Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Welcome to
Wales
The phrase 'good things come in small packages' may be a
cliché, but in the case of Wales it's undeniably true.
Wilderness
Compact but geologically diverse, Wales offers myriad opportunities for escaping into
nature. It may not be wild in the classic sense - humans have been shaping this land for
millennia - but there are plenty of lonely corners to explore, lurking behind mountains,
within river valleys and along surf-battered cliffs. An extensive network of paths makes
Wales a hiker's paradise - and thousands of people duck across the border from England
each year for that reason alone. Things are even more untamed on the islands scattered just
off the coast, some of which are important wildlife sanctuaries.
Stones with Stories
Castles are an inescapable part of the Welsh landscape. They're absolutely everywhere.
You could visit a different one every day for a year and still not see them all. Some watch
over mountain passes, while others keep an eye on the city traffic whizzing by; some lie in
enigmatic ruins, while others still have families living in them. There's also an altogether
more inscrutable and far older set of stones to discover - the stone circles, dolmens and
standing stones erected long before castles were ever dreamt up, before even histories were
written.
Beaches
Just because it's not exactly tropical doesn't detract from Wales being a superb beach-holi-
day destination - and the melanoma risk is considerably lower here! The beauty of the Brit-
ish coast is cruelly underrated, and Wales has some of the very best bits. When the sun is
shining the beaches fill up with kids building sandcastles and splashing about in the shal-
lows. And when it's not? How about a bracing walk instead.
