Burry Port Urban Jungle

I find that juncture between the urban environment and the rural to be an interesting frontier between the housing conurbation and the countryside. There are frequently pockets of natural wildness that border one’s garden that provide habitat for wildlife that has adapted to existing and thriving in our environment. Frequently these semi-wild spaces are overlooked and exist despite us. One can only hope that they continue to be ignored and escape the developer’s eye and leave the Urban Jungle to flourish.

One such ‘jungle’, or wildlife highway, runs alongside the railway track eastwards from Burry Port level crossing and signal box. It has long been my intention to photo-document this pathway and record my observations.

Just a few metres along the path from the heavy-duty road-access industrial gate (that has the look of a typical old-style British Rail / GWR security gate) there is a break in the tall hedgerow, this leads us into an area of abject devastation. This once treasured, well-kept garden, is in now littered with broken glass, discarded plastic containers, pallets and other imported rubbish and the ashes of a once garden shed. In one corner of the ‘garden’ there is, what looks like, a large dog kennel, and in another, the skeletal remains of a glass greenhouse. Someone obviously put a lot of love and hard work into this garden. But now it’s just a scene of utter desolation with damaged and burnt trees.

On further venturing into the now overgrown woodlands, there is the remains of a discarded, and somewhat vandalised, Land Rover Freelander. It’s difficult to image how the car got there as it’s surrounded by vegetation and mature trees; it’s almost as though the forest has grown-up around the car.

There is a small stream that runs through the no-doubt, once beautiful garden, that is undoubtedly a vital storm drain, however, it is blocked by the debris of probably, many years of neglect and vandalism. Following a narrow path along the stream I came across a second Land Rover Freelander. This one has the look of being the outcome of a deliberate fire and even more vandalism.

The ‘Merlin’ birdsong identification app on my phone registered 21 different species of bird on this short pathway expedition of about half-a-mile and included the following birds’ songs: House Sparrow / Goldcrest / Magpie / Blackbird / Wren / Spotted Flycatcher / Jackdaw / Chiffchaff / Wood-Pigeon / Great Spotted Woodpecker / Cetti’s Warbler / Great Tit / Blackcap / Song Thrush / Robin / Blue Tit / Long tailed Tit / Chaffinch / Dunnock, and Collard-Dove. It’s glimpses like this of our fauna that exemplifies the importance of these urban natural corridors that link the wildlife habitats.

During this short walk I found a dead Shrew; this always disheartens me, even though I am aware that Shrews live for such a short period of time, usually less that 12 months. They are such charming, busy little creatures.

The litany of trees and wild plants is a joy to behold, but sadly there has been a vain attempt to eradicate the Japanese Knotweed by just cutting-it-back, but this is a tenacious invader that needs to be removed by professionals.

There is a substantial ‘kissing-gate’ that straddles the pathway. I am aware that there was once an accompanying wooden fencing, that has now succumbed to the ravages of time; and nature has / is reclaiming it; leaving the galvanised steel gate marooned in the undergrowth.

On my infrequent dog walks along this path, I am intrigued by a large, heavy-looking, cast-iron drain cover with the name of ‘Quest and Chrimes’ cast into it. On-line research revealed an interesting history of the founders, products and a listed building in Rotherham, also the Quest and Chrimes family history, and a photo-safari of the now dilapidated site.

On another of my dog walks I noticed that the pathway has been cleared; and I’ve been informed that the site that had been trashed by vandals, will shortly be returned into a lush and fertile garden. I look forward to seeing the transformation of this once wonderful garden, into the next phase in its history.

I recently meet a charming woman on the path who was on her way to the hairdresser’s in Burry Port along, what she calls, the “Green Lane”. She informed me that the track was once a commercial railway used to transport coal and bricks from local sites. She also mentioned that her elderly, 90-year-old, neighbour told her that she used to walk along the railway tracks on her way to the Old Copperworks School on the Bacca, and on many occasions she would hop onto the train to hitch a ride. I love these personal stories, it makes my quest so interesting, and enriching.