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TOWNS & VILLAGES -
Mid Wales
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The modern-day popularity of Georgian Aberaeron
as a holiday resort came about only after a
local cleric won special permission to build a
harbour here in the 19th century.
It grew from a
tiny fishing village into one of the most
important trading ports in Cardigan Bay,
attracting investment and then tourism.
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Aberaeron Harbour Photo -
Michael Parry
CCL |
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Abercrave Inn Photo -
John Evans
CCL
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Abercraf lies close to the edge of the Brecon
Beacons National Park in Powys on the slopes of
the mountain Cribarth, otherwise known as the
Sleeping Giant.
The castle of Craig y Nos was built by the famous
opera singer Adelina Patti.
Nearby is the remarkable Dan-yr-Ogof Showcave with
its limestone rock formations and subterranean
lakes.
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Home to part of the University
of Wales and the National Library of Wales, this
is a relaxing, evergreen seaside resort on the
Irish Sea.
Overlooked by distant hills, including Pen Dinas -
site of a huge Iron Age fortification - it also
boasts the longest electric funicular cliff
railway in Britain, several beaches, a pier and a
harbour that was once the busiest on this part of
the coast.
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Aberystwyth Photo -
David Stowell
CCL |
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Aberystwyth marina
Photo -
David Stowell
CCL
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The Coliseum – built as a theatre - houses the
Ceredigion Museum while Parc Natur Penglais is a
nature reserve and the only UNESCO Man and
Biosphere urban reserve in Wales.
Nearby is the Vale of Rheidol and its
steam-powered, narrow gauge railway. The
picturesque area of Devil’s Bridge inspired the
likes of Wordsworth.
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A summer holiday hotspot, Victorian Borth is
essentially a two-mile street that hugs the
coast and a seemingly infinite, shallow beach
that eventually meets the dune-filled Dyfi
National Nature Reserve.
At very low tides the
remains of an ancient, submerged forest emerge
from the sea at Borth.
Nearby is a huge peat
bog, Cors Goch Fochno, noted for its rare flora.
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Borth Photo -
Nigel Callaghan
CCL |
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Brecon Castle Photo -
David Spencer
CCL
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Capital of the Brecon Beacons National Park,
Brecon lies on the banks of the Rivers Usk and
Honddu and is an alluring holiday destination
famous for its annual jazz festival, its Roman
past and the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal.
The town is named after a Celtic chieftain,
Brychan, victor in a number of battles sparked by
the departure of the Romans.
Brecon Castle, only part of which has survived,
was built by the half-brother of William the
Conqueror, Bernard Newmarch, who also had a hand
in the creation of Brecon’s small cathedral.
Tudor Newton Farm was the birthplace of Davy Gam,
the man who saved the life of Henry V at
Agincourt.
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Brecon Barracks has a museum
celebrating the history of the South Wales Borders
while Brecknock Museum has one of the largest
collections of Welsh lovespoons in the world.
The spectacular Brecon Beacons National Park is
one of the most significant geological landscapes
in Europe.
It contains Pen-y-Fan, the highest point in
southern Britain at 886m and the Dan-yr-Ogof
Showcaves, the largest system of its type in
Western Europe. Elsewhere is a Dinosaur theme park
and large country park.
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Brecon Beacons
Photo -
Chris J Dixon
CCL |
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Llywelyn Mural Photo -
Eirian Evans
CCL
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This one-time spa town on the banks of the River
Wye in Powys provides the perfect setting for the
annual Welsh Show and is an ideal base for
exploring the lovely Wye Valley.
South of the town in the village of Cilmeri marks
the spot where Llywelyn ap Gruffydd - one of the
last leaders of independent Wales – was killed by
Edward 1’s troops in 1282.
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A large village in Powys,
Caersws lies in the beautiful Upper Severn Valley
and offers many walks over nearby hills and
moorland.
Its name comes from the legendary Queen Susan but
Caersws grew out of an old Roman military
settlement.
At one time it was an important railway centre.
Maes-Mawr is a superb half-timbered house dating
to the 16th century.
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Caersws Photo -
John Lucas
CCL |
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Guildhall Photo -
Garth Newton
CCL
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Birthplace of the National Eisteddfod, this
ancient Welsh seaside town lies at the mouth of
the River Teifi and boasts a galaxy of
atmospheric old buildings as well as the remains
of a picturesque 12th century castle, around
which the town grew in the Middle Ages.
The
‘capital of Ceredigion’, Cardigan is surrounded
by stunning scenery. The Teifi Valley is a
paradise for walkers and anglers.
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Although the village of Carno
is famous as the headquarters of the Laura Ashley
fashion empire, in Wales it is associated with a
number of important battles.
Gruffydd ap Cynan won the Welsh crown here in the
12th century after temporarily halting the
advancing Normans.
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Church of St. John the Baptist
Photo -
Peter Standing
CCL |
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Crickhowell Bridge
Photo -
Gordon Hatton
CCL
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This picturesque town on the banks of the River
Usk in Powys lies within easy reach of the
spectacular Brecon Beacons National Park and has
been dubbed ‘The Glittering Jewel of the Vale’.
The river is spanned by a 13-arch bridge dating
from the 16th century while nearby Table Mountain
was the site of an Iron Age fort.
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A few miles distant are the Agen Allwedd caves
- one of the longest caves with a single
entrance in the British Isles. Crickhowell’s
most famous son was the mapping expert Sir
George Everest, Surveyor-General of India,
after whom Mount Everest was named.
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A small village near
Machynlleth, Furnace is named after a real-life
furnace that still stands on the Einion River.
The first building here was used to power the
refining of silver but it was replaced by blast
furnace to smelt iron.
The village’s bucolic surroundings include
‘Artists Valley’, a nature reserve run by the RSPB
and the lakes of Llyn Conach and Llyn Dwfn.
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Dyfi Furnace Photo -
Nigel Callaghan
CCL |
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Hay Castle - Photo:
Humphrey Bolton
CCL
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An attractive town on the Welsh side of the
Wales-England border, Hay is synonymous with the
sale of second-hand books and is known as the
world’s first ‘Book Town’.
Its success is largely down to the Oxford graduate
Richard Booth who established a local trend after
opening his first bookstore in an old fire station
in 1961.
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It stages the annual
International Festival of Literature each May,
attracting people from across the globe.
The town straddles the glorious River Wye and
a road south leads through the Black Mountains
over the high Gospel Pass to the ruins of
Llanthony Priory.
The town used to have a
great Norman castle and its gateway still
survives.
Hay-on-Wye dates back to Roman times. Gospel
Pass leads to the picturesque ruins of
Llanthony Priory.
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Hay Bookshop - Photo:
Stephen Nunney
CCL
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Offa's Dyke path -
Photo:
John Spivey
CCL
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The setting for Offa's Dyke Centre, Knighton is a
busy market town which annually attracts thousands
of walkers.
Situated in Powys, it lies on the England-Wales
border halfway along Offa’s Dyke, an earthwork
built in the 8th century by the Mercian king Offa.
It employed natural boundaries such as rivers and
hills.
The long-distance Offa’s footpath, which passes
through Knighton, runs from Prestatyn for 177
miles to Chepstow. |
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Home to St David’s University College - the
oldest university in Wales – genteel Lampeter is
an important market town and the venue of an
annual horse fair.
It lies on the banks of the
River Teifi and boasts numerous Georgian and
Victorian properties, including a museum and old
coaching inns.
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University of Wales - Photo:
John Darch
CCL
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Llandewi Brefi - Photo:
Rog Frost
CCL
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Known as the setting for a famous sketch from
the TV comedy series ‘Little Britain’, this
village is closely associated with the life of
the patron saint of Wales, St. David.
He is said
to have performed a minor miracle here in the
5th century, when a hill rose beneath him, so a
large crowd during a sermon could see him.
A
statue in the town’s 12th century church
immortalizes the saint.
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A modest village with a church
built on the site of an ancient hillfort,
Llandinam spawned one of Britain’s most
far-sighted 19th century industrialists.
It was the modest birthplace of Lord David Davies
who made his fortune by building bridges, the
Newtown and Llanidloes Railway and Barry Docks.
In doing so he pioneered the exploitation of coal
in the Welsh valleys.
His mansion, Broneirion, still survives and has a
90ft iron bridge leading to it.
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Llandinam churchyard -
Photo:
Katherine Oakeshot
CCL
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The Lindens - Photo:
Mark Savage
CCL
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The county town of Powys, Llandrindod is a former
spa town which once attracted thousands of
Victorians desperate to ‘take the waters’ and
restore their health.
Its architecture and general demeanour suggest
that such Victorian splendour still survives.
Not far from the centre are the remains of an old
Roman fort known as Castell Collen. |
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A good place from which to explore the wider
Teifi Valley, this former Welsh woollen centre
is an attractive market town known today as a
centre for both canoeing and river fishing.
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Llandysul - Photo:
Nevin Arrow
CCL
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Llanfair Caereinion -
Photo:
Roger Gilbertson
CCL
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Lying near Welshpool in Montgomeryshire's Banwy
Valley, this is one of the smallest towns in
Powys.
A former woollen centre it now attracts
tourists wishing to climb on board the
narrow-gauge Welshpool and Llanfair Light
Railway.
Nearby stands the Church of St Mary at Llangulan. Dating to the 6th century, it boasts
a 15th century stained glass window.
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This quietly charming village lies where two
rivers named the Cain and Abel meet.
Legend has
it that visitors must hug a tree above Y Dolydd
workhouse.
The road towards
Llanraeadr-ym-Mochnant rises to nearly 900 feet,
affording fabulous views over the surrounding
countryside and local mountains.
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St. Mylin's Church - Photo:
J M Briscoe
CCL
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Church Llangurig -
Photo:
Angella Streluk
CCL
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This mellow village in Powys is set amid tall
mountains in the valley of the River Wye.
The
local church originated in the 12th century but
was rebuilt in the 19th century, its name
recalling the Dark Ages’ saint, Curig.
Its tower
dates to the 14th century.
The area was once
famous throughout Wales as a place where farmers
employed a band of supernatural healers to
protect their animals.
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Picturesque and ancient, this typically Welsh
market town lies at the confluence of the rivers
Severn and Clwedog and has remained largely
unspoiled.
John Wesley preached fire and
brimstone here in the 1800s and in 1839 the town
was a focal point for Chartist rioters.
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The John Wesley Stone - Photo:
Eirian Evans
CCL
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The Old Market Hall -
Photo:
firstjaytee
CCL
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The Old Market Hall is a timbered market hall
dating from around 1600 while the town’s church
has 13th century origins with a 15th century
hammerbeam roof and a 14th century tower.
This is a good walking country. Nearby is the
Clywedog Valley, the Llyn Clywedog reservoir -
boasting one of Britain’s tallest dams - and the
eerie hillfort of Dinas.
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Close to Tregaron on the River Irfon amid
spectacular scenery, this old spa town has
become a pony-trekking centre.
The town
developed around a sulphur spring after a local
cleric spotted a sprightly frog leaping from the
‘stinking well’.
Unusual features of the town
are tall Victorian houses.
Nearby lies the
remote Crychan Forest and the Mynydd Eppynt
mountains in the Brecon Beacons.
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Llanwrtyd Wells - Photo:
Nigel Davies
CCL
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Machynlleth -
Photo:
Barry Jones
CCL
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Home to the Centre for Alternative Technology
(or the ‘village of the future’) this is a
welcoming town situated in the beautiful Dyfi
Valley.
At its centre stands a | | | | | | |
