Prince of Wales visits Welsh forest to see horse logging

HRH The Prince of Wales kicked off his tour of Wales today, 1 July, with a visit to a forest in south Wales to see a demonstration of horse logging.

Prince Charles was visiting Ty’n-y-Coed Forest near Llantrisant, which is managed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

NRW contract out the horse logging to thin the conifers and remove the trunks without damaging adjacent broadleaf trees.

Clare Pillman, Chief Executive of NRW said:

“We were delighted to welcome HRH The Prince of Wales to Ty’n-y-Coed Forest on the day, 50 years since he was formally invested as the Prince of Wales by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. 

“The Prince watched a demonstration by British Horse Loggers and presented his bi-annual award -  The Prince of Wales Perpetual Trophy for Woodland Management -  to Kate Mobbs-Morgan, who has been working the wood with her horses, to thin out the conifers, which are overpowering the broadleaf trees.”

Heavy machinery cannot operate in the wood due to previous mining in the area and the need for precision felling to avoid damaging surrounding trees. 

The horse logging team has been working since Winter 2016 to thin out the Norway Spruce and many ancient oaks which were dominated by the conifers have responded very well.