Regions of Wales in the context of "Mid Wales"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Regions of Wales in the context of "Mid Wales"

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Regions of Wales

Wales has traditionally been divided into a number of ambiguous and ill-defined areas described as regions, reflecting historical, geographical, administrative, cultural and electoral boundaries within the country. Presently, the most common form of division of Wales into "regions" has been using cardinal and intercardinal references: north or south-west for example. None of the variously described "regions" have official status or defined boundaries; neither is there a fixed number of regions. Various organisations use different regions and combinations of regions for their individual purposes. This includes devolved institutions, such as Visit Wales, Natural Resources Wales, and the Welsh Government itself, using different sets of Wales' regions. Wales is most commonly sub-divided into between two and four regions, with a North–South divide, and North, Mid, South East and South West division being common. This article lists the various terms applied to be the "regions of Wales" and the regions used by various organisations.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Regions of Wales in the context of Mid Wales

Mid Wales (Welsh: Canolbarth Cymru or simply Y Canolbarth, meaning "the midlands"), or Central Wales, is a region of Wales, encompassing its midlands, in-between North Wales and South Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the Senedd covered the unitary authority areas of Ceredigion and Powys and the area of Gwynedd that had previously been the district of Meirionnydd. A similar definition is used by the BBC. The Wales Spatial Plan defines a region known as "Central Wales" which covers Ceredigion and Powys.

Mid Wales is dominated by the Cambrian Mountains, including the Green Desert of Wales. The region is sparsely populated, with an economy dependent on farming and small businesses.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Regions of Wales in the context of North Wales

North Wales (Welsh: Gogledd Cymru [ˈɡɔɡlɛð ˈkəmrɨ]) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley (Bryniau Clwyd a Dyffryn Dyfrdwy), known for its mountains, waterfalls and trails, wholly within the region. Its population is concentrated in the north-east and northern coastal areas, with significant Welsh-speaking populations in its western and rural areas. North Wales is imprecisely defined, lacking any exact definition or administrative structure. It is commonly defined administratively as its six most northern principal areas, but other definitions exist, with Montgomeryshire historically considered to be part of the region.

Those from North Wales are sometimes referred to as "Gogs" (from Welsh gogledd 'north'); in turn, those from South Wales are sometimes called "Hwntws" by those from North Wales.

↑ Return to Menu

Regions of Wales in the context of South East Wales

South East Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales generally corresponding to the preserved counties of Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and Gwent. Highly urbanised, it includes the cities of Cardiff and Newport as well as large towns in the South Wales Valleys.

↑ Return to Menu

Regions of Wales in the context of North East Wales

North East Wales (Welsh: Gogledd-Ddwyrain Cymru) is an area or region of Wales, commonly defined as a grouping of the principal areas of Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Wrexham County Borough in the north-east of the country. These principal areas comprise most (excluding Colwyn, and parts of Glyndŵr) of the former administrative county of Clwyd. It is bordered by Conwy, and Gwynedd, in North West Wales to the west, Powys, in Mid Wales to the south, the English counties of Cheshire, and Shropshire to the east, and the Irish Sea, and Dee estuary to the north. It is the more urban, densely populated, and industrial part of the north Wales geographic region, centred on the city of Wrexham and the towns of Rhyl and Prestatyn, and the conurbation of Deeside. The region's close links with North West England in general and Merseyside in particular (together as the "Mersey-Dee" economic sub-region) are crucial to the region's economy.

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located in the region. Other attractions include historical buildings such as Chirk Castle, and Erddig in Wrexham, valley towns such as Corwen and Llangollen, and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site.

↑ Return to Menu

Regions of Wales in the context of North West Wales

North West Wales (Welsh: Gogledd-Orllewin Cymru) is an area or region of Wales, commonly defined as a grouping of the principal areas of Conwy County Borough, Gwynedd and the Isle of Anglesey in the north-west of the country. These principal areas make up the entire preserved county of Gwynedd, and parts of Clwyd. It is bordered by Denbighshire, in North East Wales to the east, Powys, and Ceredigion in Mid Wales to the south, and the Irish sea to the north and west (as Cardigan Bay). It is the more mountainous, rural, and sparsely populated part of the north Wales geographic region.

Settlements include: Bangor, Caernarfon, Colwyn Bay, Holyhead, Llandudno, and Pwllheli. The port of Holyhead serves as the major sea link between Wales and Ireland. Snowdonia National Park is located wholly in the area, hosting Snowdon, the largest peak in British Isles excluding the Scottish Highlands. The area also hosts AONBs (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in the Llŷn Peninsula and Isle of Anglesey, and the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward UNESCO World Heritage Site.

↑ Return to Menu

Regions of Wales in the context of South Wales

South Wales (Welsh: De Cymru [ˌdeː ˌkəmri]) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards to include Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. In the western extent, from Swansea westwards, local people would probably recognise that they lived in both south Wales and west Wales. The Brecon Beacons National Park covers about a third of south Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest British mountain south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia.

A point of some discussion is whether the first element of the name should be capitalised: 'south Wales' or 'South Wales'. As the name is a geographical expression rather than a specific area with well-defined borders, style guides such as those of the BBC and The Guardian use the form 'south Wales'. The Welsh Government, in their international gateway website, Wales.com, state that it should always be capitalised; however, they use the term to refer to a tourism marketing area which excludes the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot local authority areas (placing them in 'West Wales'). In contradiction, the style guide for the Welsh Government's main website, Gov.wales, uses 'south Wales'. It is always capitalised on motorway signs.

↑ Return to Menu

Regions of Wales in the context of West Wales and the Valleys

West Wales and the Valleys is a UK International Territorial Level 2 statistical region covering the western areas of Wales and the South Wales Valleys. Created as part of Eurostat's Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), it was used by the European Union (EU) to deliver the European Regional Development Fund to areas of Wales, until the UK's withdrawal from the EU in 2020, after which it was mirrored onto the Office for National Statistics' International Territorial Level (ITL) geo-classification system. The remainder of Wales is part of the East Wales statistical region.

↑ Return to Menu