The ffridd (also known as coed cae) is the uncultivated valley side, the zone between the upland sheep walks (or often today the conifer plantation) and the valley bottom. In RCT the ffridd can be characterised as an intricate mosaic of heath, bracken, acid grassland, woodland, coal spoil and flushed rhos pasture. In many parts of RCT the ffridd is therefore both a landscape description and an umbrella term for complex habitat mosaics.  It is a particularly important and characteristic feature of the south Wales valleys, forming continuous mosaics of semi-natural habitat along the length of river valleys. The ffridd is the habitat glue that sticks together so much of the biodiversity of RCT. 

 

The habitat descriptions of the different components of the ffridd are given under those different habitats elsewhere in the LNP, but bracken is the exception. Bracken slopes are both an important element of the ffridd and also occur as individual habitat areas, where it often supports an under-storey of acid grassland and heathland. 

 

The ffridd bracken slopes are very important for a wide range of species. These sites are often bluebell habitat and stand out flushed with hazy blue in May. Sheltered sunny slopes with abundant dog-violets are important as fritillary butterfly habitat. Small pearl-bordered and dark green fritillaries are particularly associated with species-rich bracken.  In the past there have been reports of high brown fritillary, Wales’ rarest butterfly, now probably just confined to one site in the Vale of Glamorgan. The ffridd bracken slopes are also rich reptile habitat, supporting exceptional populations of slow worm, common lizard and adder. Regionally important breeding bird populations including; meadow pipit, tree pipit and stonechat find the habitat mosaics ideal and many of our remaining cuckoo territories are dependent on the ffridd. 

 

The ffridd is one of the biodiversity jewels of the south Wales valleys, a very distinctive and immensely diverse habitat which has not received the nature conservation attention it deserves. The ffridd is extremely vulnerable to grass fires and is threatened by tree planting schemes.  The complexity and diversity of these sites is routinely under-estimated and under-appreciated.  In the absence of grazing, and where they escape fire, many ffridd habitat areas have succeeded into scrub and secondary woodland. Low intensity conservation grazing is the principal tool to help maintain the open ffridd, control the dominance of bracken and prevent grass fires.