A couple from Builth Wells have produced a poetry book highlighting the natural landscape of Mid Wales, and their fears of its possible destruction due to turbines and pylons.

Peter Smith and Jocelyn Jones, who owned the Caer Beris Manor Hotel for thirty years, have combined their photography and writing talent to produce a book that they hope shows that the landscape should not be ‘exploited’.

The book, titled Forever, is described as having poetry inspired by the sacred landscape and photographs depicting the meaning of the poems.

Speaking to The Brecon and Radnor Express, Jocelyn said: “Farmers have walked these timeless country lanes shepherding their sheep from field to field for centuries; it is in their blood. They have been our dependable 'guardians' of nature and beauty, going about their bucolic duties as steadfastly as night follows day.

“I walk our dogs early each morning up to the hills and along these same narrow lanes, guarded by ancient hedgerows that provide a habitat for countless bird species. It is the farmers who have tended them for years. The lanes have created a pattern of harmony across our land like no other. They are a wonderful natural corridor to reflect for a short while, at least, on the peace that can be found in nature.”

But the couple are concerned that proposed plans for turbines will ruin the landscape: “They will be destroyed, torn up, should these monstrosities of turbines and pylons be hauled to the proposed sites. Peter and I believe that solar is the way forward. We have solar panels and batteries at home and have proved excellent. Surely, we have a duty to keep this unique piece of land, under our guardianship, untouched forever?”

One poem reflects on the proposals, with lines of: ‘pray, retreat from scarring / this ancient land / with grotesque giants / why do it? / just because you can? / Sully it not, / with your grandiose plans / Instead, withdraw, rethink, / let it be / amen!’

“During our thirty-year ownership of Caer Beris Manor Hotel, one thing I will never forget is a member of staff, born and bred in Merthyr Tydfil, who recounted the day that changed his life forever,” Jocelyn says. “His Dad drove him, as a young lad, into Mid Wales for the first time; he stepped into a world he had never known existed. It left a deep and lasting impression. We must never underestimate or take this land for granted. It is our land, everyone's land, not to be exploited.

“To permit another country, Denmark, I believe, to erect massive turbines and pylons is a travesty of our beautiful land, which should be avoided at all costs. They are designed for offshore wind farms, and that's where they should go.”