Mid Wales
Mid Wales is reserved especially for you.
No crowds, no hassle, no pressure.
You
enter a gentle heartland where the scenery is spectacular, the roads
are quiet and the vibrant towns welcome you with open arms.
Serendipity
is never far from you so keep an eye out for events that flourish in
even the smallest village and prepare to be startled by the red kites
that circle in the sky in search of their prey.
Key walking areas:
Other walking areas:
urbansurfer.co.uk is the UK`s leading action board sportswear site and always stocks the latest range of roxy clothing. The site contains the latest seasons styles and provides market leading customer service.
Brecon Beacons
The Brecon Beacons National Park is made up of four distinct upland areas: the Brecon Beacons, the Black Mountains, the Black Mountain and Fforest Fawr. The Brecon Beacons are the highest range of the group, and are considered the best hills in the southern UK. There are rounded contours of old red sandstone in the central Beacons, giving walking which is open in character, with big skies to complement the big hills. By contrast, in the south of the Park, there are dazzling outcrops of carboniferous limestone, water-worn to form deep gorges, caves and, most famously of all waterfalls.
There are comfortable routes and paths for walkers of all levels, as well as the wild, open spaces for which this Park is known and loved.
|
Black Mountains
The most easterly peaks in the Brecon Beacons are the Black Mountains where you’ll find tiny villages and churches set in a rolling green landscape of picturesque hills and valleys. Don’t mistake the area for the Black Mountain however; the Black Mountain (singular) is a spectacular wilderness environment in its own right, but the Black Mountains (plural) are a little less demanding for the laid-back walker.
The Black Mountains have long narrow valleys and isolated farms reminiscent of Bruce Chatwin’s novel On the Black Hill, which was based in the Crasswell area near Hay Bluff. The mountains rise above 2000ft. If you don’t want to climb the highest, Waun Fach, you can walk instead along the long, heath-covered ridges that cross the area – all of them have wonderful views.
|
 |
| Hills and waterfalls – riverside paths can be slippery |
 |
| Offas Dyke |
 |
| Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal Walk |
 |
| Cambrian Way Walkers' Association
Celtic Trails Drover Holidays |
 |
| Ordnance Survey Explorer 11, 12 and 13. Harvey Superwalker Brecon Beacons West and East and Harvey Walker Brecon Beacons
CCW’s countryside access maps |
The Elan Estate is owned by Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, and mostly vested
in the Elan Valley Trust, a charity. Dwr Cymru Welsh Water is committed
to furthering the conservation of the environment as well as protecting
both natural and archaeological heritage and promoting access and
recreation at their sites. For more information, visit www.dwrcymru.com. Both are helped in furthering their objectives on the Estate through the team of Countryside R
angers.
Llanidloes - The Arwystli Country
Llanidloes is at the heart of the ancient medieval kingdom of Arwystli; the first town on the River Severn and an ideal spot to take a break; be it for just a couple of days, a week, or a fortnight. But be warned, the place is dangerously addictive. You might never want to leave. Today, Arwystli includes many of the most beautiful towns and villages in Mid Wales; Llanidloes (of course), Llandinam, Trefeglwys, Caersws, Carno, Llangurig and beyond.
The Welsh Valleys
The stretch of South Wales known as the Valleys is a great tract of upland, cut through by deep, high-sided valleys.
It is about 35 miles from Pontypool in the east to Neath, as the crow flies. Between the two more than a dozen valleys are intertwined, filling the country from the Brecon Beacons to the sea. Roads and railways stick to the valley bottoms, while the many, very good, longer trails make the best of the upland ridges.
At one time this corner of Wales was thick with mines. For a time in the first quarter of the last century it produced a third of the world’s coal. But today, just a single mine, the workers’ co-op Tower Colliery, is still in business. Now the Valleys are reinventing themselves, with walking trails that take you through gritty industrial landscapes and way up to wild hilltops.
|
|
| Deep-sided wooded valleys and exposed hilltops |
|
| None |
|
| Coed Morgannwg Way, Ffordd-y-Bryniau (Taff Ely Way), Ogwr Ridgeway Walk, Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk, Sirhowy Valley Walk, Taff Trail |
|
| High Plains Drifters
Drover Holidays |
|
| Ordnance Survey Landranger 170, 171
CCW’s countryside access maps |
