Dry Heath

In the late summer and autumn dry heaths present a riot of colour, with a mass of gold, pink and purple flowers from the western gorse, common heather and bell heather that characterise them.

Dry heath is by far the most extensive type of heathland in lowland Wales, with approximately 8,900 hectares recorded during the Phase I survey. Most dry heath is distinguished by the presence – often dominance – of western gorse, which is a shorter, less robust relation of the better-known European gorse. Most of the dry heath in Wales occurs on acidic soils, low in nutrients, and is called acid heath. There are areas of acidic dry heath in many locations along the Pembrokeshire and Anglesey coasts.

A rarer form of dry heath, known as limestone heath, occurs on calcareous soils. Limestone heaths are usually species-rich habitats. They contain flowers more often found in limestone grassland, such as rock rose, dropwort, salad burnet and thyme.

In North Wales, you’ll find limestone heath on the Conwy coast, on the east side of Anglesey and in Flintshire and Denbighshire. One of the best places to visit to see limestone heath is the Great Orme Country Park and Local Nature Reserve, near Llandudno. In South Wales, look out for limestone heaths on the Gower and Pembrokeshire coasts.

Most of the dry heath in West Wales is concentrated around Pembrokeshire, Anglesey and Gwynedd, with much of this being in the coastal belt or within a few miles of the coast. The diagram below shows the area of dry heath that has been surveyed for each Unitary Authority.