Goitre Coed Fach - Quakers Yard, Abercynon

Site Description

Goitre Coed Fach occupies a moderately steep section of the southern side of deeply incised valley of the River Taff near Quakers Yard. It is a small part of the extensive length of more-or-less continuous riverside woodland along this valley. Housing is adjacent to the upper southern boundary, and an old tram road, now a cycleway, forms most of the northern lower boundary. At the western end the wood reaches the banks of the river, but the tram road separates most of Goitre Coed Fach from a narrow strip of mature beech woodland along the banks of the river.

The Key Features of this wood are ancient woodland, and informal public access. The ancient woodland occupies the eastern end of the wood, but there is no clear boundary to the secondary woodland at the western end and it’s likely that this area always contained some mature trees, and may have been wood pasture rather than completely cleared. Beech. Oak, ash and birch dominate the canopy, beech especially is regenerating vigorously, and is probably native on this site. The whole site is likely to have been considerably disturbed during the 18th and 19th centuries, with the construction of the railway viaduct to the east (a Scheduled Ancient Monument), and the installation through the length of the wood of one of the first brick lined main sewers in south Wales. Small quarry workings and spoil tips are also present.

The woodland is heavily used by the public. The Tram Road is part of the Taff Valley Trail a well used recreational route, and there are several other paths within the wood, and entrances from the Tram Road and from adjacent residential areas. Below the Tram Road is an attractive area of mature beech woodland bordering the river. This is managed by Merthyr Tydful County Borough Council as an amenity area. There are good bluebell displays in the woodland adjacent to the Tram Road