We take for granted the roads we drive along, their routes and the flora and fauna along them. They are traditionally the conduits for trade and ideas as well as for people traversing the country. Richard Uridge follows part of a rural road, the A44 as it winds its way from the coast of mid-Wales at Aberystwyth to Herefordshire, Worcestershire and beyond.

He meets Professor Richard Moore-Colyer on what used to be the main road for the cattle drovers out of Aberystwyth but was superceded by the A44 in the 1830s when a less mountainous route was preferred. Until the 1960s it remained nothing more than a track but it was decided to tarmac it when tourists began to be drawn to the beauty of the area.

Further into mid-Wales, the A44 is bisected by the Monk's Trodd, an ancient road which is now a footpath. It covers 25 miles and joins the ruins of two Cistercian monastries. It runs along a plateau and has outstanding views to the north where you can see Cader Idris and to the south the Brecon Beacons.

Richard’s next guest, Liz Fleming-Williams thinks it is one of the most symbolic places in Wales, signifying Wales' wildness and is one of the few wild places south of Hadrian's Wall. This wildness was protected in part by the large numbers of dams and reservoirs that were created in the area one hundred years ago this year to provide Birmingham's water. The dams stopped the area from being used for forestry and this in turn protected the blanket bogs and upland habitats which are so precious.
Monks Trodd
The Elan valley

It’s difficult to drive anywhere and not notice the roadside verges on your journey. In Powys the county council have had more complaints about roadside verges than any other issue. In 1999 they cut the flora back rather earlier than usual there was outcry from the community. Pressure from the public and conservationists led to a project being set up and so far it has been a great success both in deciding how these habitats can best be protected and working in partnership with all of the concerned groups to ensure the best action is taken.

Michelle Delafield of the Powys Living Highways Project looks after verge management on Powys’ minor roads. 85 stretches have been designated as nature reserves some are only a few feet long and others stretch for miles. They have been so designated because they contain a particularly rare species, (this might be a type of flower or butterfly or even a dormouse population) or include a vast diversity of species.
The Powys Living Highways Project

Wiz Clift is an expert at finding free food from the so-called “Larder Hedgerow”, and also at cooking delicious meals with the produce she finds. Her restaurant situated on the A44 near Worcester is a haven of local seasonal produce. She takes Richard away from the more polluted roadsides of the A44 to a quiet country lane where she searches the verges and hedgerows to find some wonderful spring ingredients such as wild chives, hedge garlic and nettles for salads, quiches and tarts – sometimes made using abandoned pheasant eggs found by the roadside too.


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