Glynllifon

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Gwynedd County Eryri / Snowdonia National Park

Geology & landscape

Mining / Industrial: Copper Mine

Description

Description This site has been selected for its population of lesser horseshoe bats Rhinolophus hipposideros. The site is situated in the former Glynllifon estate, 7.5km south west of Caernarfon. The site includes three summer roost sites and two hibernation sites for the lesser horseshoe bat. The main maternity roost is situated in the cellars of the Glynllifon mansion house, built during the 1830s. The site also contains areas of woodland which is used by the bats as foraging areas as well as hedgerows and other linear features used as flight routes. The colony of bats at Glynllifon was first reported in the early 1960’s. Since the roost at the mansion house has been monitored, the number of bats using the site has increased. The cellars in the mansion house are used throughout the year by the bats, both during the summer when the adults give birth and suckle their young and during the winter when the bats hibernate. The number of bats using the cellars in the summer regularly exceeds 600 adults. The numbers then increase to over 800 when the young start flying in August. In addition to the cellars, the bats are using a number of other roosts. Two additional summer roosts, Melin-y-Cim and Pen-y-Bont, are situated in the Llyfni valley near to Pontllyfni. These two roosts support a small number of bats (around 30-40 bats in each roost) and are less than 0.5km away from each other and have been shown to be linked to each other and Glynllifon. The bats from these roosts use several important feeding areas in and around the Glynllifon Estate. Within the estate, bats from the mansion forage in areas of plantation woodland along the Afon Llifon and on the southern side of the estate near to Plas Newydd. These areas also act as flight routes for bats going to other feeding areas outside the estate boundaries. A number of other bat species are found within the Glynllifon Estate. These include whiskered bat Myotis mystacinus, Natterer’s bat M. nattererii, Daubenton’s bat M daubentonii, common pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus, soprano P. pygmaeus, noctule bat, Nyctalus noctula and the brown long-eared bat Plecotus auritus. The site includes hibernacula situated in the old mine workings at Simdde-Dylluan Copper mine near to Drws y Coed in the Nantlle valley. Mining at Simdde-Dylluan dates back from at least the 18th century and continued through until 1920 when the mine finally closed. Most of the mine workings are no longer visible except for a number of horizontal passageways running into the hillsides above the valley floor. These tunnels are used throughout the year by lesser horseshoe bats, but only a small number of bats are present during the summer. Several other species of bat are found in the vicinity of the mines including common pipistrelle, and Myotis species. Otter Lutra lutra and water voles Arvicola amphibius have been recorded on both the Afon Llifon. Remarks: Glynllifon SSSI is part of Glynllifon Special Area of Conservation, being host to the following habitats listed in Annex IIa of the EC Habitats Directive: (Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora): ‘Lesser horseshoe bat’ The site is also host to the following species which are listed in Annex II and Annex IV of the EC Habitats Directive and the water vole is listed on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended): Otter All bat species Water vole Part of this site lies within the Snowdonia National Park. Pont y Cim is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Glynllifon is a Grade 2 listed building and the gardens are listed as a Historic Garden.

Species mentioned