Desert of Wales

#5860 among destinations in the United Kingdom

Nature, Natural attraction, Mountain

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Facts and practical information

The Desert of Wales, or Green Desert of Wales, is 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 has no equivalent in the Welsh language. The area corresponds roughly to the upland area called Elenydd in Welsh and also referred to locally as the Cambrian Mountains. ()

Alternative names: Coordinates: 52°18'38"N, 3°43'18"W

Location

WalesUnited Kingdom

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Day trips

Desert of Wales – popular in the area (distance from the attraction)

Nearby attractions include: Strata Florida Abbey, Pen y Garn, Claerwen, Mynach Falls.

5.5 miSW
Monastery
Strata Florida Abbey, Pontrhydfendigaid
141 min walk • Strata Florida Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164.
5.1 miNW
Nature, Natural attraction, Mountain
Pen y Garn
130 min walk • Pen y Garn is a mountain in the Cambrian Mountains, Mid Wales standing at 611 metres above sea level. Pen y Garn tops a 500–600 m high plateau, which includes the controversial Cefn Croes wind farm.
3.1 miSE
Nature, Natural attraction, Lake
Claerwen
79 min walk • The Claerwen reservoir and dam in Powys, Wales, were the last additions to the Elan Valley Reservoirs system built to provide water for the increasing water demand of the city of Birmingham and the West Midlands.
7.1 miNW
Nature, Natural attraction, Waterfall
Mynach Falls, Devil's Bridge
181 min walk • Mynach Falls is a waterfall near Aberystwyth in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. It occurs where the River Mynach drops 90 metres in 5 steps down a steep and narrow ravine before it meets the River Rheidol.
6.1 miSE
Aqueduct
Elan aqueduct
157 min walk • The Elan aqueduct crosses Wales and the Midlands of England, running eastwards from the Elan Valley Reservoirs in Mid Wales to Birmingham's Frankley Reservoir, carrying drinking water for Birmingham.
3 miSE
Lake, Dam
Elan Valley Reservoirs, Rhayader
77 min walk • The Elan Valley Reservoirs are a chain of man-made lakes created from damming the Elan and Claerwen rivers within the Elan Valley in Mid Wales.
4.5 miNW
Church
Eglwys Newydd Church, Devil's Bridge
114 min walk • Eglwys Newydd Church is an early 19th-century church which replaced a previous chapel of ease. The chapel of ease was originally at Trisant but was moved to this site around 1620 by the Herbert family, owners of the Hafod estate.
2.5 miW
Nature, Natural attraction, Mountain
Llan Ddu Fawr
64 min walk • Llan Ddu Fawr or Waun Claerddu is one of the highest summits in Ceredigion, Wales, at 594 metres. It is located about 10 miles south of Pumlumon. The surrounding land can be very boggy. There is a trig point at the summit, but this is not the highest point. The peak is located within the region known as the Desert of Wales.
4.6 miN
Nature, Natural attraction, Mountain
Waun Claerddu
119 min walk • Llan Ddu Fawr is the summit of Waen Claerddu in the Cambrian Mountains. Height: 594m, prominence 168 m. It is located a few miles south of Pumlumon in the county of Ceredigion, Wales, and north-west of Llyn Fyrddon-Fach. The area is considerably boggy. There is a trig point.