Regional library

Cambrian Mountains & Mid Wales Library

Explore the Cambrian Way, the legend of Pumlumon and published walking routes across Mid Wales, with guides to Welsh landscape names, hill lists and responsible access.

20guides currently selected6library sections

Hiking Route Guides

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2 guides

Route Guide1 GPX download

Cambrian Way: Cardiff to Conwy

A 486.6-kilometre mountain journey from Cardiff Castle to Conwy Castle, crossing the highest ranges of Wales with 17,475 metres of ascent and no promise of waymarks when you need them most.

26 Aug 2026Read Guide

Route Guide1 GPX download

Pumlumon Fawr via Eisteddfa Gurig

The standard direct out-and-back from Eisteddfa Gurig to Pumlumon Fawr across a boggy upland plateau.

25 Aug 2026Read Guide

Hill Lists and People

The Dodds: When Three Regional Lists Became One Metric Classification

Between 500 and 600 metres sits a collection of hills that used to be split across Deweys, Donald Deweys and Highland Fives—until the idea emerged in 2014 to unify them under a single name that works across Britain.

02 Nov 2026Read

Simms: the hill category that tidied up the lists

If you've ever wondered why British hill lists seem unnecessarily complicated, Simms offer a rare moment of clarity. Introduced by Alan Dawson in 2010, a Simm is any summit over 600 metres with at least 30 metres of drop all round – a definition that consolidated several older, overlapping lists like Murdos, Corbett Tops, Graham Tops and Hewitts into something more coherent.

28 Sept 2026Read

The Deweys: hills that live in the gap between 500 metres and somebody else's problem

The Deweys are hills between 500 and 609.6 metres that existed in a classificatory blind spot until someone decided in 1995 that perfectly decent hills shouldn't be ignored just because they're not quite tall enough for the more famous lists.

27 Sept 2026Read

THE CLEMS: FINDING THE QUIET CORNERS OF THE COUNTRYSIDE

If you’re looking to get away from the crowds and find the hills that truly command their own space, you need to understand the unique logic of the Clems.

24 Aug 2026Read

Marilyns: Why a 150-Metre Drop is the Real Test of a Hill

Think altitude is everything? See why a 150-metre drop identifies Britain’s 1,550 Marilyns, and how the list changed in 2025.

24 Aug 2026Read

The Bridges: Understanding the Real Mountains of England and Wales

A look at George Bridge’s fixed 1973 list of 407 summits, its 2,000-foot and 50-foot origins, and how modern surveys differ.

24 Aug 2026Read

The Hewitts: A Study in Prominence and Persistence

A classification that ignores the "pretty" peaks to focus on the physical effort and distinct logic of the high ground.

24 Aug 2026Read

The HuMPs: The Geography of Independence

Forget the highest peaks and look at the hills that stand on their own—this is the fascinating, mathematical world of the HuMPs.

24 Aug 2026Read

The Nuttalls: The 15-Metre Obsession

The Nuttalls are what happens when you decide that 2,000 feet of height is only the beginning of the argument.

04 Aug 2026Read

Simms: the hill category that tidied up the lists

If you've ever wondered why British hill lists seem unnecessarily complicated, Simms offer a rare moment of clarity. Introduced by Alan Dawson in 2010, a Simm is any summit over 600 metres with at least 30 metres of drop all round – a definition that consolidated several older, overlapping lists like Murdos, Corbett Tops, Graham Tops and Hewitts into something more coherent.

28 Sept 2026Read

Long-Distance Walking

1 guide

Cambrian Way

This unofficial 298-mile mountain route traverses the entire length of Wales from Cardiff to Conwy, crossing the country's major ranges. We look at why it's one of Britain's most serious walking challenges, how much genuine route-finding you'll need, and whether tackling Wales's high ground end-to-end is sensible or simply masochistic.

26 Aug 2026Read

Local Legends

1 guide

Pumlumon Fawr and the Sleeping Giant: The Legend Beneath Wales's Five Peaks

An unnamed giant is said to sleep inside Pumlumon. The mountain's name means “five peaks”, but the surviving folklore does not identify the summits as body parts or say the giant will wake to defend Wales.

03 Aug 2026Read

Access and Mountain Safety

3 guides

What Is The Countryside Code?

The Countryside Code is the official guidance for anyone visiting the English and Welsh countryside — respect other people, protect the natural environment, and enjoy the outdoors responsibly. It's not legally binding, but several of the behaviours it describes are.

25 Jul 2026Read

The Wild Camping Grey Area: Where You Can, Where You Can't, and Why Scotland's Different

Britain's wild camping laws are a proper muddle: you generally need permission in England and Wales, Dartmoor's commons offer a genuine legal right to pitch, and Scotland grants access across most land under its own statute. The confusion comes from assuming that permission to walk somewhere includes permission to sleep there, which it usually doesn't, and the legal ground shifts beneath your boots without so much as a signpost to warn you.

16 Aug 2026Read

What to Actually Do When a Farmer Tells You You're Trespassing

Sometimes you are trespassing, sometimes the path is legitimately diverted, and sometimes farmers are simply wrong about where rights of way run. How you respond determines whether it becomes a polite correction or a police matter, and knowing the law helps more than getting defensive.

05 Aug 2026Read

Landscape and Place Names

4 guides

Why are so many Welsh valleys called Cwm?

If you've looked at a map of Wales, you'll have noticed cwm cropping up everywhere—Cwm Idwal, Cwm Rhondda, and dozens more. It's the Welsh word for a valley or cirque, and in place names it's typically followed by whatever distinguishes that particular cwm from all the others: a person, a feature, or just what it looks like. Simple enough, once you know what you're looking at.

21 Oct 2026Read

More Than a Pile of Rocks: Understanding Cairns

For thousands of years, cairns have served many purposes—from burials and memorials to boundaries and landmarks on high ground.

16 Jul 2026Read

The Language of Water

A guide to the Norse and regional water terms found across the British uplands—and what they can, and cannot, tell you about the terrain.

16 Jul 2026Read

Is it a hill, is it a fell, is it a mountain?

The UK’s names for high places—hills, fells, mountains and tors—reflect language and local custom, while the familiar 2,000-foot line is a hill-list convention rather than an official OS rule.

15 Jul 2026Read

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