Visiting Wales [Cymru]

Wales is proud of its Celtic heritage; the capital is Cardiff with excellent shopping facilities, first class hops and boutiques.

Wales’s charms include historic sites, ancient monuments, lovely towns, glorious scenery, charming seaside resorts, golden beaches and unspoilt coves. The list seems never ending there is something to suit most tastes.

There are some fine gardens to visit in Wales we will mention a few, The National Botanic Garden of Wales, Aberglasney Gardens, Dyffrn Gardens, Powis Castle and Erddig.

One of the most famous beauty spots in Wales is Devils Bridge, the impressive falls of the Mynack River dropping nearly five hundred feet through gorges. Across the falls are three bridges, the earliest dating from the 12th century.

Wales is an excellent choice for a holiday especially if you enjoy the great outdoors; you can enjoy walking, climbing, fishing, cycling and much more.

As you drive into Wales you will get an introduction to the Welsh language, the road signs are bilingual, Welsh as well as English. It is estimated that just over twenty per cent of the population speak Welsh.

Wales has produced its fair share of heroes from poets, actors and singers.
Richard Burton was one of Wales’s most revered figures, he was born in the village of Pontrhydyfen, the son of a miner, and despite his acting career taking him far and wide he never lost his welshness.

Another Welshman who went on to stardom is Tom Jones he was born in South Wales, poet Dylan Thomas started out working as a journalist on a local paper.
Later working near his home at Laugharne on the Carmarthenshire coast from a wooden shed known as the Boathouse, which is now a big tourist attraction.

Wales is often described as the Land of Song with most villages having a chapel and the singing of hymns played an important part in Wales’s past and present. The chapels were the birthplace of male voice and mixed choirs.

Wales’s narrow gauge steam railways are very popular with train enthusiasts and tourists alike, they run through some spectacular countryside at a leisurely pace giving you time to appreciate the experience. Many of these were originally built to transport slate from quarries to sea ports.

The first railway preservation society was formed in Wales in 1950 to save the Talyllyn Railway. The society’s Narrow Gauge Railway Museum at Tywyn Wharf has one of the best collections with engines from Ireland France and Britain.
The North and Central Wales have the most little railways but there are a few in the South and West.

You are sure to have an enjoyable holiday which ever part of Wales you choose.