Regional library
South West Wales Library
Explore the published guides to hill lists, Welsh place names, raised beaches and local folklore that offer background to walking in South West Wales.
Hill Lists and People
History and Heritage
1 guide
Local Legends
1 guide
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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