Cancelled as the accommodation providers have gone in to liquidation.
BLS SUMMER MEETING 2022 – Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales
Saturday July 9th – Saturday July 18th 2022
Local contact Ray Woods
This is an opportunity to visit one of the most extraordinary parts of Britain that to date has been little explored for lichens. The northern part of the South Wales coalfield merges in to a series of spectacular wooded valleys with immense waterfalls in to high moorland, cliffs and scree of the Brecon Beacons. They sit cheek by jowl with the densely populated coalfield valleys and the now often lichen-rich tips and sites of the former iron and coal industry. We will visit the site of possibly the only stripped mined site in Britain, abandoned unrestored at the end of the Second World war. Rainforest , limestone pavements and gritstone are within easy reach. The transformation from a lichen desert to one of great richness is rapidly underway. Sticta spp. Have returned to nearby woods and even Teloschistes chrysophthalmus turned up in the park where we are based!
Meeting Base
The meeting base is Dare Valley Country Park Hotel, Abadare CF44 7RG
Website: http://www.darevalley.com/
Accommodation and costs
The BLS have booked have booked 15 bedrooms, each of which can be for single or twin occupancy. We are booked on a full board basis.
The cost for the week is £385 + VAT with a £10 supplement for single occupancy. With VAT at 20% the costs are £462 per person sharing and £546 single occupancy.
Booking
Attendees should book with the Field Meetings Secretary, Graham Boswell, email togooutdoors@hotmail.com or by post to Base Lodge 16 The Parks Minehead TA24 8BS. And pay a deposit of £50 in to the BLS account, CAF Bank sort code 40-52-40 No. 00012363, please reference your payment Aberdare.
Timetable
The meeting will run from Saturday 9th July where we will gather for a meeting after dinner for an introductory meeting. We vacate the accommodation after breakfast on Saturday 16th July.
Further details of the meeting programme will be sent out to attendees nearer the time of the meeting.
Maps and reading
OS 1:25000 Maps
Explorer 166- Rhonda & Merthyr Tydfil
Explorer Leisure OL12- Brecon Beacon National Park West.
The article ‘Colliery-spoil biodiversity of the South Wales Valleys’ by Liam Olds & Richard Wistow in British Wildlife, December 2018, presents a fascinating overview of the richness and importance of this habitat.