The Elan Valley ( cy, Cwm Elan) is a

river valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

situated to the west 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 ...

, in

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

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 ...

, sometimes known as the "Welsh Lake District". It covers of lake and countryside. The valley contains the

Elan Valley Reservoirs 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. The reservoirs, which were built by the Birmingham Corporation Water Department, provide clean dri ...

and

Elan Village Elan Village ( cy, Pentre Elan) is a small purpose-built community in Powys, Wales. It was designed by architect Herbert Tudor Buckland as part of Birmingham Corporation's scheme to construct a series of water supply reservoirs in the Elan Valle ...

, designed by architect

Herbert Tudor Buckland Herbert Tudor Buckland (20 November 1869 – 1951) was a British architect, best known for his seminal Arts and Crafts houses (several of which, including his own at Edgbaston, Birmingham, are Grade I listed), the Elan Valley model village, e ...

as part of the same scheme. Elan Village is the only purpose-built

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

Model Village A model village is a type of mostly self-contained community, built from the late 18th century onwards by landowners and business magnates to house their workers. Although the villages are located close to the workplace, they are generally phys ...

" in Wales. It is also famous for its picturesque scenery. Over 80% of the valley is designated as

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, and a popular cycle trail, the Elan Valley Trail, makes a loop from

around the reservoirs. Part of the trail overlaps with a spur of

National Cycle Route 81 National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(''Lon Cambria''). As of 2015 it is an International Dark Sky Park.

External links

Sustrans Routes2Ride: Cycling in the Elan Valley

Sustrans map and description for Route 81, Lon Cambria

Official site by Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and the Elan Valley Trust

City council to fund water museum
at

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, 26 July 2006
Abandoned communities ..... Elan Valley

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of the Elan Valley and surrounding area

Photographs of the Elan Valley in Winter from the August 2009 Exhibition, The Beauty of Winter at the Elan Valley Visitor centre
{{coord, 52, 15, 44, N, 3, 35, 19, W, source:dewiki, display=title Valleys of Powys Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Ceredigion Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Radnor Elenydd Cycleways in Wales Cycleways in Powys

See also

External links