The Desert of Wales, or Green Desert of Wales, is an area in central

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, so called because of its lack of roads and towns and its inaccessibility. The term was coined by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

travel writers in the nineteenth century and has no equivalent in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

. The area corresponds roughly to the upland area called in Welsh.

Extent

The word "desert" is used figuratively, to describe the lack of biodiversity due to overgrazing of sheep and human clearing, which, over time, has destroyed the native

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American ...

, and the lack of human settlement or infrastructure in the region. The area has high rainfall and much of it is covered by

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

overlain with

purple moor grass ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid so ...

and heather moorland, or by

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s of non-native

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s. The soil tends to be acidic.Ceredigion, A Wealth of History by Gerald Morgan There is no exact definition of the extent of the Desert of Wales, but it is bordered to the east by the

A470 The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road) is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigat ...

and the town of

Rhayader Rhayader (; cy, Rhaeadr Gwy; ) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, within the historic county of Radnorshire. The town is from the source of the River Wye on Plynlimon, the highest point of the Cambrian Mountains, and is locate ...

, to the south by the

A483 The A483, officially described as the Swansea to Manchester Trunk Road, although now ending in Chester, is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs from Swansea in Wales to Chester in England via Llandovery, Llandrindod Wells, Oswestry and W ...

from

Builth Wells Builth Wells (; cy, Llanfair-ym-Muallt) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of ...

Llanwrda Llanwrda () is both a village and a community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, southwest of Llandovery. It lies on the River Towy. The population in 2011 was 514. Transport and other features The village is served by Llanwrda railway station. The ...

, to the west by the A482 from Llanwrda to

Pumpsaint Pumsaint is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, halfway between Llanwrda and Lampeter on the A482 road, A482 in the valley of the Afon Cothi. It forms part of the extensive estate of Dolaucothi, which is owned by the National Trust for Places of ...

, and from there northwards by a series of country roads up to

Tregaron Tregaron ( "town of St Caron") is an ancient market town in Ceredigion, Wales, astride the River Brenig, a tributary of the River Teifi. Tregaron is northeast of Lampeter. According to the 2011 Census, the population of the ward of Tregaron wa ...

. The northern boundary is generally taken to be the

A44 A44 may refer to : * A44 road (Great Britain), a road connecting Oxford, England and Aberystwyth, Wales * A44 motorway (Germany), a road connecting Aachen at the German-Belgian border and Kassel * A44 motorway (Netherlands), a motorway in the Nethe ...

between

Ponterwyd Ponterwyd is a village in Ceredigion, Wales. It lies in the Cambrian Mountains of Mid Wales, approximately east of Aberystwyth on the A44 road. Historical background Ponterwyd's rich history is evident throughout the village. At the village's ...

and

Llangurig Llangurig is both a village and a community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. The population was 723 in the 2011 UK Census. The community includes the hamlet of Cwmbelan. The River Wye, the A470 and the A44 trunk roads pass through Llangurig, ...

, although the substantial area of

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

to the north of this road, including the reservoirs of

Nant y Moch Nant-y-moch Reservoir () is situated in the Cambrian Mountains in northern Ceredigion, Wales, near Pumlumon. The reservoir which flooded a part of the valley of the River Rheidol and its headwaters derives its name from a stream, the Nant-y-moc ...

and Llyn Clywedog, has similar topography. The term 'Cambrian Desert' is also used to describe the region.

History

The term ''Desert of Wales'' has been used to describe the area at least as far back as 1836 when the following was written by Joseph Downes:

Affording us water and trees, and yielding a dim and remote picture, wrapped in purple sunset haze, of some fine country far far down, where a chasm of hills gave egress to the water, it appeared quite an oasis to us travellers of this Desert of Wales.

Travel is limited to narrow roads, forestry tracks, footpaths and bridleways. It is a sparsely populated area, consisting largely of rolling hills, gorges and steep valleys with ancient native Welsh oak forest.

Ruins

The ruins of

Strata Florida Abbey Strata Florida Abbey ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Fflur) () is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164. is a Latinisation of the Welsh ; 'Valley of ...

are located on the road from

Wildlife

The area supported the last native

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

s in the United Kingdom until their reintroduction and widespread revival in the 1980s.

Water resources

The area has many lakes and reservoirs, some of which supply drinking water to towns and cities in the English West

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

(

Elan Valley The Elan Valley ( cy, Cwm Elan) is a river valley situated to the west of Rhayader, in Powys, Wales, sometimes known as the "Welsh Lake District". It covers of lake and countryside. The valley contains the Elan Valley Reservoirs and Elan Villa ...

group of reservoirs), to the towns of northern

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

(Teifi Pools), and to towns all along the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

valley ( Llyn Clywedog).

Drainage

It is drained by the Afon

Claerwen 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. The dam is built mainly of concre ...

Afon Teifi , name_etymology = , image = File:Llyn Teifi - geograph.org.uk - 41773.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Llyn Teifi, the source of the Teifi , map = , map_size = , map_caption ...

Afon Cothi The Afon Cothi ( en, River Cothy) is the largest tributary of the River Tywi in south Wales. It is noted for its trout and sea trout (sewin) fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from th ...

Afon Tywi The River Towy ( cy, Afon Tywi, ) is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within Wales. Its total length is . It is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing. Route The Towy rises within of the source of the River Teifi on the lower sl ...

Afon Irfon 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 Abergwesy ...

, Afon Gwy,

Afon Ystwyth The River Ystwyth (; cy, Afon Ystwyth "winding river") is a river in Ceredigion, Wales. The length of the main river is . Its catchment area covers . Its source is a number of streams that include the Afon Diliw, located on the west slopes of ...

, Afon Mynach,

Afon Rheidol The Afon Rheidol is a river in Ceredigion, Wales, in length. The source is Plynlimon. Receiving an average annual rainfall of , Plynlimon is also the source of both the Wye and the Severn. Geography and geology The Rheidol rises in the head ...

References

Other sources

* *

External links

Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales: Historic Landscapes : Elenydd
{{coord, 52.310644, -3.721662, display=title Desert of Wales, The Desert of Wales, The