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County Population: 122,000 (estimate)
Powys
was created during local government reorganisation in 1974 and comprises
of the former counties of Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire, and most of Breconshire.
With an area of 5,205 sq km (2,009 sq miles), it is the largest county
in Wales, occupying almost a quarter of the country. Mainly agricultural,
sheep are reared on the upland slopes, cattle fattened on the lowland
pastures, and the fertile river valleys are used for farming and dairying.
Powys
is bounded on the northwest by the heather-covered Berwyn Mountains that
climb to a height of 827 m (2,713 feet), and to the west by the rounded
grassy slopes of Plynlimon, that rise to 752 m (2,467 feet). In the south
the Brecon Beacons reach 610 m (2,000 ft), and contain a limestone area
that has the longest cave system in the UK, covering some 19 km (12 miles).
Radnor Forest in the east is treeless moorland, covered with moss, heath,
cotton grass, and bilberry, which rises sharply from the surrounding fertile
meadows to 660 m (2,165 feet). In addition to the spectacular mountains,
moorland and caves, there are also many splendid waterfalls, and 894 sq
km (345 sq miles) of Powys lies in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
The
area covered by modern-day Powys was conquered towards the end of the
1st century AD by the Romans. Offa's Dyke, a 224 km (170 miles) long earthwork
running north to south down the east of the county, was built in the 8th
century to protect the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia from the Welsh. In
the late 11th century William I began the invasion of Wales, and the Normans
built many fortresses in an attempt to restrain and manage the Welsh.
Conflict continued for several hundred years, only ceasing in 1536 following
the Act of Union between England and Wales.
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