28-871: Afon Irfon (the River Irfon ) is a river in Powys , Wales . It flows from the upper slopes of Bryn Garw in the Cambrian Mountains , through the Abergwesyn Valley, past the Nant Irfon National Nature Reserve in the hills above the village of Abergwesyn , and through Llanwrtyd Wells to its confluence with the River Wye at Builth Wells . The source of the Irfon is in the so-called ' Desert of Wales '. Afon Irfon
56-692: A forest of sessile oak ( Quercus petraea ) to join the Afon Gwesyn at Abergwyesn where it passes beneath the Irfon Forest and the Nant Irfon National Nature Reserve towards Llanwrtyd Wells. Lastly, overlooked by the scarp of Mynydd Epynt to the south, it flows eastward through Llangammarch Wells , and Garth to join the River Wye at Builth Wells (Llanfair ym Muallt) approximately 28 winding miles from its source. The name 'Irfon' may be identical in its origin to
84-705: A further 54 enclosures and settlement sites. Powys is served by the Cambrian Line and Heart of Wales line which offer connections to major towns and cities such as Swansea , Wrexham , Shrewsbury , Birmingham , Wolverhampton , Manchester , Cardiff , Aberystwyth , London and Telford . The county used to be served by key railways such as the Mid-Wales Railway , Oswestry and Newtown Railway , Tanat Valley Light Railway , Llanfyllin Branch , Leominster and Kington Railway , Swansea Vale Railway and
112-522: Is a county and preserved county in Wales . It borders Gwynedd , Denbighshire , and Wrexham to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire to the east; Monmouthshire , Blaenau Gwent , Merthyr Tydfil , Caerphilly , Rhondda Cynon Taf , and Neath Port Talbot to the south; and Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion to the west. The largest settlement is Newtown , and
140-542: Is a " semé of black lozenges " for the former coal mining industry, while the golden fleece it carries is a reference to the importance of sheep rearing in the county. The county motto is: Powys – the paradise of Wales ( Welsh : Powys Paradwys Cymru ). On 1 April 1974, Powys was created under the Local Government Act 1972. At first, the former administrative counties of Montgomery , Radnor , and Brecknock were districts within it. On 1 April 1996,
168-772: Is now the largest administrative area in Wales by land and area ( Dyfed was until 1996 before several former counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 were abolished). It is bounded to the north by Gwynedd , Denbighshire and Wrexham County Borough ; to the west by Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire ; to the east by Shropshire and Herefordshire ; and to the south by Rhondda Cynon Taf , Merthyr Tydfil County Borough , Caerphilly County Borough , Blaenau Gwent , Monmouthshire and Neath Port Talbot . The largest towns are Newtown , Ystradgynlais , Brecon , Welshpool , Llandrindod Wells and Knighton . Powys has
196-585: Is the listed name of the Site of Special Scientific Interest in the upper reaches of the river Irfon Powys , Wales . From its source at 540 metres (1,770 feet) AMSL on the upper slopes of Bryn Garw in the Cambrian Mountains the Irfon flows southwards past the foot of the Devil's Staircase, along the Abergwesyn Valley, through the scenic Camddwr Bleiddiad (Wolves' Gorge), and into the Wolves' Pool. It then flows past
224-725: Is the region northwest of Welshpool. The county is named after the Kingdom of Powys , which was a Welsh successor state , petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain . Powys covers the same area as the historic counties of Montgomeryshire , Radnorshire , and Brecknockshire . Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire , most of Brecknockshire , and part of historic Denbighshire . With an area of about 2,000 square miles (5,200 km ), it
252-728: The Countryside Commission . However, the proposal was opposed by many farmers and local authorities in the area. Formal consultations on the proposal began in 1970, and in 1971 the Countryside Commission proposed a revised boundary for the designation. The proposed area, of 467 square miles (1,210 km ), covered the area of Pumlumon and Elenydd, within an area bounded by the settlements of Machynlleth , Llangurig , Rhayader , Newbridge-on-Wye , Llanwrtyd Wells , Llandovery , Pumsaint , Tregaron , and Devil's Bridge . Despite continuing local opposition,
280-563: The Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway , all of which offered connections to South Wales , Hereford , Oswestry , North Wales and West Wales but have all since closed. The gold in the county coat of arms symbolises the wealth of the area. Black is for both mining and the Black Mountains . The fountain is a medieval heraldic charge displayed as a roundel barry wavy argent and azure. It represents water and refers to both
308-532: The Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire . The Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire and Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire were appointed as lieutenants. The present lord lieutenant is Shân Legge-Bourke of Crickhowell . From 2024, Powys would be in the UK parliament constituencies of Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe and Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr , both of which extend out of the county. In December 2007, Powys
SECTION 10
#1732793356754336-794: The River Irvine in Scotland, for which multiple etymologies have been proposed. The river is famous in Welsh history for the fact that it was on its banks, in the vicinity Cilmeri , that Llywelyn ap Gruffudd , Prince of Wales , was killed on 11 December 1282. The Abergwesyn Valley and the legend of the boy failing to safely leap the Wolves' Gorge ('Camddwr Bleiddiad') were described by George Borrow in his 1862 travel publication Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery . Powys Powys ( / ˈ p oʊ ɪ s , ˈ p aʊ ɪ s / POH -iss, POW -iss , Welsh: [ˈpou̯ɪs] )
364-484: The water catchment area and the rivers and lakes. Thus, the arms contain references to the hills and mountains, rivers and lakes, water supply and industry. The crest continues the colouring of the arms. A tower has been used in preference to a mural crown , which alludes to the county's military history and remains. From the tower rises a red kite , a bird almost extinct elsewhere in Britain but thriving in Powys. The bird
392-667: The 1960s and 1970s. The highest point of the range is Plynlimon , at 2,467 feet (752 m). The wider, more historic, use of the term also includes Snowdonia in North Wales , and the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains in South Wales . They range in height up to 3,559 feet (1,085 m) in Snowdonia. While Snowdonia contains a mix of volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks of Cambrian and Ordovician age,
420-682: The Countryside Commission published the order designating the area on 15 August 1972, and submitted it to the Secretary of State for Wales , Peter Thomas , for confirmation. Objections to the proposed designation were then made by all five county councils, 5 of the 7 district councils, 5 parish councils, the National Farmers Union , the Country Landowners Association , Plaid Cymru , the Campaign for
448-736: The English West Midlands and for South Wales respectively. They include the Clywedog Reservoir and Nant y Moch Reservoir. Cefn Croes , the site of a controversial wind farm project, is in the Cambrian Mountains, just south of the A44 road between Aberystwyth and Llangurig . The area was proposed as a national park in 1965 by the National Parks Commission , a precursor body of
476-686: The Protection of Rural Wales and others. Support for the designation was expressed by the Ramblers Association , Youth Hostels Association , and Cyclists' Touring Club . In July 1973, the Secretary of State announced the decision not to proceed with the designation because of "massive evidence of objections", and also rejected a call to hold a public inquiry. This was the first time such a recommendation on national park designation had not been accepted. This list confines itself to
504-482: The administrative centre is Llandrindod Wells . Powys is the largest and most sparsely populated county in Wales, having an area of 5,181 km (2,000 sq mi) and a population of 133,891 in 2022. After Newtown (11,362), the most populous settlements are Ystradgynlais (8,270), Brecon (8,254), and Llandrindod Wells (5,602). The county is entirely rural, and characterised by multiple market towns and villages. The Welsh language can be spoken by 16.4% of
532-576: The ancient Welsh Kingdom of Powys , which in the sixth century AD included the northern two-thirds of the area as well as most of Shropshire and adjacent areas now in England, and came to an end when it was occupied by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd during the 1260s. The uplands retain evidence of occupation from long before the Kingdom of Powys, and before the Romans, who built roads and forts across
560-600: The area. There are 1130 identified burial mounds within the county, of varying styles and ages, dating from 4000 BC to 1000 BC, most of them belonging to the Bronze Age . Of these, 339 are scheduled monuments . Standing stones , most again dating to the Bronze Age, also occur in large numbers, 276 being found across the county, of which 92 are scheduled. From the Iron Age , the county has 90 scheduled hillforts and
588-453: The districts were abolished, and Powys was reconstituted as a unitary authority . There was a minor border adjustment in the northeast—specifically, the addition of the communities of Llansilin and Llangedwyn from Glyndŵr district in Clwyd —and with moving the border, so that rather than half of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, all is included. The first Lord Lieutenant of Powys was previously
SECTION 20
#1732793356754616-574: The geographically homogeneous Mid Wales uplands, known in Welsh as Elenydd , which extend from Plynlimon (Pumlumon) to Radnor Forest in the east and Mynydd Mallaen to the south. This barren and sparsely populated 'wilderness' has been referred to as the Desert of Wales . The area includes the sources of the River Severn and River Wye and was unsuccessfully proposed as a national park in
644-408: The industrial area of Ystradgynlais in the southwest of Brecknockshire. In Radnorshire, the language survived into the 20th century west of Rhayader with a few native speakers from Nantmel parish surviving into the 20th century too. The 2021 census recorded that 16.4% of the population were able to speak the Welsh language, a decline from 18.6% in 2011 and 21% in 2001 . The county is named after
672-516: The lowest population density of all the principal areas of Wales. Most of Powys is mountainous, and most roads and railways are relatively slow. Just under a third of the residents have Welsh linguistic skills: Welsh speakers are concentrated mainly in the rural areas both in and around Machynlleth , Llanfyllin and Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (where William Morgan first translated the whole Bible into Welsh in 1588) in Montgomeryshire, and
700-476: The mountains of South Wales are mainly Devonian age Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous Limestone and similarly aged sandstones . The ranges of mid-Wales on the other hand are predominantly formed from Ordovician and Silurian sandstones and mudstones which in many areas outcrop only infrequently so resulting in more rounded grassy hills. The Cambrian Mountains (in the modern sense of the term) are generally less popular with hillwalkers and scramblers than
728-573: The population. The county is predominantly hilly and mountainous. To the west lie the Cambrian Mountains , where the River Severn and River Wye both have their source on the Powys side of the Plynlimon massif; together with their tributaries they drain most of the county. The southern quarter of the county is occupied by the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) national park, and further north are two more upland areas, Mynydd Epynt and Radnor Forest . The only extensive area of flat land in Powys
756-574: The ranges to their north and south. Since all of Wales' ranges face the predominant westerly air stream coming in from the Atlantic Ocean , they enjoy high levels of rainfall and are the source of numerous rivers, among which the rivers Severn and Wye , which rise on the eastern slopes of Pumlumon , are the largest. The Cambrian Mountains host the Elan Valley Reservoirs and Llyn Brianne reservoir, which provide water for
784-439: Was awarded Fair Trade County status by The Fairtrade Foundation . Cambrian Mountains The Cambrian Mountains ( Welsh : Mynyddoedd Cambria , in a narrower sense: Elenydd ) are a series of mountain ranges in Wales . The term Cambrian Mountains used to apply to most of the upland of Wales, and comes from the country's Latin name Cambria . Since the 1950s, its application has become increasingly localised to
#753246