National parks of Wales

The area is steeped in culture and local history, where more than half its population speak Welsh[7] Fossil shell fragments on the summit of Snowdon date from over 500 million years ago and the ancient ‘Harlech Dome’ of which Snowdon and Cadair Idris form the northern and southern extents respectively, was created in the Cambrian Period before the volcanoes erupted.

The more recent Ice Age glaciers were at their peak 18,000 years ago in Snowdonia and formed the distinctive U-shaped valleys including those at Llanberis and Nant Gwynant in the north and Tal-y-llyn Lake in the south.

Formed in 1952, this is the only national park recognised primarily for its coastline; it covers almost all the Pembrokeshire Coast, every offshore island, the Daugleddau estuary and large areas of the Preseli Hills and the Gwaun Valley.

It is an ecologically rich area recognised as of international importance for a wide range of high quality habitats and rare species.

[9] The park also contains a wealth of human history and culture, including the UK's smallest city, St Davids and Iron Age forts.

Within the park there are also a total of sixty geological conservation sites ranging from small roadside quarries and isolated crags on hilltops to many kilometres of coastline.

It stretches from Llandeilo in the west to Hay-on-Wye in the northeast and Pontypool in the southeast, covering 519 square miles (1,340 km2) and encompassing four main regions – the Black Mountain in the west, Fforest Fawr and the Brecon Beacons in the centre, and the Black Mountains in the east, where the highest point is Waun Fach 811 metres (2,661 feet).

The west of the park is also designated as Fforest Fawr Geopark in recognition of its geological interest, and includes Waterfall Country.

A number of former tramroads and the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal running down the Usk valley dating from the Industrial Revolution now serve as recreational facilities.