A sprawling grassy hill about five miles east of Llanidloes, in mid-Wales, reaches a little over 1900’ (the OS map indicates a maximum of 584m). Getting on for 20 years ago, a wind farm was constructed here – one of the biggest in Europe, with no fewer than 103 turbines.  Their generating capacity is 30.9 megawatts – during their expected lifetime of 25 years, that’s apparently equivalent to nearly 1.5m tons of CO2

A surfaced road provides easy access from the A483 Newtown – Llandrindod road to a small parking area – from where an easy walk takes one up to the “Fferm Gwynt”. The hilltop is access land, so there’s no problem with exploration, though a sign at the gate warns of the perils of icy conditions and thunderstorms…

The views from the hill are extensive and panoramic, ranging from the Shropshire hills to the Brecon Beacons, with much of mid-Wales in view to the west – and the generators themselves make an interesting subject for the camera.

Mid-Wales – the road from Welshpool to the coast passes through the village of Llanerfyl, from where a mountain road leads to Talerddig. A mile or so along this road, a narrow dead-end road leads up to some very quiet hill country, marshy grassland decorated with a number of small lakes – tarns, perhaps – the Scots would calls them lochans. Not sure there’s a Welsh equivalent – they’re all llynau, whatever size… Here are a few snaps taken on Mynydd Waun Fawr, on a beautifully sunny but cold afternoon.

High above Oswestry, right on the Welsh border, the remains of the old racecourse provide an airy route for a walk on a cold winter’s afternoon

Yet more snow for Shropshire (and more still to come, if the forecast is to be believed). As my grandfather would have described it, “it snew and snew and snew”

The sun came out this afternoon, and the local snow soon melted, but there was still a covering in the shadier corners of Shropshire’s hill country – just right for a walk around Heath Mynd, a quiet corner of moorland, with fine views and, on this occasion, a red kite. I’ve seen several in the county over the last two or three years – this was the first I’ve been able to photograph.