Help Save Us From The Scouring of Our Shire

And so they came with honeyed words,
turning hungry eyes upon the undefended hills of Mid Wales,
where ancient summits have kept their watch through countless ages.
They spoke of saving worlds whilst scarring the land,
of verdant tomorrows raised upon ravaged earth,
of progress counted not in beauty preserved
but in steel sentinels looming across our skyline.

When Good Intentions Pave the Road to Devastation

If you've read Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, you'll remember the Scouring of the Shire: that heartbreaking chapter where the hobbits return home to find their beloved countryside industrialized, trees felled, rivers polluted, all in the name of "improvement" and "progress."

We face our own scouring here in Mid Wales.

The Epynt area (a landscape of ancient beauty, rich biodiversity, and deep cultural significance) is under threat from industrial-scale wind farm development. Not small, community-owned projects. Not thoughtfully placed infrastructure. Massive corporate installations that will forever change the character of this place.

A Personal Note on Influence

Tolkien's work has profoundly shaped how I see the world. His reverence for the natural landscape, his understanding that "progress" often means destruction dressed in noble language: these ideas run through everything he wrote.

This influence led me to take the frankly ridiculous first step of writing my own saga, The Book of the Western Veil. Not to imitate him (I could never) but because he showed me that storytelling can be a form of resistance, a way to make people feel what's at stake.

Would Tolkien have supported our cause? I won't presume to speak for him. But I think he would have asked hard questions about who benefits and who loses. About whether destroying beautiful landscapes in the name of saving the environment makes any sense at all.

I suspect he would not have been satisfied with the answers currently on offer.

This Isn't About Being Anti-Green Energy

Many of us support renewable energy. Full stop.

What we oppose is the madness of how it's being implemented: destroying the very environment it claims to protect.

There are better ways:

  • Offshore wind that doesn't scar remote rural landscapes

  • Rooftop solar on every building and brownfield site

  • Energy efficiency that reduces demand at source

  • Community-owned schemes that benefit locals, not distant shareholders

The Lie Behind the "Green" Label

Corporate developers wrap themselves in environmental virtue while pursuing profit. They present false choices: "Accept our wind farms or you're against saving the planet."

This is the language of the powerful, designed to silence dissent.

Saving the planet doesn't require sacrificing every beautiful place to industrial development. That's not environmentalism. It's just a new form of extraction, dressed in green clothing.

Join the Movement: RE-THINK Wales

RE-THINK Wales is campaigning to save the Welsh countryside from industrialization. Their message is simple and powerful: Don't break the Heart of Wales.

They're not against renewables. They're for smart renewables that don't destroy what they're meant to protect.

Visit their website to:

  • Learn about better alternatives to industrial wind

  • Understand what's really at stake in Mid Wales

  • Add your voice to the campaign

  • Take meaningful action to protect our landscape

The Power of Story

This is why I'm writing The Book of the Western Veil: an epic saga set in and around Epynt. Because once you've walked these hills in story, once you've connected emotionally to this landscape, the idea of industrializing it becomes unbearable.

Stories change minds. Stories create defenders.

We can't let our shire be scoured.

Not on our watch.