List of forests managed by the Forestry Commission
Forests in Wales
Table:
Name

Location

Size (hectares)

Description

References

Afan Forest Park

Neath Port Talbot

11000

Afan Forest Park covers the Afan Valley and the surrounding area. The forest park contains several long distance cycle routes.

[105]

Beddgelert Forest

Snowdonia

700

[106]

Brechfa Forest

Carmarthenshire

6500

Brechfa Forest has been a mixed commercial and recreational forest since it was placed under the management of the Forestry Commission in 1919. The forest contains ancient woodland and was a royal hunting forest.

[107][108]

Coed-y-Brenin

Snowdonia

3600

Coed-y-Brenin has several mountain bike trails and has hosted races since 1991.

[109][110]

Cwmcarn Forest

Caerphilly

1200

The Forestry Commission created Cwmcarn Forest in 1922 over a former colliery.

[111][112][113]

Dyfnant Forest

Powys

2430

Dyfnant Forest has five horse riding trails, known as the "rainbow trails".

[114]

Fforest Fawr

Powys

Fforest Fawr was the first Geopark in Wales. It lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park.

[115][116]

Glasfynydd Forest

Carmarthenshire / Powys

Glasfynydd Forest surrounds the Usk Reservoir and is mainly a coniferous forest.

[117]

Gwydir Forest

Snowdonia

7250

Gwydir Forest is one of several forests that the Commission planted across Welsh Mining areas. Gwydir now has several recreational facilities including walking and cycling routes.

[118]

Hafren Forest

Powys

13000

The forest is named after the River Severn (Afron Hafren) as the river rises close to the forest border. The Forestry Commission planted the forest in 1937 as a source of timber.

[119][120]

Hiraethog Forest

Denbighshire

6000

Hiraethog Forest is a large commercial pine forest in North Wales. Recreational facilities and Red Squirrels lie within Clocaenog Forest.

[121]

Newborough Forest

Anglesey

700

The Forestry Commission planted Newborough Forest in 1947 as part of its post-war afforestation efforts. It was primarily to stabilise the sand dunes near Newborough.

[122][123]

Radnor Forest

Powys

1500

Radnor Forest is mostly a commercial coniferous forest managed by the Forestry Commission. It has some waymarked footpaths and access for horse riding.

[124][125]

Wentwood

Newport / Monmouthshire

Wentwood is managed by several organisations, with the Forestry Commission carrying out commercial forestry operations in much of the Forest. The forest is an ancient forest, with much of the area replanted by the Commission with conifers.

[126][127]

Using the following table together with the article excerpts below.

Answer the following question: Which is the smaller forest located in a national park of 823 square miles in area ? Return your answer as JSON: {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Base your answer solely on the given information.

The Afan Forest Park ( formally and locally known as Afan Argoed Country Park ) is a 48-square-mile ( 120 km2 ) forest park in Britain . It is set in the Afan Valley in Neath Port Talbot , in south Wales . It is well known for its mountain biking and hiking or hillwalking trails . It is situated seven miles ( 11 km ) from Junction 40 of the M4 ( the Port Talbot turn ) .
Neath Port Talbot ( Welsh : Castell-nedd Port Talbot ) is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales . Neath Port Talbot is the eighth most populous local authority area in Wales and the third most populous county borough . The actual population taken at the 2011 census was 139,812 . The coastal areas are mainly English-speaking , however there are many Welsh-speaking communities in the Valleys to the north of the borough . The county borough borders the other principal areas of Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taf to the east , Powys and Carmarthenshire to the north and Swansea to the west . Its principal towns are Neath , Port Talbot and Pontardawe .
The River Afan ( Welsh : Afon Afan ) is a river in Wales whose river valley formed the territory of the medieval Lords of Afan . The Afan Valley encompasses the upper reaches of the river . The valley is traversed by the A4107 Afan Valley Road . Settlements in the area include Cwmafan , Pwll-y-glaw and Cymmer . The town of Aberavon grew up on the banks of the river , and was later subsumed by the larger centre of population known as Port Talbot . The political constituency still retains the name Aberavon ( aber meaning mouth of a river ) containing the former anglicism Avon .
Snowdonia ( Welsh : Eryri ) is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of 823 square miles ( 2,130 km2 ) in area . It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales , in 1951 . It contains the highest peaks in the United Kingdom outside of Scotland .
The Brechfa Forest is an area of forest in Carmarthenshire , south Wales . Brechfa Forest is the 'modern ' name for part of the ancient Glyn Cothi Forest . From before records began in the 6th century the communities in the 15 villages which encircle Glyn Cothi Forest were managing it to provide employment , building materials , products , and grazing . At various times the forest has been the refuge of Welsh Princes fighting the Norman Invasion , a Royal Hunting Forest , and for two centuries was the 'Texas ' of Wales , producing large quantities of oil for lamps . and was a major supplier of timber for the trenches and explosives during World War One . The Forestry Commission was established to increase timber production during World War One taking control of woodland which was no longer productive . Like the New Forest and the Forest of Dean , Glyn Cothi Forest was still being actively managed by the local community at this point and was a major supplier of timber for the trenches , as well as oil and explosives . During the depression in the 1930s the UK government purchased land which had been part of the original Glyn Cothi forest but had been converted to agriculture . Much of the planting work to create conifer plantations and construction of forest roads was carried out by young unemployed men from a Ministry of Labour work camp . Many came from the distressed coal mining communities , and were recruited for training in one of a number of Instructional Centres created by the Ministry , most of which were on Forestry Commission property ; by 1938 , the Ministry had 38 Instructional Centres across Britain . The hutted camp in Brechfa was later used to house Basque children who were refugees from the Spanish Civil War . Management and maintenance of the forest continued to be a major source of employment for local residents until the 1980s when Forestry Commission policies changed to increased mechanisation and subcontracting of work .
Carmarthenshire ( /kərˈmɑːrðənʃər , -ʃɪər/ ; Welsh : Sir Gaerfyrddin ; [ siːr gɑːɨrˈvərðɪn ] or informally Sir Gâr ) is a unitary authority in southwest Wales , and one of the historic counties of Wales . The three largest towns are Llanelli , Carmarthen and Ammanford . Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre . Carmarthenshire has been inhabited since prehistoric times . The county town was founded by the Romans , and the region was part of the Principality of Deheubarth in the High Middle Ages . After invasion by the Normans in the 12th and 13th centuries it was subjugated , along with other parts of Wales , by Edward I of England . There was further unrest in the early 15th century , when the Welsh rebelled under Owain Glyndŵr , and during the English Civil War . Carmarthenshire is mainly an agricultural county , apart from the southeastern part which was once heavily industrialised with coal mining , steel-making and tin-plating . In the north of the county , the woollen industry was very important in the 18th century . The economy depends on agriculture , forestry , fishing and tourism . West Wales was identified in 2014 as the worst-performing region in the United Kingdom along with the South Wales Valleys with the decline in its industrial base , and the low profitability of the livestock sector . Carmarthenshire , as a tourist destination , offers a wide range of outdoor activities .
Coed y Brenin ( Welsh for King 's Forest ) is a forest in the Snowdonia National Park , North Wales near Dolgellau at grid reference SH7127 . It is popular for its mountain bike trails and hiking paths . It has several man-made mountain bike singletrack courses in a woodland setting , varying in length from 12 to 38 km ( 7 to 23 mi ) , and one dual slalom course . The site is owned and operated by Natural Resources Wales , and covers an area of some 9,000 acres ( 36 km² ) around the valleys of the rivers Mawddach , Eden , Gain and Wen . There is no charge for using the trails , but there is a charge for the car park at Coed y Brenin Visitor Centre . This costs £1 for 1 hour , £3 for 3 hours and £5 for all day parking . All of the proceeds go towards the maintenance and improvement of the forest trails . The site was identified as a potential mountain bike race course in 1990 , and the first races were held there in 1991 . The initial course had to be chopped out of an impassable rock-strewn terrain . Shortly afterwards a Mountain Biking hire shop , together with a visitor centre and café were opened at Maesgwm . Five waymarked trails were developed by Dafydd Davis who was employed by Forest Enterprise as a Forest Sports Development Adviser , grew Coed y Brenin into a major UK mountain biking centre . Davis received an MBE in the 2004 Queen 's Birthday Honours list for 'services to forestry ' relating to his work on this resort .
Caerphilly ( Welsh : Caerffili ; [ kɑːɨrˈfɪli ] ) is a county borough in southern Wales , straddling the ancient county boundary between Glamorgan and Monmouthshire . It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council . Its main and largest town is Caerphilly . Other towns in the county borough are Bedwas , Risca , Ystrad Mynach , Newbridge , Blackwood , Bargoed , New Tredegar and Rhymney .
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground . Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s , has been widely used to generate electricity . Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production . In the United Kingdom and South Africa , a coal mine and its structures are a colliery , a coal mine - a pit , and the above-ground structures - a pit head . In Australia , colliery generally refers to an underground coal mine . In the United States , colliery has been used [ when ? ] to describe a coal mine operation , but this usage is less common today . Coal mining has had many developments over the recent years , from the early days of men tunneling , digging , and manually extracting the coal on carts to large open cut and long wall mines . Mining at this scale requires the use of draglines , trucks , conveyors , hydraulic jacks and shearers .
Dyfnant Forest is a remote forest in northeastern-central Powys , Wales .
Powys ( /ˈpoʊɪs , ˈpaʊɪs/ ; Welsh : [ ˈpowɪs ] ) is a principal area and county , and one of the preserved counties of Wales . It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state , petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain .
Fforest Fawr is the name given to an extensive upland area in the county of Powys , Wales . Formerly known as the Great Forest of Brecknock in English , it was a royal hunting area for several centuries but is now used primarily for sheep grazing , forestry , water catchment and recreation . It lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park .
A geopark is a unified area that advances the protection and use of geological heritage in a sustainable way , and promotes the economic well-being of the people who live there . There are global geoparks and national geoparks .
The Brecon Beacons National Park ( Welsh : Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog ) is one of three national parks in Wales , and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales . It includes the Black Mountain ( Welsh : Y Mynydd Du ) in the west , Fforest Fawr ( Great Forest ) and the Brecon Beacons in the centre and the Black Mountains ( Welsh : Y Mynyddoedd Duon ) in the east .
Glasfynydd Forest is an extensive area of coniferous plantations in the west of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales . It straddles the border between the counties of Powys and Carmarthenshire . The forest is divided into three blocks :
The Usk Reservoir is located in the upper Usk Valley , at 1,050 feet ( 320 m ) above sea level , and is located in the counties of Carmarthenshire and Powys , in southern Wales . The boundary between the counties runs through the reservoir . The reservoir is situated in part of the Brecon Beacons National Park . It is situated to the western end of the park , sitting below the Black Mountain ( range ) , and most of the summits in the range are visible from the reservoir , especially ( from left to right in the image ) Fan Hir , Fan Brycheiniog , Fan Foel , Picws Du and Waun Lefrith . It lies about six miles to the north of the centre of the escarpment at Fan Foel , and is an important landmark for walkers on the mountain range .
Gwydir Forest , also spelled Gwydyr , is located in Conwy county borough and the Snowdonia National Park in Wales . It takes its name from the ancient Gwydir Estate , established by the John Wynn family of Gwydir Castle , which owned this area . Natural Resources Wales uses the alternative spelling ( i.e . Gwydyr Forest , Coedwig Gwydyr ) . Certainly as early as 1536 , Leland wrote : Gwydir lieth two bowshots above the River Conwy . It is a pretty place .
Hafren Forest lies north-west of Llanidloes , an ancient market town in Mid Wales .
The River Severn ( Welsh : Afon Hafren ) is the longest river in Great Britain at a length of 220 miles ( 354 km ) . With an average discharge of 107 m3/s ( 3,800 cu ft/s ) at Apperley , Gloucestershire , it has by far the greatest water flow in England and Wales . The Severn rises at an altitude of 2,001 feet ( 610 m ) on Plynlimon , close to the Ceredigion/Powys border near Llanidloes , in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales . It then flows through Shropshire , Worcestershire and Gloucestershire , with the county towns of Shrewsbury , Worcester and Gloucester on its banks . The Severn 's drainage basin area is 4,409 square miles ( 11,419 km2 ) , excluding the River Wye and Bristol Avon which flow into the Severn Estuary . The major tributaries to the Severn are the Vyrnwy , Tern , Teme , Warwickshire Avon and Worcestershire Stour . The river is usually considered to become the Severn Estuary after the Second Severn Crossing between Severn Beach , South Gloucestershire and Sudbrook , Monmouthshire , which discharges into the Bristol Channel and then into the Celtic Sea and the wider Atlantic Ocean .
Denbighshire ( Welsh : Sir Ddinbych ; [ ˌsiːr ˈðɪnbɨ̞χ ] ) is a county in north-east Wales , whose borders differ from the historic county of the same name . It is the part of Wales known to have been inhabited longest - Pontnewydd ( Bontnewydd-Llanelwy ) Palaeolithic site has Neanderthal remains of 225,000 years ago . Its several castles include Denbigh , Rhuddlan , Ruthin , Castell Dinas Bran and Bodelwyddan . St Asaph , one of Britain 's smallest cities , has one of its smallest Anglican cathedrals . Denbighshire has coastline to the north and hills to the east , south and west . The River Clwyd creates a broad fertile valley down the centre of a mainly rural county with little industry . Crops are grown in the Vale of Clwyd and cattle and sheep reared in the uplands . The coast attracts tourists ; hikers frequent the Clwydian Range , which forms an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with the upper Dee Valley . Llangollen hosts the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod each July .
The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel ( Sciurus vulgaris ) is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia . The red squirrel is an arboreal , omnivorous rodent . In Great Britain , Ireland , and in Italy numbers have decreased drastically in recent years . This decline is associated with the introduction by humans of the eastern grey squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis ) from North America . However , the population in Scotland is stabilising due to conservation efforts , awareness and the increasing population of the pine marten , a European predator that selectively controls grey squirrels .
The Clocaenog Forest is in west Denbighshire and east Conwy , Wales on Mynydd Hiraethog . It takes its name from the village of Clocaenog , near Ruthin .
Newborough Forest ( Welsh : Coedwig Niwbwrch ) is a forest to the west of Newborough , Anglesey , North Wales . It is one of the most important red squirrel conservation sites in the United Kingdom . It appears increasingly likely that there are now only 500 red squirrels in Wales and numbers are continuing to decline . The whole area was mainly shifting sand dunes prior to 1947 when afforestation began . During the late seventies and 80s there were concerns that the water levels within the Forest and within neighbouring Warren were falling , with the result that winter flooding was not to the same depth and that dune slack pools were drying out sooner . Proposals were put forward in 2004 to remove large parts of the forest . The local community and conservation groups objected and the government are currently carrying out a public consultation that will shape the future management of the Newborough woodland . Newborough Forest is now a major tourist attraction , with over 319,000 people visiting the forest in 2015 . Coordinates : 53°09′27″N 4°22′36″W / 53.15737°N 4.37668°W / 53.15737 ; -4.37668
Anglesey ( /ˈæŋɡəlsiː/ ; Welsh : Ynys Môn [ ˈənɨs ˈmoːn ] ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales . It forms the principal area ( as Isle of Anglesey ) and historic county of that name , which includes Holy Island to the west and some islets and skerries . Anglesey island , at 260 square miles ( 673 km2 ) , is by far the largest island in Wales , seventh largest in the British Isles , largest in the Irish Sea and second most populous after the Isle of Man . The local-government area of Isle of Anglesey County Council measures 276 square miles ( 715 km2 ) , , with a 2011 census population of 69,751 , of whom 13,659 live on Holy Island . The Menai Strait between Anglesey and mainland Wales is spanned by the Menai Suspension Bridge , designed by Thomas Telford in 1826 , and the Britannia Bridge , built in 1850 and replaced in 1980 . The largest town is Holyhead , where the port handles over 2 million passengers a year with Ireland . The next largest is Llangefni , seat of the county council . From 1974 to 1996 Anglesey was run as part of Gwynedd . Most Anglesey inhabitants are Welsh speakers . The name Ynys Môn is used for the UK Parliament and National Assembly constituencies . The island forms the LL postcode area ( LL58-LL78 ) .
Newborough ( Welsh : Niwbwrch ) is a village in the south-western corner of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales ; it is in the community ( and former electoral ward ) of Rhosyr , which has a population of 2,169 , increasing to 2,226 at the 2011 census .
Radnor Forest ( Welsh : Fforest Clud ) is a rock dome composed of Silurian shales , mudstones and limestone in Mid Wales , and a forest only in the medieval sense of an unenclosed area used for hunting . It lies within the Welsh Marches region since Offa 's Dyke lies nearby to the east .
Wentwood ( Welsh : Coed Gwent ) is a forested area of hills , rising to 309 metres ( 1,014 ft ) , in Monmouthshire , South Wales . It is located to the north east of , and partly within the boundaries of , the city of Newport .
Newport ( Welsh : Casnewydd ; [ kasˈnɛwɨð ] ) is a city and unitary authority area in south east Wales , on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary , 12 miles ( 19 km ) northeast of Cardiff . At the 2011 census , it was the third largest city in Wales , with a population of 145,700 . The city forms part of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area , with a population of 1,097,000 . Newport has been a port since medieval times , when the first Newport Castle was built by the Normans . The town outgrew the earlier Roman town of Caerleon , immediately upstream , and gained its first charter in 1314 . It grew significantly in the 19th century , when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern South Wales Valleys . Until the rise of Cardiff from the 1850s , Newport was Wales ' largest coal-exporting port . Newport was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain , the Newport Rising of 1839 led by the Chartists . This was led by the Chartist John Frost which led to the re-branding of the Duffryn High School into John Frost School . In the 20th century , the docks declined in importance , but Newport remained an important manufacturing and engineering centre . It was granted city status in 2002 . Newport hosted the Ryder Cup in 2010 and was the venue for the 2014 NATO summit .
Monmouthshire ( Welsh : Sir Fynwy ) is a county in south-east Wales . The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire of which it covers the eastern 60% . The largest town is Abergavenny . Other towns and large villages are Caldicot , Chepstow , Monmouth , Magor and Usk . It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west ; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east ; and Powys to the north .