About Beaufort Hill Ponds & Woodlands
The official Facebook page for events, attractions and activities at Beaufort Hill Ponds & Woodlands.
Beaufort Hill Ponds & Woodlands Description
Beaufort Hill Ponds & Woodlands is part of the recently formed Ebbw Fach Trail group, connecting 13 Green Spaces in the Ebbw Fach valley.
The site lies approximately 1300 – 1350 feet above sea level and comprises 81 hectares of open space situated north of Beaufort and to the south of the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road between Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr. Most of the site was created as a land reclamation scheme on an area of former opencast mine workings.
The site as a whole is of great biodiversity value supporting a mosaic of habitats such as acid grasslands, hay meadows, wet heath mire, swamp and open water.
The two former reservoirs known as Upper Boat and Lower Boat Ponds and the mire and swamp communities surround them are particularly important.
Part of the site also includes Mynydd Llangattock Common which is important for notable species such as snipe and breeding lapwing. It is also a valuable site for the local community and popular for walking, angling, bird watching and other forms of informal recreation.
The site is adjacent to the moorland tops of the Llangattock and Llangynidr mountains on which there is little shelter and harsh winter conditions. The mountains are within the Brecon Beacons National Park although the site itself is not within the Park’s boundaries.
Two ponds are adjacent to the woodland area. These ponds are linked to the early days of the industrial revolution.
A map dated 1880 shows the existence of the ponds which were built to supply water down to the Nantyglo Ironworks’approximately 2 miles distant. The ironworks were built in 1780.
After the closure of the Nantyglo Works, water was diverted to supply a new works being built in Ebbw Vale.
In 1937, when the new Richard Thomas and Baldwins Steelworks opened in Ebbw Vale, a new reservoir was constructed at nearby Blaen-Y- Cwm and the ponds were kept full by water being released from this reservoir.
Since the closure of the Corus steelworks at Ebbw Vale in 2002, the reservoir has been acquired by Welsh Water and the ponds now rely entirely on their own small water catchment area.
Reviews
Dear dog owners, it's that time of year again that our water birds start to make their nests. We do not want to prevent your pets from their regular swim but could we ask that they avoid their swim near the nesting areas (usually within the reeds)? Thank you very much 👍
Pop in to The Beaufort Theatre and pick yourself up a picnic. The weather is warming up so make sure you pick yours up, coming in May 👍
Why not call in following a stroll around the woodlands. Plenty of parking and only 2 mins away. 👍
First cut of the year and filled gaps in the new hedgerow. #springtime
Fantastic array of fungi spotted on the roots of a fallen tree. Always best to leave things as they are 🥰
Found this today, less than 2 minute walk to the woodlands entrance. Why wouldn't you want to live in Beaufort? https://www.darlows.co.uk/…/ebbw-vale-g went-n…/dar100211286/
We are pleased to announce that we have employed a new park ranger and lifeguard. Please welcome Toby 😀
Made the most of the weather this week by completing the repairs to the bird hide and the oak bridge. A big thanks to everyone that helped out again, without volunteers we would not be able to complete the tasks. A big thanks also to Blaenau Gwent CBC and the General Grants Scheme that allowed us to purchase the materials from Philip Jones Timber Products #keepbusinesslocal #volunteer
Dragonfly pond had some essential maintenance this week. Works conducted by Dan Burrows. Hopefully the pond will now hold much more of its water in the summer and the new bund will prevent the heathland becoming flooded.
We have started to experience an increase in dog foul recently. Our first action was to survey and tag each incident. I was shocked to have recorded 136 dog foul incidents, each tagged and where possible picked up. If you choose to walk your dog at Beaufort Woodlands please respect that this site is solely managed by volunteers and it is us volunteers that clean up after the irresponsible dog owners. Therefore if your dog fouls then bag it & bin it or take it home. What makes it worse is that there are 5 dog waste bins on site and dog bags are available FREE! Take a visit to one of our local shops, Carini's Shop (self employed) to pick some up. Blaenau Gwent CBC Keep Wales Tidy - Cadwch Gymru'n Daclus #TidyTowns #bagitbinit
It was so sad to hear that our former chairman and founding director had passed away at the beginning of December. Rex was made our Honorary President after relinquishing his role as chairman of Beaufort Hill Ponds & Woodlands Preservation Society. The Gwent Gazette has now publicly announced his passing and can be read here: "We are sad to report that Wales' longest-serving councillor and a former mayor of Blaenau Gwent has died. William David Reginald Herbert, known as Rex..., served as mayor for the borough three times and was a councillor for 53 consecutive years. The great-grandfather will also be remembered as a former head teacher of Beaufort Primary School. In 2001, Rex was awarded an MBE for services to Local Government and the community in Beaufort. During his career, he played an instrumental role in opening Ebbw Vale swimming pool, redeveloping the steelworks site, and overseeing the Garden Festival. The 92-year-old will be sorely missed by the community for his years of hard work." The picture shows Rex and other directors receiving the Campaign for Protection of Rural Wales award in 2010.
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Dear Director/Member(s), This is to give notice of the 11th Annual General Meeting of the society, which will take place on Wednesday 7th November 2018 at Beaufort Hill Community Welfare Hall (Old Snooker Hall), Beaufort Hill at 6:30 PM.
AGENDA
... 1. To receive and consider whether to accept apologies for absence 2. To confirm the minutes of the 10th AGM held on Thursday 2nd November 2017 3. Matters arising from the minutes 4. Chairperson’s introduction 5. Company Secretary’s report 6. Web editor’s report 7. Treasurer's report 8. Directors’ appointments
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We are very fortunate to have many photographs posted or tagged on our Facebook page. We also have a website where we also publish many of these with your permission. Rather than ask every person individually we would like to ask that if you are happy to tag our page Beaufort Hill Ponds & Woodlands you are happy for us to use them on our main website. Obviously credit will be given and if a copyright exists then this remain yours. Thanks in advance, Beaufort Hill Ponds & Woodlands Preservation Society
We received multiple inquiries regarding difficulty people had when trying to access the park with mobility vehicles. All our gates give access to wheelchairs but some disabled individuals enjoy independence and wish to gain access easily. Unfortunately the existing gates prevented them doing so. It was therefore our aim to raise funds to improve access for these users. Hopefully we have accomplished this. Many thanks to every person and group that contributed to this project, it would not have happened without your support. Also thanks to every volunteer in our community that helped with the construction too. Please note: You will need a Radar key to unlock the gate.
Laid the base using hardcore and stone dust then used a compactor to level it. Still some work to do but pleased with progress. Used old concrete to create a hibernacula too 😉 #reducereuserecycle
Making great progress with the new gate today, very warm though 😳
Our visitors today were Peter, Ellen and Mark from Swan Rescue South Wales. Unfortunately one of our signets had fishing tackle around its head, including the float! Thankfully the signet is ok but please, if you do fish these ponds take your tackle with you :(
Started work on our new gate this morning, plenty of work to do yet though... watch this space
Very well maintained, tranquil and an excellent place to walk the dog.
Very well kept, and a pleasant walk. First time up there but will definitely go again, recommend to anyone that has not been.
Pleasantly surprised, never been before and found by complete chance. Plenty of wildlife and very well maintained.
Lovely atea
Love this place always a pleasure to walk around this we'll kept beautiful area. Keep up the good work
Great place to walk the dog in beautiful scenery ,wildlife and clean and tidy with plenty of wheelchair access and benches to rest .
Full of wildlife , birds such as herons that we didn't see when we were kids.Great place to let your dog off the lead and have a run, provided you respect the wildlife and clean up after them.
Fantastic place. Pitty about the dogs running wild in the water disturbing the wild life.
Lovely walking area
It's a shame some people don't pick up their dog mess and a few people with badly behaved dogs don't put them back on a leash when other walkers or dogs are in the area.
I know of some dog walkers that have had their dog attacked by the same animal even when theirs is on its leash.
John Hillier does a fantastic job of keeping the hole site looking as good as it does.
If only I could retire, I would enjoy helping too. ���������
Too many dogs to walk, and so little time to do it �
No bins, need more precautions to prevent the loss of a beautiful paradise
Very well maintained, tranquil and an excellent place to walk the dog.
Very well kept, and a pleasant walk. First time up there but will definitely go again, recommend to anyone that has not been.
Pleasantly surprised, never been before and found by complete chance. Plenty of wildlife and very well maintained.
Lovely atea
Love this place always a pleasure to walk around this we'll kept beautiful area. Keep up the good work
Great place to walk the dog in beautiful scenery ,wildlife and clean and tidy with plenty of wheelchair access and benches to rest .
Full of wildlife , birds such as herons that we didn't see when we were kids.Great place to let your dog off the lead and have a run, provided you respect the wildlife and clean up after them.
Fantastic place. Pitty about the dogs running wild in the water disturbing the wild life.
Lovely walking area
It's a shame some people don't pick up their dog mess and a few people with badly behaved dogs don't put them back on a leash when other walkers or dogs are in the area.
I know of some dog walkers that have had their dog attacked by the same animal even when theirs is on its leash.
John Hillier does a fantastic job of keeping the hole site looking as good as it does.
If only I could retire, I would enjoy helping too. ���������
Too many dogs to walk, and so little time to do it �
No bins, need more precautions to prevent the loss of a beautiful paradise