Mid Wales ( cy, Canolbarth Cymru or simply ''Y Canolbarth'', meaning "the midlands") or Central Wales refers to a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, encompassing its midlands, in-between

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a regions of Wales, 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, ...

and

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) 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 ...

. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the

Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gov ...

covered the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

areas of Ceredigion and Powys and the area of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, an ...

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 The Cambrian Mountains ( cy, Mynyddoedd Cambria, in a narrower sense: ''Elenydd'') are a series of mountain ranges in Wales. The term ''Cambrian Mountains'' used to apply to most of the upland of Wales. Since the 1950s, its application has becom ...

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

Major settlements

Aberaeron Aberaeron, previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community, and electoral ward between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, in Ceredigion, Wales. Ceredigion County Council offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is Welsh for ''mouth o ...

Aberdyfi Aberdyfi (), also known as Aberdovey ( ), is a village and community in Gwynedd, Wales, located on the northern side of the estuary of the River Dyfi. The population of the community was 878 at the 2011 census. The electoral ward had a larg ...

Aberporth Aberporth is a seaside village, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the community was 2,374 ...

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location i ...

Bala Bala may refer to: Places India * Bala, India, a village in Allahabad, India * Bala, Ahor, a village in the Jalore district of Rajasthan * Bala, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India Romania * Bala, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedin� ...

Barmouth Barmouth ( cy, Abermaw (formal); ''Y Bermo'' (colloquial)) is a seaside town and community in the county of Gwynedd, northwestern Wales, lying on the estuary of the Afon Mawddach and Cardigan Bay. Located in the historic county of Merioneth ...

* Borth *

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the c ...

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 ...

* Caersws * Cardigan * Crickhowell *

Dolgellau Dolgellau () is a town and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionet ...

* Fairbourne * Harlech * Hay-on-Wye * Knighton *

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigio ...

* Llandrindod Wells * Llandysul *

Llanidloes Llanidloes () is a town and community on the A470 and B4518 roads in Powys, within the historic county boundaries of Montgomeryshire ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn), Wales. The population in 2011 was 2,929, of whom 15% could speak Welsh. It is the thi ...

* Llanwrtyd * Machynlleth * Montgomery * New Quay * Newcastle Emlyn * Newtown *

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 located ...

* Tregaron * Tywyn * Welshpool * Ystradgynlais

Railway lines

Main lines

* Heart of Wales line *

Cambrian Line The Cambrian Line ( cy, Llinell y Cambrian), also known as the Cambrian Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell y Cambrian) and Cambrian Coast Line ( cy, Llinell Arfordir y Cambrian), is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury, England, westwards to Abe ...

* Welsh Marches line

Heritage lines

Talyllyn Railway The Talyllyn Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 17 ...

* Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway * Vale of Rheidol Railway *

Cambrian Heritage Railways The Cambrian Heritage Railways is a heritage railway company, trust and society based at both Llynclys and Oswestry in its newly restored Oswestry railway station, Shropshire, England. Formed after the 2009 merger of the Cambrian Railways So ...

* Brecon Mountain Railway * Fairbourne Railway * Corris Railway

Politics

Parliamentary constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polit ...

in Mid Wales include; Brecon and Radnorshire, Ceredigion, Dwyfor Meirionnydd and

Montgomeryshire , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...

. The region is represented in the

with an electoral region known as Mid and West Wales.

Mid Wales Growth Deal

On 13 January 2022, the Mid Wales Growth Deal's Final Deal Agreement was signed between the Growing Mid Wales Board; containing representatives from

Ceredigion County Council Ceredigion County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Ceredigion) is the governing body for the county of Ceredigion, since 1996 one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The council's main offices are in Aberaeron. History The current council was create ...

and

Powys County Council Powys County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Powys) is the local authority for Powys, one of the administrative areas of Wales. The County Hall is in Llandrindod Wells. History The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Gover ...

, and the UK and

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

s. The deal involves the commitment of £110 million of funding from the two governments, with additional funding provided by other public and private sectors over the span of 10 years. The deal aims to increase investment in the region to £400 million by 2032, support an increase in gross value added of between £570 million and £700 million in the region's economy, and create between 1,100 to 1,400 jobs in Mid Wales.

References

External links

The BBC's Mid Wales page Overview of Mid Wales
by the Welsh Development Agency
Mid Wales Region on Wales.com
{{coord, 52, 27, N, 3, 20, W, type:adm2nd_region:GB, display=title Regions of Wales Administrative divisions of Wales