Cambrian Mountains Landscape LANDMAP

LANDMAP is the Welsh national information system, devised by the Countryside Council for Wales, for taking landscape into account in decision-making. LANDMAP studies have been undertaken at a County or National Park scale throughout Wales. LANDMAP is a partnership programme between the Countryside Council for Wales and the Unitary and National Park Authorities.

Visual and Sensory assessments for the entire Cambrian Mountains area are now available from the LANDMAP website. The overall assessment is summarised in the map below.

Click map for larger version (opens in new window)

LANDMAP separates the landscape into five Aspects:

• Geological Landscape: this is the study of the geology, geomorphology and hydrology of the area.
• Landscape Habitats: looks at the distribution of vegetation and habitats and the basis for landscape ecology.
• Visual & Sensory: this aspect identifies those landscape qualities that are perceived through the senses. It deals with the individual physical attributes of landform and land cover, as well as their visual patterns of distribution and sensory characteristics, and the relationships between them in a particular area.
• Historic Landscape: focuses on how archaeological and historical sites relate to each other and to the surrounding landscape.
• Cultural Landscape: this considers the relationship that exists between people and places; how people have given meaning to places, how the landscape has shaped their actions and their actions have shaped the landscape.

The LANDMAP website includes full information about the system, and gives access to all the maps and information.