Mid Wales
Richards Mountain Pages

The picture left is the view into this area from Maesglase (just to the south of its more famous neighbour - Cadair Idris, and just outside the Snowdonia national park). This mountain, and the view here typify the terrain of this region - rounded hills with large summit plateaus and pine plantations grafted onto the slopes.

At the Northern end of this area lies Berwyn, a broad moorland area rising to a distinctive peak. This really ought to be part of Snowdonia, but for some reason it got left out of the National Park. Berwyn is said to be home to the only clump of cloudberries in Wales. These tasty but rare little orange berries grow on high plateaus, mainly in Scandinavia.

To the South of the ancient Welsh capital (Machynlleth - pronounced something like ma'-hunk-left!), lies a wild area known as the Plynlimon. Here you can walk for days on undulating grasslands, visiting the grassy peaks and valleys, where the rivers Wye and Severn rise. Pumlumon Fawr, and its massif is far higher than the surrounding hills, but given a clear day, these can give just as impressive views. Unfortunately my 2004 camping trip failed to get clear views, so I have no pictures to show.

Further South the land gets flatter still, and emptier than much of the Scottish Highlands. The plateau between Devils Bridge and Drygarn Fawr is indeed a wilderness of rough grass, heather and bog, inhabited only by sheep.

I've also caught a glimpse of some of the modern giant windmills that proliferate this area. Some may shun their stark outlines, but I suspect in time they will become as accepted as their old fashioned counterparts.

Up close they make little noise (you can have a normal conversation beneath one), but the whirring sound does carry on the wind for a long way.

Settlements
There are few towns in these parts, but there are one or two notable places around the edges:

• Aberystwyth - I've not been here yet
• Builth Wells - A small sleepy town centred around a narrow road of little shops
• Lampeter - People have joked to me about launching expeditions to reach this remote town, but I hope to have a weekend there sometime this year
• Llandrindod Wells - A Victorian town that pulls the tourists
• Llanwrtydd Wells - A village noted for its annual 'World Bog Snorkelling Championships' - an eccentric sport that attracts the media
• Machynlleth - The old capital of Wales, with a grand 'high street', but little beyond
• Rhayader - A compact little town on the Wye, but plagued with traffic

Transport
There are two train lines offering a limited service to this region. You can get to Machynlleth and Aberystwyth from Shrewbury; and to Builth Wells, Llandrindod Wells and Llanwrtydd Wells from the Shrewsbury to Swansea line.
Rhayader is reach by bus from Llandrindod Wells, and Lampeter is reach by bus from Camarthen (train to Camarthen from Swansea)
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