April 08, 2026 - 69 views
Specialist conservation workers have taken to the ropes above the North Wales coast in a dramatic effort to protect fragile heathland from invasive species.
Suspended over a 90-metre drop, teams treated fast-spreading rhododendron clinging to steep cliff faces at Mynydd Tir y Cwmwd. The work was carried out as part of efforts to safeguard a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest where the plant had begun to threaten the natural habitat.
The project was led by Natural Resources Wales after surveys found the invasive shrub spreading across inaccessible areas of the headland. While rhododendron is a familiar sight in gardens, in the wild it can quickly dominate, blocking sunlight and smothering native plants beneath its dense canopy.
On safer ground, teams removed smaller plants by hand or treated them with herbicide. But on the most dangerous sections, specialist contractors were brought in to work on ropes, carefully navigating exposed cliff edges while carrying equipment.
The work has been supported by the Welsh Government’s Nature Networks Programme, which aims to restore habitats and boost biodiversity across the country.
Arfon Hughes, Environment Team Leader for Natural Resources Wales, said the operation highlighted the challenges of conservation work in remote locations.
“Rhododendron poses a serious threat to some of Wales’s native habitats, and at Tir y Cwmwd it was growing in places that were extremely hard to reach,” he said. “This rope access work allowed us to remove plants that would have kept spreading across the cliffs and damaging the ecosystem.”
The project marks a key step in restoring the coastal heathland at the site, ensuring the unique landscape above the Llŷn Peninsula coastline can recover and thrive.
