"This spectacular place is rich in natural beauty, wildlife and history, and maritime heritage," says Richard Neale, National Trust property manager for West Snowdonia and Llŷn. "It's landscape consists of ancient patchwork fields, rare heathlands and rock-strewn mountains, and its 50-mile Heritage Coast is a haven for nature lovers - people love coming here for its unspoilt beauty, for peace and quiet, for relaxing and for memorable days out with the family."
The area is home to an array of rare and beautiful living gems - here's a top five:
Chough: Mynydd Anelog is home to one of Britain's rarest birds - the chough, an acrobatic bird, and a member of crow family with a curved red bill and red legs. It has a distinctive kee-aw call. Five per cent of the chough's British breeding population are found on Llŷn, and this is one of the reasons why the area has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Other birds include kittiwakes, great black-backed gulls, fulmars, oystercatchers, black shags, sand martins, that nest in the sandy cliffs at Porthdinllaen, and cormorants.
Spotted Rock Rose: Braich y Pwll is the only known location on the British mainland for rock rose. Its bright yellow flower looks like a stem for most of its life, but by catching it at the right time, its beautiful bright yellow petals can be seen. But you have to be quick - these petals can fall off by midday of the same morning, making it very unlikely to ever see one flowering.
Golden Hair Lichen: A striking bright orange lichen which forms a highly branched 'shrub' up to four centimetres high. It is very sensitive to air pollution, and Aberdaron is one of the few sites where it is spotted in the UK. The soil-loving communities in which they grow are very fragile and of high conservation value. In his famous love poem, Gwallt Llio, the 15th century poet Dafydd Nanmor compared the striking yellow colour of the lichen that drenched the rocks of Uwchmynydd to the colour of his loved one's hair.
Eel grass: This simple ribbon-like plant is the only flowering plant that lives in the sea, and one of the few seed-bearing plants that can grow in salt water. It can be seen in front of Porthdinllaen, taking advantage of the shelter provided by the peninsula. They serve as a haven for crabs, scallops, numerous species of fish, and other wildlife, providing these creatures with habitat, nursery grounds, and food. The long blades of grass are often covered with tiny marine plants and animals. Over the past 70 years, approximately 90 per cent of all eel grass throughout its range along the Atlantic coast has been destroyed.
Masonary Bee: A type of ground bee that normally lives in the sandy banks of streams. They are similar in colouration to the honey bee. The bees tend to bore holes in lawn, flowerbeds, rockeries or any soft suitable material in order to lay eggs. They sometimes bore into perished or friable mortar of brickwork or stonework where the joints are sufficiently soft.
The National Trust is trying to encourage these species to flourish. One project in partnership with Cymad, Gwynedd Council, Countryside Council for Wales, the RSPB and the North Wales Wildlife Trust aims to improve the quality of lowland and coastal heath. This includes controlling invasive bracken and scrub, constructing better fences, control of grazing and monitoring changes to the habitat and its wildlife.
