[mike from ebbw]

a large natural lake leftover from the ice age.it is situated just north of Bwlch in the usk valley.the best place for birding is at the Llangasty nature reserve hide on the south shore.to get to the reserve you come out of Bwlch towards Brecon.as you exit the village there is a sharp bend to the left.on this bend there is a road going off to the right signed Middlewood Farm.take this road.follow it around the sharp right hand bend until you come to a junction at the bottom of the hill.take a left.follow this for about 3 miles until you come to a plant nursery on the right.a little further on you will see a turn off to the right signed Llangasty Church.take this road.park in the church car park at the end of the road.the reserve is through the stile on the SW corner of the car park.follow the footpath to the hide which.the hide overlooks the lake and extensive reedbed.there is also a footpath that will take you to the other side of the lake.birds that have been seen from the hide are.sparrowhawk,bittern,gooseander,hobby (in summer),peregrine,water rail,kingfisher,little grebe,gc grebe,goshawk,red kite,heron and a very large population of wildfowl (resident and migratory).

[luke]

i beleive this place also throws up the odd smew in winter aswell, so i've heard.