Powys

A sparsely populated county with few means of livelihood other than hill farming, forestry and tourism, Powys is ideal for those who enjoy walking through wild, isolated tracts of countryside. Perhaps less dramatic than other parts of Wales, the county nurtures a quiet contemplative beauty of its own, particularly in the wooded valleys of the Rivers Lugg and Teme and in the mist-draped valley of the Wye. Powys lies south of the Berwyn Mountains, where the ragged peaks fall away to near deserted moorland and on through a succession of rolling uplands and river valleys, culminating in a series of rounded hills that frown down upon the English borderlands. A distinctive feature of the region is the huge bulk of mysterious rock 'dome' called Radnor Forest. Similar to the rest of Wales, the Powys countryside is rich in symbols of the past - Bronze Age tumuli, cairns, standing stones, Roman remains and fragments of border castles sacked by Prince Llewellyn or Owain Glyndwr, in their efforts to achieve Welsh independence.

In the creation of enormous reservoirs to supply English cities, the Elan Valley amongst others, was 'drowned' - submerged now beneath rippling waters are the few stones that remain of the poet Shelley's house.