Connecting the origins and destinations of migrants to Mid-Wales in recent decades

Mid-Wales is one of a number of sparsely settled, countryside areas in the UK that has experienced a growth in its population arising from natural change and in-migration during the recent decades of rural demographic rejuvenation. In-migrants have come from various parts of Britain in search of a cleaner and safer environment and the supposedly idyllic lifestyle afforded by one of the UK‘s most scenic and sparsely populated regions. This paper draws on research using interaction data of migration flows from recent Population Censuses and information from two linked sample surveys of household in order to investigate persistent migration routes between small areas in Mid-Wales and other parts of the UK. The paper concludes that a core of wards and with a 'halo‘ of surrounding areas have contributed substantially to Mid-Wales in-migrant flows in 1981, 1991 and 2001.