The Heart of Wales Geopark, celebrating the region's extraordinary geological heritage, launched in Llandrindod on July 27.

The Geopark spreads across the area between Builth, Llandrindod and Llandegley, recognised globally in geological circles as the Builth–Llandrindod Inlier.

This region represents an ancient volcanic island complex dating back to 460 million years ago and has lots of rich fossil deposits.

The project took root following the discovery of the Castle Bank Biota, a significant fossil deposit, last year in Llandrindod.

The region is particularly renowned for trilobites but also features notable importance in other geological domains.

Held at the Metropole Hotel, about 100 people attended the Geopark's launch.

The event was hosted by local councillor and Geopark trustee, Pete Roberts.

Other attendees included the Mayor of Llandrindod, county and community councillors and visitors from across Wales and the Borders.

Several organisations were on hand to provide information stalls, including the Mid Wales Geology Club, the Open University Geological Society and the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust, among others.

Dr Joseph Botting, chair of the Heart of Wales Geopark CIO, said: "It's taken us a year to get the charity set up and the basics in place, so now we can really get to work.

"We're extremely excited to have reached this point, with our first leaflets printed (a Llandrindod town trail) and the website up and running, and are looking forward to generating a lot more content over the coming years.

"In particular, we're working with a few local organisations and landowners to start rolling out some events over the summer.

"In future, we would love to get in touch with more people who would like to be involved."

The audience at the Heart of Wales Geopark launch  (Image: Heart of Wales Geopark)

The Geopark also represents a significant active area of research regarding the heritage of historically important sites, with new discoveries regularly being made.

Dr Lucy Muir, a trustee, said: "The event was supported by wonderful displays from a range of local nature, archaeology, heritage and geology organisations, and we hope to be working with all of these groups in future.

"The geopark is going to be very much a collaborative project, where all these organisations can benefit each other to build understanding of this amazing heritage."

To find out more about the Heart of Wales Geopark and its activities, visit their website or follow them on Facebook.