Wales

There are no border formalities or passport checks when traveling between England and Wales, but as soon as you cross the border between the two countries, you are aware of things being a little bit different. Although part of the United Kingdom, Wales is technically a separate country, with its own unique customs and traditions. The Welsh people are justifiably proud of their history and culture – the ancient Welsh language is actually protected by law, and in parts of the country many older Welsh people still speak the language fluently. Road signs are written in both English and Welsh. Wales is sometimes described as ‘the land of song’ and you can enjoy the distinctive and harmonious sounds of a Welsh male voice choir in even the smallest of towns, where the visitor is always made welcome. Wales’ love of song culminates in the world famous Eisteddfod, a festival of song and dance held every year in the town of Llangollen.

View Larger Map

Wales is famous for its spectacular mountain scenery and its wonderfully preserved medieval castles. The Northern part of Wales is the most scenic, containing the Snowdonia National Park. The park contains over 800 square miles of mountains, forests, lakes and waterfalls. The highest mountain in England and Wales, Snowdon, lies in the park, although Snowdon is only about 3500 feet high and you can easily walk to the summit. Most visitors to Snowdon though, ascend to the summit on the famous mountain railway, which starts from the town of Llanberis and which has been in service since 1896. Within the national park there are a handful of small towns mostly serving as a base for hikers and campers. Betws-y-Coed is perhaps the most picturesque and famous town in the mountains. The narrow streets are usually crowded with hikers and are lined with Welsh craft shops and tea rooms. One of the most famous sights in the area is the dramatic series of waterfalls called Swallow Falls. A few miles to the north of Betws-y-Coed are the magnificent Bodnant Gardens. Despite the somewhat unpredictable Welsh weather, these are some of Britain’s finest gardens, particularly famous for their azaleas. You can see the legacy of one of Wales’ best known industries in the Snowdonia mountains – slate. Although most of the slate mines closed long ago, the mine in Blaenau Ffestiniog offers visitors a fascinating – and claustrophobic – ride to the bottom of one of the deep slate mines.

Forming a protective ring around the North Wales mountains are the castles. The five greatest – Caernarvon, Conwy, Beaumaris, Harlech and Criccieth - were all built 700 years ago to reinforce English rule over Wales. All have wonderful settings but the most spectacular is Conwy Castle. The castle overlooks the mouth of the river Conwy estuary and offers a wonderful view over the nearby mountains. When it was built, this castle was a masterpiece of engineering – round towers to deflect missiles, easy access to the sea and so-called ‘murder holes’ which were used for dropping boiling oil onto any intruders. Today you can still see all these well-preserved features, as well as the town walls which are supposedly in the shape of a Welsh harp. The town of Conwy itself also boasts the smallest house in Great Britain, built into the city walls to avoid paying taxes. The last inhabitant of the house was a fisherman, who at over 6 feet high was taller than the house is wide. Further West along the coast, Caernarvon Castle is notable for having unusual eight-sided towers; it was the setting for the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969, and is perhaps the best preserved.

The North Wales coast has several popular seaside resorts. Rhyl, Prestatyn and Colwyn Bay are all traditional British seaside towns, with plenty of family activities, amusement parks and nightlife. Llandudno however, calls itself ‘The Queen of the Welsh Resorts’ and is more sedate and gentile – the sweep of Llandudno Bay between the Great and Little Ormes has been favorably compared to that of Naples. The main attraction in Llandudno is the great Orme, a massive limestone rock that climbs almost 700 feet above the town. To get to the summit of the Orme you can walk, take the cable car (the longest in Britain) or take the Great Orme tram, which recently celebrated its 100th birthday. The Orme is also home to several prehistoric and Roman remains, as well as the mysterious Monks’ path, a grassy pathway that stays green even in times of drought. Llandudno has excellent covered shopping along its main street, Mostyn Street, with its Victorian arcades. The town has a literary association as well – it was the summer home of Alice Liddell’s family, the inspiration for ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Alice’s adventures are brought to life in imaginative displays at the Alice in Wonderland Center.

South Wales has a gentler, rolling landscape than the North of the country, and is usually less visited. The biggest attraction in South Wales is the tiny village of St David’s dominated by its huge cathedral, and containing a shrine to Wales’ patron saint. Cardiff, despite being one of Europe’s smallest and youngest capital cities – it was declared the capital of Wales as recently as 1955 – is a lively and cosmopolitan city.

But perhaps the most unusual attraction in Wales is one that may remind you of Italy. Portmeirion, a tiny village on the Lleyn peninsula was designed and built in 1926 by the architect Clough Williams-Ellis. Portmeirion is an Italian coastal village in miniature, complete with a decorative clock-tower, gardens that would not seem out of place on the Italian Riviera, statues, and a piazza. There is a hotel, restaurant and several small cottages that can be rented. The town was the setting for the cult '60s TV show, ‘The Prisoner’.

Comments