Radnor Forest is a rock dome in Mid Wales

Mid Wales

Mid Wales is the name given to the central region of Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the National Assembly for Wales covered the counties of Ceredigion and Powys and the area of Gwynedd that had previously been the district of Meirionydd. A similar definition is used by the BBC...

, and a forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 only in the mediæval

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 sense of an unenclosed area used for hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

 . The highest point is Great Rhos or Rhos Fawr

Rhos Fawr

Rhos Fawr or Great Rhos is a mountain in Mid Wales, and is the highest point on the Radnor Forest rock dome.The summit is located on a broad heathery plateau, which is separated from Black Mixen: the eastern plateau summit, by the cwm of Harvey Dingle...

, a broad featureless plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

 which reaches 660 metres (2,165 ft), and a similar plateau adjoining to the east, Black Mixen

Black Mixen

Black Mixen is a subsidiary summit of Rhos Fawr or Great Rhos, in the Radnor Forest. The summit is large peat bog plateau. The summit is marked with a cairn, and is next to a radio transmitter and its building....

 is the only Nuttall to have a communications mast (a radio transmitter) on its summit .

According to a legend, the local people built four churches in a circle around the Radnor Forest in order to contain the last dragon

Dragon

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

 in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, who lay sleeping in the area. The churches, at Llanfihangel Cefnllys, Llanfihangel Rhydithon, Llanfihangel Nant Melan and Llanfihangel Cascob, were all dedicated to St Michael

Michael (archangel)

Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...

(Welsh: Mihangel) victor over the dragon. Some people believed that the dragon would awaken if any of the four churches were destroyed .

External links

• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Great Rhos and surrounding area