Cors Fochno
Cors Fochno | |
---|---|
Location | Ceredigion, Wales |
Coordinates | 52°30′11″N 4°00′54″W / 52.503°N 4.015°W |
Governing body | Countryside Council for Wales |
Cors Fochno (Welsh pronunciation: [kɔrs ˈvɔχnɔ]) is a raised peat bog near the village of Borth, in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. Lying on the south side of the Dyfi estuary, it forms a component part of the Dyfi National Nature Reserve. It was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1976, and is the only such reserve in Wales.[1] A boardwalk leading from the northern edge of the bog skirts the edges of the bog and surrounding woodland.
A significant portion of the 264 hectares (652 acres) former peatland complex was taken for agriculture; the surviving core area supports the largest expanse of primary near-natural raised bog in an estuarine context within the United Kingdom.[2]
General site character
[edit]- Bogs. Marshes. Water fringed vegetation. Fens (85%)
- Heath. Scrub. Maquis and garrigue. (9%)
- Humid grassland. Mesophile grassland (5%)
- Improved grassland (1%)[2]
Ecology
[edit]Part of the Dyfi National Nature Reserve, Cors Fochno contains several varieties of peat moss and carnivorous plant.[3]
Wildlife
[edit]Otters, red kites, common buzzards, peregrines and, in the winter,hen harriers can be found here together with a number of Welsh Mountain Ponies,[3] and adder, badger, blackcap, Dartford warbler, fallow deer, nightingale, nightjar, willow warbler, and woodcock. The site holds a population of rosy marsh moth, a very rare species in the UK. The site holds significant populations of Eriophorum angustifolium, the common cottongrass, as well as Round-leaved sundew, all visible from the boardwalk which skirts the northern edge of the bog. In 2019, an extremely rare species of orchid for Great Britain, the Irish Lady's-tresses, was found on the bog.[4] The population has persisted into 2024
In popular culture
[edit]- Borth, Borth bog, and the Borth railway station form the backdrop to the main storyline in Season 1, Episode 4 ("The Girl in the Water") of Y Gwyll (Hinterland in English), transmitted on S4C in 2013 and BBC1 Wales in January 2014.
- Cors Fochno, and Borth and its surroundings also form the backdrop to the young adult classic novel and Newbery Honor Book winner, A String in the Harp, 1976, by Nancy Bond.