by Joe Jeffrey
Valley chosen for Visit Wales’ new marketing campaign
Picturesque Elan Valley in Mid Wales has been confirmed as an ‘EPIC’ location for visitors.
The valley has been chosen for the next phase of Visit Wales‘ marketing campaign to promote Wales as an adventure destination. An innovative travelling art installation of giant mirrored letters standing four metres high and 11 metres wide forming the word “EPIC” will pop up unannounced at various locations across Wales over the summer as part of the Year of Adventure campaign.
It was first revealed at Pen y Gwryd, Nant Gwynant and has now left Coed Llandegla to travel to the Elan Valley.
Visitors and local residents are being encouraged to pop along and take a selfie and share it on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using #FindYourEpic and #GwladGwlad.
The tour is supported by an integrated publicity and multi-media campaign targeting families and visitors in our core regions in North West England, The Midlands, Yorkshire, London and the South East.
The signage will be located on the dam above the Dwr Cymru Visitor Centre for two weeks.
The Elan Estate is the largest single area of land owned by any of the national water companies, comprising some 10% of the total belonging to Dwr Cymru Welsh Water. The estate has been managed to protect the quality and quantity of the water since 1892.
The 70 square miles of moorland, bog, woodland, river and reservoir are of national importance for their diversity of lower plants and the estate is the most important area for land birds in Wales.
Responsibility for protecting the Elan Valley lies with Welsh Water and The Elan Valley Trust, who manage the largest part of the estate under a long-term lease including the farmland and open hillside. Both organisations promote public access and recreation; provide environmental education services and work together to enhance biodiversity in this special area.
The Elan Valley lies at the heart of the Cambrian Mountains in Mid Wales. Its unique landscape combines remote hill land, isolated farmsteads, steep-sided wooded valleys and an extraordinary feat of Victorian engineering that brought clean water to the then rapidly expanding industrial city of Birmingham.
Around 154,000 visitors a year enjoy the breathtaking scenery, nature, recreational facilities and extensive free educational resources for schools, families and communities.
