Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve

The Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve lies in Pembrokeshire beside the old course of the River Teifi. The reserve covers 264 acres of reedbeds, wet meadows and wooded copses threaded by the Pillau stream. An old railway line once ran between Hendy Gwyn and Cardigan, closing in 1962, and its track now forms a central path through the site. The reserve attracts winter floods that draw wading birds such as curlew, snipe, redshank and godwit. Breeding species include Cetti’s warbler, grasshopper warbler, water rail and nightjar. Otters, sika deer, polecats and adders also appear along the water’s edge, while cattle graze the marshes from time to time. Part of the larger Coedmor National Nature Reserve, the Teifi Marshes have suffered vandalism in recent years. A visitor centre was destroyed by fire in 2019, but efforts continue to rebuild it. The reserve remains a quiet place where the calls of warblers mix with the lowing of cattle and the rush of wind through reeds.