Wales is a land of contrasts from secluded mountain valleys to crowded
cities and a heritage spanning the gamut from rich poetry and song to the grit
of the coal mines. Wales or Cymru, to the Welsh is the western peninsula
and a principality of Great Britain. Politically united with England since 1536.
The capital is Cardiff. Wales is bordered by the Irish Sea, the Bristol Channel,
the English counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Gloucestershire
and Cardigan Bay with St. George's Channel. Across the Menai Strait is the Welsh
island of Anglesey.
In many ways, Wales is just what you picture it to be: rolling moorland,
glaciated mountain areas with the Snowdonia mountain range with its famed peak
of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, a popular ascent for amateur and more
professional climbers, male-voice choirs, tongue-twisting place names, Rugby
Union, romantic castles and old mining towns.
There are so many things to visit whilst in the country; from Norman castles
to ancient standing stones and tiny harbours to modern power plants such as the
famous Denorwig. Powys, Camelot and the new millennium Cardiff Stadium.
Wales is a land of mystery and beauty, a Celtic heartland capturing both mind
and imagination from rolling hills to golden beaches, from soaring sea cliffs to
the rugged grandeur of Snowdonia, the scenery of Wales is spectacular.