The Spectator

The pointlessness of renaming the Brecon Beacons

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issue 22 April 2023

Putting out fires

The Brecon Beacons National Park Authority said it was renaming the park because the word ‘beacon’ implies carbon emissions and ‘does not fit with the ethos’.

— Many hills in Britain carry the name ‘beacon’ thanks to chains of fires which were lit up to warn of approaching invasion. In Devon alone, 39 beacon sites have been identified. Most famously, beacons were lit in July 1588 to warn of the approaching Spanish Armada after it was spotted off Land’s End, although there is no record of how many fires were lit nor how quickly it took the message to reach London.

— Not that the name of the Brecon Beacons really appears to be changing at all. The replacement Welsh name is Bannau Brycheiniog – where Brycheiniog means Brecon and Bannau ‘Beacons’.

Carbon trails

A report by Sustainable Aviation, which represents the UK aviation industry, suggested some passengers will be priced off planes if the industry is to hit its target of eliminating net carbon emissions by 2050.

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