About the reserve

Melincwrt Waterfalls is mature upland Oak woodland which ascends steeply from the narrow gorge of the Melincourt Brook. Sessile Oak is interspersed with gnarled Silver Birch, Small-leaved Lime, Wild Cherry, Rowan and Crab Apple, whilst Alder dominates the stream bank.

The woodland floor is carpeted with Bluebell, with Enchanter’s Nightshade taking over later in the year. Alternate-leaved Golden Saxifrage and Tutsan are confined to the wet flushes.

The spectacular eighty feet high waterfall on a tributary of the Neath River was sketched by Turner in 1794.

Due to the local humid atmosphere in this narrow valley, twenty species of ferns have been recorded from the reserve including Green Spleenwort, Brittle Bladder-fern, Hay-scented Buckler-fern, and Wilson’s Filmy Fern, and bryophytes are well represented.

The breeding bird assemblage, typical of this habitat, includes Redstart, Wood Warbler, and Pied Flycatcher, with Dipper and Grey Wagtail regularly seen along the stream at all times of the year.

On the northern boundary of the reserve the remains of a blast-furnace and iron works can be found. These were built in the seventeenth century and the works were opened in 1708 for a century of iron production. The great overshot water wheel was powered by leat leading water from above the Melincwrt Waterfalls.