'It wasn't pretty at first': the Welsh wildlife haven born out of disaster

Decision by National Trust not to fix sea defences at Cwm Ivy has created a salt marsh rich in flora and faunaSwallows dart above the reed beds while an egret hunts among the bluey-green marshland grass and a pair of curlews circle, long, curving bills clearly visible, before heading out to sea. It is so quiet that you can hear the crackling sound that mud shrimps make as they feed in their burrows.For centuries, this parcel of land on the Gower Peninsula in south-west Wales, Cwm Ivy, was an ordinary dot of sheep-grazed seaside pastureland. Then the stormy winter of 2013-14 hit, causing the sea wall to be breached and letting salt water pour in. Continue reading...