more about visiting the Arch and Coed y Bont, and go to the Dark Sky Discovery website for tips on enjoying the night sky.
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The Winter Trail Gaeaf running event is on Saturday 17 February at Coed y Brenin Visitor Centre. This seven mile trail run on singletracks and footpaths through Coed y Brenin Forest Park is organised by Run Coed y Brenin and more details are on their website.
The Fox Antifreeze mountain bike event is on Saturday 9 March in Coed y Brenin Forest Park. This is a multi-lap, chip timed, staggered start mountain bike endurance challenge organised by Dyfi Events. The route follows their hand-picked remix of the forest park’s finest trails.
The Silver Trail Half Marathon, 10k and junior races (from half a mile to 2.7 miles) take place at Bwlch Nant yr Arian Visitor Centre on Saturday 23 March. The event is organised by Aberystwyth Athletics Club and there are medals for all finishers and chip timing for the adult races.
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Our woodlands and National Nature Reserves are great places for family adventures.
Whatever the weather, children love the freedom of playing outdoors and discovering Wales’ wonderful wildlife.
You can find places with play areas, easy cycling trails and pushchair friendly walking trails on our family-friendly web page.
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January is Walk Your Dog Month, encouraging owners to exercise their dog regularly outdoors even in the depths of winter.
Our places welcome well-behaved dogs that are kept under close control and put on a lead where signs request it. This will help to protect wildlife such as ground-nesting birds.
Remember that you are responsible for cleaning up your dog's poo - bag it and bin it or take it home with you.
Follow the advice in the Dog Walking Code for safe and happy walks with your dog.
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For many people, winter’s cold air and shorter daylight hours means a shift to spending more time indoors and being more sedentary.
It may be extra effort to get outside in winter, but wrapping up warm and heading outside will benefit your well-being and the environment too.
Discover five ways to connect to nature this winter in our health advisor's blog.
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We hope this snapshot from the places we look after across Wales has given you some inspiration to get out into the great outdoors.
Please do let us know what you think of this newsletter and share any ideas for content for future issues.
And why not forward it on to friends and family who would like to discover more of Wales?
For information about our woodlands and National Nature Reserves with visitor facilities, go to our Days Out website.
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