The curious facts about Wales

1. The curious facts about Wales

2. Motto: Cymru am byth (Wales for ever) • National Day: 1 March • Area : 20,779 sq km • Population: 2,918,700

3. Flag: • Red dragon on a green and white field.

4. General information • Capital City: Cardiff (Caerdydd) • Major Cities: Cardiff, Swansea (Abertawe) and Newport (Casnewydd) • Official Language: English and Welsh Nationality :Welsh and British 

5. Highest point: Snowdon 1085 metres (3559 ft) • Longest river: Towy (Tywi) 103 km (64 miles) • Largest Lake: Bala (4.4 sq km) • Official Animal Dragon

6. Some interesting

7. North Wales At 1085 metres high, Mount Snowdon is the highest mountain in England and Wales.  Snowdonia National Parkitself covers an area of over 2000 square kilometres and many people live within its boundaries. It’s not the only attraction in the region though. The castles built by King Edward I (1272-1307) are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. North Wales is easily reached from Liverpool and Manchester airports or it’s a four – five hour journey by car from Cardiff. Alternatively there’s a direct flight from Cardiff to Anglesey with Manx2 airways.

8. North East Wales • The region’s Glyndwr University offers over 150 programmes and has many links with local industry including Toyota and Tata Steel. • They also have links with Airbus UK.  Their site in Broughton is one of only two facilities in the world capable of the manufacture of wings for large civil aircraft.St Asaph, in Denbighshire (a community of 3,400 people) was awarded city status as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.

9. Mid Wales • Mid Wales hasn’t got large cities.  Instead there are small spa towns like Llandrindod Wells, waterfalls, hills, lakes and sheep.  • The lakes are mostly man made reservoirs, built to supply water to English towns, but they’re still pretty impressive.  As a result, the region is often referred to as Wales’ own lake district. • We’ve also got some impressive waterfalls.  The highest one being PistyllRhaeadr, which is higher than Niagara Falls.  • The seaside University town of Aberystwyth is home to our National Library.  A visit here can help you trace your Welsh ancestry.  Or you could just explore the thousands of books and digital resources housed here.

10. South Wales • Cheese– award winning cheese is produced throughout south west Wales. • Castles – there are a few to choose from, but a few favourites are the town fort of Pembroke and the ruins of CarregCennen where you can explore the dungeon by torchlight. • Seals – the Pembrokeshire coast, especially the offshore islands of Skomer and Ramsey, is home to a 5000 strong colony of grey seals. Lucky visitors may see dolphins and porpoise too. • Preseli Mountains – see where the stones of Stonehenge came from. Cardiff and South East Wales

11. Cardiff and South East Wales • If you're travelling to Wales from London, you’ll arrive in south east Wales in about two to three hours, depending on whether you’re on the train or in a car. Or you might arrive directly at our International airport. • South east Wales is the most built up of our regions. The majority of our population live here and a large proportion of our industry is based here. Our capital city Cardiff has a population of approx. 320,000, although this is said to swell by nearly 50,000 each day as commuters enter the city. • But it’s not all industry. Cardiff is one of the greenest cities in the UK, with many parks to choose from including Bute Park in the city centre. In less than an hour's drive it’s possible to escape the city for the more rural setting of theBrecon Beacons National Park, the Glamorgan Heritage Coast or the Wye Valley. • In 2011 Cardiff was chosen as one of the 10 best places in the world to visit during the Summer by National Geographic magazine - the only UK location to be featured.

12. Football • You might very well think of rugby when it comes to Wales; but we also have quite a proud history in football. The first ever substitution in a football game took place during a Wales v Scotland game in 1889. • Wales have even played in the quarter finals of the Football World Cup - 1958 saw the likes of Welsh legends such as John Charles, IvorAllchurch and Alf Sherwood take on Brazil; we narrowly lost 1-0 with the legendary Pele scoring the only goal. • In more recent times we’ve seen our Welsh teams Cardiff City and Swansea City competing at the top levels. Swansea are currently a Premier League team and Cardiff, who are the only team to have taken the FA cup out of England, will join Swansea in the Premier League next season. • The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. • Some of our home grown players have gone on to play for top Premier League clubs including Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs, Cardiff City forward Craig Bellamy, Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen, Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Gareth Bale.

13. Festivals and cultural events • The Hay Festival • The world’s most famous literary and arts festival. When Bill Clinton came to town he called it ‘the Woodstock of the mind’. Past programme events and performances crossed literature with cabaret, cinema, circus, comedy, environment, film, music, politics, science, screenwriting and visual arts. Children's Festival Hay Fever runs alongside the Hay Festival every year.  • Beyond the Border – the Wales International Story Telling Festival  • An international festival celebrating oral tradition and bringing together storytellers, poets and musicians from around the world. Beyond The Border International Storytelling Festival is the largest event of its type in the UK.  • National Eisteddfod of Wales • The Eisteddfod is a cultural, artistic festival; one of the largest festivals in Europe alternating between south and north Wales, attracting over 170,000 visitors, and 7,000 competitors. Although competition based, it is a plethora of different arts events - singing, literature, dance, theatre, rock music, and exhibitions. All events and competitions on the Eisteddfod festival site are through the medium of Welsh but translation facilities are readily available. 

14. Food • World famous Welsh Black Beef and Welsh Mountain lamb top menus in pubs and restaurants all over Wales • The Welsh Venison Centre, in the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park is a family firm that reflect the new generation of farmers with the highest standards for animal welfare. They produce premium quality Middlewoood Welsh lamb as well as venison and have an onsite shop.

15. Food festivals • Nearly every weekend, there's a food festival somewhere in Wales. There are small local festivals as well as large international ones. We like the Cardiff International Food & Drink Festival that attracts food producers and suppliers from Cardiff’s twin towns of Nantes, Stuttgart and Hordland alongside Welsh produce. There are lots of food festivals in Cardiff throughout the year. • Our most well known festival is The Abergavenny Food Festival. It takes place every September and has been described as having "a wonderful energy and individuality that no other food festival can recreate." • For the last 11 years Anglesey has played host to the Anglesey Oyster and Welsh Produce Festival. Visitors are served with Welsh music, singing and dance as well as the chance to eat a lot of oysters! For food festivals and events in North Wales, see the Food orth Wales website.