A POPULAR forest near Llanidloes reopened on Monday after it was closed for at least three months due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Hafren Forest, which is run by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), welcomed visitors back to enjoy the waterfall walks after Welsh Government five-mile restrictions were lifted earlier this week.

The car park, trails and picnic area at Hafren Forest are open.

However the toilet facilities remain closed.

The right of access to Fign Aberbiga, an area of woodland on the edge of Llyn Clywedog reservoir, is excluded to protect nesting birds.

NRW spokesman Richard Owen said: “We want everyone to enjoy their visits to our sites, but things will inevitably look a little different for the foreseeable future.

“We need to make sure that our local communities feel safe and visitors have the confidence to visit NRW’s locations in the safest way possible.

“We hope that we can all work together during this time of transition to the full reopening of the countryside.

One thing that will not have changed is the warmth of the welcome of Wales’ natural environment.”