DOLGOCH QUARRY

One of a string of abandoned limestone quarries in the area, Dolgoch on a sunny summer's day is a delight. A profusion of wild flowers grow on the limestone quarry floor, including yellow-wort, with its waxy, grey leaves, the upper ones cupped around the stem and star-like yellow flowers that shut in the afternoon. On the rock faces, look out for viper's bugloss, with its bristly spikes of cobalt blue flowers.

There are two ponds here, providing homes for frogs, toads, damsel and dragonflies and all three British species of newt.

The rocks are interesting too; within the limestone strata you may see fossils of sea creatures such as corals and shellfish that lived some 330 million years ago, when this landmass that was to become England lay in a shallow sub-tropical sea! Look out for the

oyster-like fossil shells of Gigantoproductus giganteus, 150mm across, and, as its name suggests, the giant of its day.

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