Mid Wales ( or simply
Y Canolbarth "The Midlands") is the name given to the area of
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
lying between
NorthNorth Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales, bordered to the south by Mid Wales and to the east by England.It comprises the island of Anglesey, the Llŷn peninsula and the Snowdonia mountain range, together with the catchments of the Rivers Conwy, Clwyd and Dee with the River Dyfi...
and
South WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. Like the other regions of Wales, it has no official status as a region and therefore has no precise boundaries. It borders
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
via the
Welsh MarchesThe Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales on the island of Great Britain, in the United Kingdom....
to the east and the
Irish SeaThe Irish Sea also known as the Mann Sea or Manx Sea, separates the islands of Ireland and Britain. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean in the south by St George's Channel, and in the north by the North Channel...
via
Cardigan BayCardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales, between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire...
to the west (
West WalesWest Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. Other definitions include Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, but exclude...
is to the south-west). The region approximately consists of the
countiesFor local government purposes, Wales is divided into 22 unitary authority areas, which are responsible for the provision of all local government services, including education, social work, environment and roads services. Below these in some areas there are community councils, which cover specific...
of
CeredigionCeredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. In extent it is more or less identical to the historic county of Cardiganshire, and it was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later.- Geography :...
and
PowysPowys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire, and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,196 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
.
Mid Wales is dominated by the remote
Cambrian MountainsThe Cambrian Mountains are a series of mountain ranges in Wales, reaching from, and including, the South Wales mountains of the Brecon Beacons, north Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, to Snowdonia in North Wales....
which run down the centre of the area including the area sometimes referred to as the "
Desert of WalesThe Desert of Wales is a term coined to describe a large area in central Wales, so called because of its lack of roads and towns and its inaccessibility. The term was invented by English travel writers in the nineteenth century and its equivalent is not found in the Welsh language...
".
Mid Wales ( or simply
Y Canolbarth "The Midlands") is the name given to the area of
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
lying between
NorthNorth Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales, bordered to the south by Mid Wales and to the east by England.It comprises the island of Anglesey, the Llŷn peninsula and the Snowdonia mountain range, together with the catchments of the Rivers Conwy, Clwyd and Dee with the River Dyfi...
and
South WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. Like the other regions of Wales, it has no official status as a region and therefore has no precise boundaries. It borders
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
via the
Welsh MarchesThe Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales on the island of Great Britain, in the United Kingdom....
to the east and the
Irish SeaThe Irish Sea also known as the Mann Sea or Manx Sea, separates the islands of Ireland and Britain. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean in the south by St George's Channel, and in the north by the North Channel...
via
Cardigan BayCardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales, between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire...
to the west (
West WalesWest Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. Other definitions include Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, but exclude...
is to the south-west). The region approximately consists of the
countiesFor local government purposes, Wales is divided into 22 unitary authority areas, which are responsible for the provision of all local government services, including education, social work, environment and roads services. Below these in some areas there are community councils, which cover specific...
of
CeredigionCeredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. In extent it is more or less identical to the historic county of Cardiganshire, and it was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later.- Geography :...
and
PowysPowys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire, and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,196 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
.
Mid Wales is dominated by the remote
Cambrian MountainsThe Cambrian Mountains are a series of mountain ranges in Wales, reaching from, and including, the South Wales mountains of the Brecon Beacons, north Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, to Snowdonia in North Wales....
which run down the centre of the area including the area sometimes referred to as the "
Desert of WalesThe Desert of Wales is a term coined to describe a large area in central Wales, so called because of its lack of roads and towns and its inaccessibility. The term was invented by English travel writers in the nineteenth century and its equivalent is not found in the Welsh language...
". It is sparsely populated, with most settlements being situated to the east of the mountains, including
Builth WellsBuilth Wells is a town in the county of Powys, within the historic boundaries of Brecknockshire, mid Wales, lying at the confluence of the River Wye and the River Irfon, in the Welsh of the Wye Valley.-History and geography:...
,
WelshpoolWelshpool is a town in Powys, Wales, from the Wales-England border. The town is low-lying on the River Severn; the Welsh language name Y Trallwng literally meaning 'the marshy or sinking land'....
, and Newtown. There are also a few towns on the Cardigan Bay coast, most notably
AberystwythAberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. It is often colloquially known as Aber, and is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
, the
de facto capital of the region.
For many purposes Wales can be divided into only three regions,
North WalesNorth Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales, bordered to the south by Mid Wales and to the east by England.It comprises the island of Anglesey, the Llŷn peninsula and the Snowdonia mountain range, together with the catchments of the Rivers Conwy, Clwyd and Dee with the River Dyfi...
,
South WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
and
West WalesWest Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. Other definitions include Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, but exclude...
. In this scenario, the Mid Wales region is divided, with southern Powys (Brecknock and Radnor) being included in South Wales, Ceredigion in West Wales and northern Powys (Montgomeryshire) included in North Wales.
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