Carmarthenshire Forests - Storm Darragh Recovery

Overview

PIC CAPTION: Storm Darragh damage at Tower, Brechfa Forest

In south west Wales, we’re facing an enormous challenge in recovering from Storm Darragh, one of the most destructive weather events in decades.

Our windblow surveys, which examine the numbers of trees that have been uprooted and blown over, have identified that the scale of the impact is vast, with up to 900 hectares of windblow on the Welsh Government Woodland Estate (WGWE) with Carmarthenshire and other areas of south west Wales impacted the worst.

Recovery will be a long-term effort that could take up to three years.

Despite the difficulties, we are making steady progress, prioritising safety, reopening access points, and supporting local farmers.

We truly appreciate your patience and cooperation as we navigate this complex recovery process.

What’s open?

We’re pleased to report that some key access points have been re-opened. Here’s an up-to-date breakdown of what is accessible for walking, mountain biking and horse-riding:

• Talley Views Walk (Red Route) at Talley Woodlands, near Llandovery, is open.
• At Cwm Rhaeadr Forest, the all-ability trail and the lower descent of the mountain bike trail is open. Other trails including the waterfall walk have significant damage and remains closed.
• Halfway Car Park is open, providing access for walking, cycling and horse riding along our forest roads. The Halfway Woodland Walking Trails (Nant y Dresglen and Melyn y Glyn Walking Trail) are open.
• Pen Arthur Wood – access along the forest road is open for walking, cycling and horse riding.
• Pembrey and Penybedd Forest is open and accessible for walking and cycling. Horse permits can be obtained from: Pembrey Conservation Trust: Equine Permits
• Crychan Forest Car Parks (Brynffo, Cefn farm and Esgair Fwyog) are open providing access along forest roads for walking, cycling, horse riding and carriage driving. All walking trails remain inaccessible.   

In Brechfa Forest, we’re working to reopen Byrgwm and Abergorlech car parks shortly:

• At Byrgwm, this will include reopening small sections of mountain bike trails however the walking trail will remain closed. Access at Byrgwm will include walking, cycling and horse riding along the forest road.
• At Abergorlech, the play area, walking trails and Gorlech mountain bike trail will remain closed, however this site will provide access for walking, cycling and horse riding along sections of the forest road.
• Gwarallt Car Park and walking trail is open with the walking trail accessible.
• Keepers Car Park is open for access along the forest roads  for walking, cycling and horse riding.

Impact of Storm Darragh

Storm Darragh was a once in a 20-to-30-year event, causing significant damage across   Carmarthenshire with surveys to date recording up to 340 hectares of windblow – that equates to the size of roughly 480 football pitches.

Wind damage results from a combination of storm gusts, soil conditions, tree species, topography, and wind direction. Most of the damage this time was caused by north-easterly winds, which were unusual for the region.

• The Brechfa  and Caio areas were hit hard, with ongoing assessments to confirm the full scale of damage.
• Boundary fences have been impacted, and inspections are ongoing. Many fence repairs cannot begin until large scale tree removal has taken place
• Public access remains severely affected, with many Public Rights of Ways (footpaths, bridleways, Byways Open to All Traffic) inaccessible.  Surveys are ongoing to understand the scale of the impact and clearance work required.
• Many of NRW’s promoted walking trails are inaccessible and closed for safety reasons.
• We urge visitors to check our website for up-to-date information and follow on-site signage.

Priorities and ongoing work

• Supporting farmers: inspections and repairs to damaged boundary fences are a priority to ensure the welfare of farm stock, which currently cannot be securely grazed.
• Access and safety inspections: our teams are assessing trails, forest roads, and recreational areas to determine what can be reopened safely.
• Contract management: our teams are managing the tree clearance work with contractors to ensure we can reopen certain recreational sites, but with restrictions and diversions.
• Recreational access: clearing car parks and forest roads has been our priority, and clearance work is now progressing into clearance of walking, cycling and Public Rights of Ways.

Volunteers

A huge thank you to the volunteers with Brechfa MTB (CIC) who attended a maintenance day at Brechfa in line with their management agreement. Their hard work is making a real difference and supporting our contractors in restoring our mountain bike trails at Byrgwm, which will allow access once again along certain trail sections over the next two weeks, subject to trail inspections being completed. We will provide a further update on this as soon as the trail inspections are completed.

Thank you

We understand how frustrating these closures are, and we appreciate your patience as we work to restore safe access to the forests.

How you can help

To report any new incidents, please report them via our incident hotline on 0300 065 3000 or via our incident reporting form.

PIC CAPTION: Fallen trees following Storm Darragh at Llandovery Forest