The county, comprising Radnorshire, Montgomeryshire and Brecknockshire, has been named the happiest place to live in the UK by a team of researchers and scientists. Powys residents are therefore, according to the research, the happiest in the UK, beating notorious northern sun-spot Manchester to the title.

Edinburgh, with its magnificent castle and reputation as a leading cultural and political centre, was named the UKs most miserable place.
Quite how much we should read into the report is debatable – Powys has suffered from closures of Post Offices, schools and pubs; the outbreak of farming diseases and seeing the breathtaking scenery blighted with unpopular windfarm developments.

At the other end of the scale, anyone who has spent any time in Edinburgh, home of Europe's best known comedy festival, would tell you there are countless other places who could vie for the title of 'UKs Most Miserable'.

The research was conducted by Dr Dimitris Ballas at the Department of Geography, University of Sheffield in collaboration with Dr Mark Tranmer at the University of Manchester.

Dr Ballas said: "There really is something about the intrinsic nature of places which can influence happiness and wellbeing. The environment, lack of green spaces, air and noise pollution, crime rates: all of these influence happiness."

But are we meant to question the findings? Was the 'happy map' meant as a conclusive scientific study or just a bit of fun?