House of travel UK & Ireland Brochure 2017 | Page 30

Experience
Wales
© Visit Britain & Joe Cornish
T here are more than 400 castles in Wales and a history swirling with tales of
Fast Facts
Country Name: Wales
Population: 3 Million
Capital: Cardiff
Currency: Pound Sterling
Time Zone: 11 hours behind New Zealand (except
during daylight saving)
Electricity: Current is 220V
Plug is a 3 point round-pin adaptor
Festivals and Events 2017
26
26 May-05 Jun Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye
01-16 Jul The Gower Festival
02 Jul Cardigan Bay Seafood Festival
Aug World Bog Snorkelling
Championship, Llanwrtyd Wells
04-12 Aug National Eisteddfod
18-21 Aug Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons
Sep Abergavenny Food Festival
wizards and dragons that can still be heard are told in one of the oldest living
languages in Europe. Wales has mountains and coal mines, a fanatical love of rugby
and a passion for singing. In other words: it is proudly unique.
Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech Castles will transport you back in time, and the
landscape is dotted with places connected to one of Britain’s most enduring legends
– King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. You’ll eat regally too – seafood
is abundant, Welsh lamb and beef are famous, and there is a delicious array of
awarding cheeses – nutty cheddar, tangy blue, creamy goats and crumbly caerphilly
cheese.
North Wales, including the Snowdonia National Park, is a walker’s paradise, but
the market town of Llangollen with its famous canal is a place that can be savoured
from the tranquil waterway as well. In central Wales you’ll find the wilderness of
the Brecon Beacons to explore on foot or bike but there’s also the book-mad town
of Hay-on-Wye. To the west lie Aberysthwyth and its steam train, the stunningly
beautiful Pembrokeshire coast and the National Botanic Gardens of Wales which
have the world’s largest single-span glasshouse.