A Virtual Wild Walk Around Aberdare Park

Carrying on up the hill turn left across the bridge that crosses the cascades where you will see the Grey Squirrel perched upon the colourful fencing or scuttling around on the floor.  A small grey rodent with a fluffy broad tail the American grey squirrel is not an indigenous species in Europe and was introduced to England in around 1876 and quickly spread across the whole of the United Kingdom pushing the smaller indigenous Red Squirrel to the brink of extinction by stealing their food sources thanks to their larger size. If you are lucky you may see one perched on their back legs holding an acorn, much like we would hold and eat an apple.

Let us leave the lake now and prepare ourselves for the climb up the hill. With the bandstand on your left and the boathouse on your right make your way up the winding road. There are several mature trees here on which you can often see a Nuthatch these plump birds the size of a great tit can be seen in the lower branches of trees in this area. A colourful bird with blue-grey back parts and a whiteish under parts and chestnut sides parts. Where there are Nuthatches there will invariably be its tree mate the Treecreeper. A small but very energetic bird. They have a long, slim bill. They will often scamper to the bind of the tree once they have spotted you in the vicinity. The Treecreeper will climb up the tree but unlike its tree mate the Nuthatch it cannot climb down the trunk but instead flies and begins the process of climbing back up again.

Turning right once you have crossed the bridge follow the path uphill and if you are able cross the rough path to your left where you will find a bench on your right-hand side. Take a much-earned rest here after your exertion on the hill. In front of you is an excellent example of an Oak woodland, resplendent in the Summer with their light green leaves and orange red hue in Autumn and hanging with their fruit the acorn. You will also find Ash and Hazel trees here as well as brambles and holly bushes.

The grasses and vegetation in this area of the park have been left to grow to encourage wildlife to prosper. In the summer, this area is a hive of insect activity, with several species of bee such as the Honeybee and Bumblebee. Other invertebrates that you are most likely to see in this area are butterflies including The Red Admiral, Peacock, Common Blue, Comma, Gatekeeper and Small Tortoise Butterflies. In the spring around April or the beginning of May you may be lucky enough to hear a Cuckoo calling here with its very distinctive call. Another sound that you may hear in this wilder part of our park is the drumming of a woodpecker, likely to be a Great Spotted Woodpecker these splendid birds can be identified by its dirty-white underparts with a flash of deep red under its tail which is black with irregular white spots.

Retrace your steps back on to the large road which circles the park and turn left. From this vantage point you can see most of Aberdare Park. In autumn this is a perfect spot to see the beautiful reds, golds, and oranges of the trees. Make your way down the gentle slope of the road until on your left in the summer months you will see the fantastic sight of the rose garden.  The garden boasts several different species of rose including: ‘Alpine Sunset’, Superstar’, ‘Claret’, ‘National Trust’ and many more.  The rose garden provides another ideal opportunity to see our wonderful array of bees, butterflies and even in the hight of summer dragonflies.  Making your way around the curve of the road you are now entering the area of the park that is dominated by the largest trees.