Cors Fochno
52°30′14″N 4°02′31″W / 52.50376°N 4.04193°W / 52.50376; -4.04193
Cors Fochno (Welsh pronunciation: [kɔrs ˈvɔχnɔ]) is a raised peat bog near the village of Borth, in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. Lying on the south side of the Dyfi estuary, it forms a component part of the Dyfi National Nature Reserve. It was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1976, and is the only such reserve in Wales.[1] A boardwalk leading from the northern edge of the bog skirts the edges of the bog and surrounding woodland.
A significant portion of the 264 hectares (652 acres) former peatland complex was taken for agriculture; the surviving core area supports the largest expanse of primary near-natural raised bog in an estuarine context within the United Kingdom.[2]
General site character
- Bogs. Marshes. Water fringed vegetation. Fens (85%)
- Heath. Scrub. Maquis and garrigue. (9%)
- Humid grassland. Mesophile grassland (5%)
- Improved grassland (1%)[2]
Ecology
Part of the Dyfi National Nature Reserve, Cors Fochno contains several varieties of peat moss and carnivorous plant.[3]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Irish_lady_tresses.jpg/220px-Irish_lady_tresses.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Round-leaved_sundew.jpg/220px-Round-leaved_sundew.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Common_cottengrass.jpg/220px-Common_cottengrass.jpg)
Wildlife
Otters, red kites, common buzzards, peregrines and, in the winter,hen harriers can be found here together with a number of Welsh Mountain Ponies,[3] and adder, badger, blackcap, Dartford warbler, fallow deer, nightingale, nightjar, willow warbler, and woodcock. The site holds a population of rosy marsh moth, a very rare species in the UK. The site holds significant populations of Eriophorum angustifolium, the common cottongrass, as well as Round-leaved sundew, all visible from the boardwalk which skirts the northern edge of the bog. In 2019, an extremely rare species of orchid for Great Britain, the Irish Lady's-tresses, was found on the bog.[4] The population has persisted into 2024
In popular culture
- Borth, Borth bog, and the Borth railway station form the backdrop to the main storyline in Season 1, Episode 4 ("The Girl in the Water") of Y Gwyll (Hinterland in English), transmitted on S4C in 2013 and BBC1 Wales in January 2014.
- Cors Fochno, and Borth and its surroundings also form the backdrop to the young adult classic novel and Newbery Honor Book winner, A String in the Harp, 1976, by Nancy Bond.
Footnotes
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Cors Fochno and surrounding area
- Cors Fochno Dig: bbc.co.uk/wales
- Joint Nature Conservation Committee