TheElenydd (Welsh:[ɛˈlɛnɨð]) is an upland area ofMid Wales, extending across parts of northern and easternCeredigion andPowys betweenAberystwyth andRhayader. Elenydd is also a name given to the medievalcommote ofCwmwd Deuddwr which covered approximately the same area.[1]
The area is an upland plateau ofmoorland and rough grazing within theCambrian Mountains, source of the riversElan,Severn,Teifi,Towy andWye. Elenydd is generally interpreted to mean the upland area betweenPumlumon in the north andMynydd Epynt in the south. The term "Desert of Wales" is sometimes applied to this or a wider area.
Much of Elenydd is open land with public access, following theCountryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, widely known as the "CROW Act". Specific areas within Elenydd are designated as being of nature conservation importance.
The name means the "area adjoining the Elan", which river name probably arises fromWelshelain, meaning fawn or hind; -ydd is a suffix denoting a territory.
The hills and valleys of Elenydd are carved into a suite ofmudstones andsandstones largely ofSilurian age though someOrdovician strata is present locally within the core of the Rhiwnant Anticline which runs northeast–southwest through the southern Elenydd. Parallel to but northwest of this structure is the complexCentral Wales Syncline.
Turbidite mudstones of the lower Silurian Cwmere Formation occur around Caban-coch and Carreg-ddu reservoirs. The Caban Conglomerate Formation forms such summits asDrygarn Fawr. To their north and west are the similarlithologies of theDerwenlas Formation which can be seen for example beside the dam of Claerwen Reservoir. TheRhayader Mudstones overlie these and are to be found further north and west again forming such summits as Esgair Penygarreg, Moelfryn and Craig Dyfnant. North and west of Craig Goch Reservoir are the Rhuddnant Grits (Formation), the Pysgotwr Grits (Formation) and the Glanyrafon Formation, each of which comprises both sandstones and mudstones. They give rise to the knolly country around Teifi Pools and to such summits as Esgair y Llwyn in the east.[2]
There has been vein mineralisation within the area resulting in the development of theCentral Wales Mining Field which centres onCwmystwyth.Lead,zinc andsilver have been the prime metals derived by mining these areas over centuries.[3]
A legacy of the last ice age, there are extensive tracts of country covered byglacial till, particularly in many of the broader valleys. Similarly extensive spreads ofpeat have developed across parts of the plateau surface in the postglacial period. Some of the valleys are floored withalluvial deposits.
ElenyddSSSI which covers an area of 22,770ha, is important both for itsearth science andbiological interest. The former includeSilurian outcrops north of Caban Coch Dam and exposures and spoil tips atCwmystwyth Mine, a key part of the Central Wales Mining Field. There are twoglacial landforms dating from the latePleistocene at Cwm Ddu and Cwm Tinwen andHolocene river landforms at Gors Lwyd where the shifting course of the Elan has left abandoned channels andriver terraces.
The area's biological interest includes breeding birds andblanket bog. Themires at Cors Lwyd, Cors Goch and at the headwaters of the Elan and Claerwen are particularly interesting, supporting rare plants. Some of the mountain lakes are home to the internationally rarefloating water-plantain.
Within the SSSI is theNant Irfon National Nature Reserve which is owned and managed byNatural Resources Wales (NRW) and theClaerwen NNR which NRW manages in partnership with the site's owners, theElan Valley Trust. The rest of the SSSI is owned by a mix of private and public landowners includingWelsh Water,Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, theCrown Estate and theNational Trust.[4]
ElenyddSAC covers some 8609 ha within both Ceredigion and Powys designated for the same range of reasons as the SSSI.[5]
Elenydd-MallaenSPA is a large upland site (30,022 ha) described by CCW as ‘one of the most important areas of hill land in Wales for nature conservation’. Breeding birds of importance include thered kite,peregrine falcon andmerlin.[6]
52°21′N3°42′W / 52.350°N 3.700°W /52.350; -3.700
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