Once a farm with meadows and an old coal pit, this local reserve is now the highest and most westerly beechwood in Britain. The reserve, managed jointly by Gwent Wildlife Trust and Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, contains interesting beech and alder woodland. The open spaces in the south of the reserve contain many anthills, which nearby green woodpeckers feed on. Lichens and mosses are reclaiming the coal pit for nature, and many birds are attracted by the beech nuts or mast in the autumn. Some of the reserve has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

To learn more about Silent Valley Nature Reserve and how to get there, please click on the following link.