Opening Times

All year round from dawn until dusk each day. Between October 1st and March 1st the trail may have to be closed on some days to allow woodland management works to take place.

Contact Details

David & Anwen Roberts
Bach y Graig, Tremeirchion,
St Asaph, LL17 0UH

Tel: 01745 730627
Fax: 01745 730971

E-mail: anwen@bachygraig.co.uk
Website: www.bachygraig.co.uk

The many banks of sandy and clay soil in the woodlands, the peace and quiet and the large areas of grassland grazed by cattle and sheep make Bach y Graig a perfect place for badgers (Meles meles) to live.

Although you may not actually see a badger, signs of their activity are everywhere in the woodlands. The most obvious sign is the many well-worn paths. Badgers are creatures of habit, and move around their territory using the same paths over and over again. You will sometimes find their footprints in the mud along these paths.

Fallen trees and stumps are often used as play areas by badgers. The soil around such areas is flattened and the vegetation has been worn away. The log or stump itself will often be smooth and shiny where the badgers have worn it down.

Also look out for badger toilets, known as latrines. These are used to mark out the area or territory used by the badgers. You will usually find these as a number of holes scraped in the ground, some or all of which will contain badger droppings.

Look closely (but not too closely!) at these droppings and you will be able to tell what the badgers have been eating.

If the droppings are smooth and brown the badgers have probably been eating earthworms and slugs that they have found in the grassland outside the woodland, often by digging through cowpats. This is a favourite food in the wetter late autumn and spring months of the year, when worms and slugs are most active.

If the droppings contain brown seeds the badgers have been feeding on wheat or barley, often by raiding the pheasant feeders in the woods. You will often find seeds in badger droppings during the winter or late summer months, when it is too cold or too dry for worms and slugs to be active.

If the droppings are purple the badgers have been enjoying blackberries, and it will be autumn.