Porth Diana SSSI

Nature reserve

Explorer Tom

Porth Diana Nature Reserve is a small patch of Holy Island heathland that asks you to look down as well as out to sea. Spotted rock-rose grows here, and its little flowers make a fine argument against rushing past Trearddur Bay. I reckon the plants have agreed to stay tiny just to expose visitors who forgot their reading glasses. North Wales Wildlife Trust manages this two-hectare reserve, which is also a protected site for its natural interest. Grassland, heath, damp hollows and rocky outcrops support flowers, lichens and birds. In summer you may find heath spotted-orchid, yellow flag iris and ragged robin, while the spotted rock-rose is Anglesey's county flower. Ponies or cattle may graze in winter to keep open ground from turning into dense scrub. The place is small enough to explore slowly, yet each change in ground brings a different group of plants. The reserve is free and open at all times. Reach it from Ravenspoint Road and the signed footpath near Porth Diana Lane; there is no parking beside the entrance. Kissing gates and uneven paths through heather make access difficult for some visitors, so read the trust's route description before setting out. Keep dogs on leads, leave flowers where they grow and give any grazing animals space. This is the reserve at Porth Diana, not the wider bay or the private plots nearby. Take a last look at the rock faces as well as the bright flowers, since lichens keep their colours when the summer display has finished. Porth Diana rewards a slow, curious circuit. If the rock-roses demand spectacles next time, I shall bring a magnifier and a polite apology.

This does not grant access. Check current paths, opening conditions and ownership before entering.

Operator: North Wales Wildlife Trust

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What is recorded here

Map note: Near Trearddur, Ynys Môn / Isle of Anglesey, Wales, the map records Porth Diana SSSI as a nature reserve. The landscape can keep its secrets; the map gives away the location.

From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) w1371662034