Wildlife-watching, birdwatching and nature trails in the Brecon Beacons National Park

Our National Park contains some of Wales’ most spectacular scenery and rarest wildlife. Go quietly and you may see our key species – otters, great crested newts, marsh fritillary butterflies, bats and reed warblers – along with a host of other mammals, birds, amphibians, fish and insects.

Our rivers are the breeding grounds of trout and salmon – a delicious meal for any otter, and a real spectacle when making their way upstream to spawn. Threatened species such as water voles and white-clawed crayfish, a sort of freshwater lobster, can also be found in our waterways.

Many species of birds nest or winter here, thanks to the diversity of habitats. The little ringed plover, for example, broods its eggs on gravel banks, and large numbers of winter migrants visit Llangorse Lake and Talybont Reservoir.

Our park is a superb place for a botanical nature trail, too, hunting for wildflowers, mosses, fungi and rare trees.