All About Wales: Geography and History

General Facts

• Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom
• It is bordered by the Irish Sea, England, the Bristol Channel, and the Celtic Sea
• In 2021, the population was around 3.2 million
• The total area is 21,218 square kilometers (8,192 sq mi)
• It has over 2,700 kilometers (1,680 mi) of coastline
• The landscape is largely mountainous, with the highest peak being Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)
• The climate is temperate maritime, with changeable weather
• The capital and largest city is Cardiff

Etymology

• The English names "Wales" and "Welsh" come from the Old English word "Wealh," derived from Proto-Germanic *Walhaz
• Originally used for Gauls, the term was later applied to inhabitants of the Western Roman Empire
• Anglo-Saxons used it to refer to the Britons
• The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru means "fellow-countrymen" and came into use before the 7th century
• Latinized forms like Cambrian are used in names like the Cambrian Mountains

History

• The territory was settled after the last ice age
• The Great Orme was a major copper producer during the Bronze Age
• The Romans called its Iron Age Celtic society the Britons
• After the Roman withdrawal, Britain split into kingdoms
• In 383, Magnus Maximus was proclaimed Roman emperor, creating a post-Roman nation of Britons
• Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers displaced the Britons, isolating a group in the western peninsula
• English neighbors named the land Wallia, and its people Welsh
• Medieval Wales remained divided into kingdoms
• Coastal Viking/Norse settlements existed in areas like Swansea and Anglesey
• Saxons settled inland among the Welsh, such as in Presteigne
• Hywel ap Cadell(Hywel Dda) formed the kingdom of Deheubarth in the 10th century and gained control of most of Wales
• Hywel ap Cadell codified Welsh law, contributing to the creation of a Welsh nation
• Gruffydd ap Llywelyn united all of Wales and parts of England by 1057 until his death in 1063
• The Normans invaded Wales, creating the Norman Welsh Marches
• Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great) forced other Welsh princes to submit to him in 1216
• Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was recognized as Prince of Wales by England in 1267
• English victory concluded The war of conquest in 1283
• The statute of Rhuddlan ended Welsh independence in 1284
• Owain Glyndŵr led Welsh rebellion, 1400–1415,but the Welsh were annexed by England in the 16th century under Henry VIII
• The Act of Union in 1707 created the Kingdom of Great Britain
• The Industrial Revolution led to mining and population expansion
• Religious revivals transformed the nation
• Radical Welsh working-class movements emerged e.g. the Merthyr Rising of 1831
• From mid 19th century, Welsh language, culture and national identity strengthened
• Calls for devolution led to the creation of a Welsh assembly in 1998 (renamed the Senedd)

Government and Politics

• Wales is part of the United Kingdom
• The term 'principality' was replaced with 'country' in 2011
• There are 32 Welsh MPs in the UK Parliament's House of Commons
• The Wales Office, led by the Secretary of State for Wales, is responsible for Wales
• Wales has a devolved, unicameral legislature called the Senedd (Welsh Parliament)
• Local government is divided into 22 council areas since 1996

Devolved Government

• The Government of Wales Act 1998 created the National Assembly for Wales
• The Welsh Government is the executive branch, accountable to the legislature
• A 2011 referendum empowered the National Assembly to make laws on devolved matters
• The National Assembly was renamed "Senedd Cymru" or "Welsh Parliament" in May 2020
• Devolved areas include agriculture, economic development, education, health, housing, local government, social services, tourism, transport, and the Welsh language

Law

• Welsh Law, codified by Hywel Dda, emphasized compensation for crimes
• The Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 replaced Welsh Law for criminal cases
• The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 applied English law to all of Wales
• English law is a common law system with binding precedents
• The Senedd can draft laws outside the UK Parliamentary system
• It can pass primary legislation on subjects like health and education
• There are four regional police forces in Wales
• There are five prisons in Wales, but no women's prisons

Geography and Natural History

• Wales is on the western side of Great Britain
• It is about 170 miles (270 km) north to south
• The area is about 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi)
• It is bordered by England to the east and by sea on all other sides: the Irish Sea, St George's Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Bristol Channel
• The diverse landscape is mostly mountainous, especially in the north and central regions
• The highest peak is Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), at 1,085 m (3,560 ft)
• There are three national parks: Snowdonia, Brecon Beacons, and Pembrokeshire Coast
• There are five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• In 2019, Wales had 40 Blue Flag beaches

Geology

• The Cambrian geological period is named after the Cambrian Mountains
• Roderick Murchison and Adam Sedgwick used Welsh geology to establish stratigraphy principles in the 19th century
• The Ordovician and Silurian periods are named after ancient Celtic tribes from this area

Climate

• Wales is within the north temperate zone
• The climate is changeable and maritime
• It is one of the wettest countries in Europe
• The weather is often cloudy, wet, and windy
• It has warm summers and mild winters

Flora and Fauna

• Wales has wildlife typical of Britain with several distinctions
• Hosts a variety of seabirds
• The coasts and islands are home to colonies of gannets, Manx shearwater, puffins, kittiwakes, shags, and razorbills
• Upland birds include raven and ring ouzel
• Birds of prey include merlin, hen harrier, and red kite
• Mammals include shrews, voles, badgers, otters, stoats, weasels, hedgehogs, and fifteen species of bat
• The pine marten has been reintroduced since 2015
• Feral goats can be found in Snowdonia
• Beavers were officially released in the Dyfi Valley in March 2021
• Approximately 2,500 disused coal tips are home to rare land invertebrates
• The waters attract marine animals, including basking sharks, Atlantic grey seals, leatherback turtles, dolphins and jellyfish
• Freshwater fish include char, eel, salmon, shad, sparling, and Arctic char
• The gwyniad is unique to Wales
• Relict pre-glacial flora in Snowdonia includes the Snowdon lily
• Wales has plant species not found elsewhere in the UK

Economy

• Over the last 250 years, Wales has transformed from an agricultural country to an industrial, and then to a post-industrial economy
• In 2018, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was £75 billion and GDP per head in Wales was £23,866
• In the three months to December 2017, 72.7 per cent of working-age adults were employed
• The Welsh fiscal deficit accounts for 19.4 per cent of Wales's estimated GDP
• In 2019, Wales was a net exporter of electricity
• It produced 27.9 TWh of electricity while only consuming 14.7 TWh
• By UK law, Wales contributes to items that do not directly benefit Wales, such as over £5 billion for HS2
• From the mid-19th century until the post-war era, mining and export of coal was the dominant industry
• Cardiff was once the largest coal-exporting port in the world
• In the 1920s, over 40 per cent of the male Welsh population worked in heavy industry
• Restructuring occurred from the mid-1970s, as jobs in heavy industry disappearing
• Much of the new industry was essentially of a "branch factory" type
• Livestock farming has been the focus of farming
• Tourism attracts large numbers of tourists
• Wales has relatively few high value-added employment in sectors such as finance and research and development
• In 2002, the output per head stood at 90 per cent of the EU25 average and around 80 per cent of the UK average
• Wales became the first nation to be awarded Fairtrade status in June 2008

Currency

• Numerous Welsh banks issued their own banknotes in the 19th century.
• The last bank to do so closed in 1908
• Since then the Bank of England has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in Wales
• The Commercial Bank of Wales was taken over by the Bank of Scotland in 1988
• Numerous Welsh banks issued their own banknotes in the 19th century
• The Royal Mint has been based at Llantrisant since 1980
• Since decimalisation, in 1971, at least one of the coins in circulation emphasises Wales.

COVID-19 Era (2020-2021)

• All sectors of the economy affected by restrictions and lockdowns
• Restrictions likely in place until summer of 2021
• Tourist facilities were still closed in April 2021, but non-essential travel between Wales and England was permitted
• Non-essential retail able to open in April 2021

Transport: Main Roads

• The M4 motorway runs from West London to South Wales, linking Newport, Cardiff, and Swansea
• The A55 expressway runs along the North Wales coast, connecting Holyhead and Bangor with Wrexham and Flintshire
• The main north-south Wales link is the A470, running from Cardiff to Llandudno

Rail

• Rail transport includes the Wales & Borders franchise
• Cardiff region has its own urban rail network
• Trains in Wales are mainly diesel-powered
• The South Wales Main Line is undergoing electrification
• Connecting North and South Wales better has been suggested

Air & Ferries

• The international airport of Wales, Cardiff Airport, is located about 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Cardiff city centre
• Wales has four commercial ferry ports with services to Ireland from Holyhead, Pembroke Dock, and Fishguard
• Intra-Wales flights used to run between Anglesey (Valley) and Cardiff, and were operated since 2017 by Eastern Airways, but since 2022 are no longer available

Education

• The first grammar schools were established in towns such as Ruthin, Brecon, and Cowbridge
• Griffith Jones introduced the circulating schools
• English became the usual language of instruction in the early 19th century
• The University College of Wales opened in Aberystwyth in 1872
• The Welsh Intermediate Education Act of 1889 created 95 secondary schools
• A resurgence in Welsh-language schools occurred in the late 20th century
• Welsh is a compulsory subject in all of Wales's state schools for pupils aged 5–16 years old
• Welsh-medium higher education delivered through universities and supported by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol

Healthcare

• Public healthcare in Wales is provided by NHS Wales (GIG Cymru)
• It was originally formed as part of the NHS structure for England and Wales in 1946
• NHS powers in Wales came under the Secretary of State for Wales in 1969
• Responsibility passed to the Welsh Assembly under devolution in 1999
• Smaller 'cottage' hospitals were replaced by newer, larger district hospitals
• NHS Wales directly employs over 90,000 staff
• 72 per cent of adults surveyed had good or very good general health in 2021–22
• 46 per cent had a long-standing illness, such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes or heart disease

Demography

• The population of Wales doubled from 587,000 in 1801 to 1,163,000 in 1851, reaching 2,421,000 by 1911
• The population growth primarily occurred in the coal mining districts, especially Glamorganshire
• Large scale migration into Wales occurred during the Industrial Revolution
• This included English, Irish, Italians, and later immigration
• Welsh population fell in the early 1980s but then inward net migration occurred
• In 2021, the population exceeded the 3 million mark
• Wales accounted for 5.2 per cent of the population of England and Wales in 2021
• Wales has seven cities: Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham, Bangor, St Asaph and St Davids

Language

• Welsh is an official language in Wales
• Both Welsh and English are also official languages of the Senedd
• The proportion of Welsh speakers fell to 18.9 per cent in 1981
• Results of the 2001 Census showed an increase to 21% in the number of Welsh speakers
• The Welsh-speaking population of Wales over three years old was 17.8% in 2021
• The Welsh-speaking population of Wales was 29.7% in June 2022
• English is spoken by almost all people in Wales
• Code-switching is known by various terms, and "Wenglish" is the Welsh dialect of the English language
• Polish is the most common main language in Wales after English and Welsh

religion

• Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in Wales for more than 1,400 years
• In 2021, 46.5 per cent had "No religion."
• The largest religion in Wales is Christianity, with 43.6 per cent describing themselves as Christian in 2021
• The patron saint of Wales is Saint David (Dewi Sant), with Saint David's Day on 1 March
• The early 20th century saw a religious revival, the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival
• The Church in Wales is part of the Anglican Communion
• The first Independent Church in Wales was founded at Llanvaches in 1638
• The second largest attending faith in Wales is Roman Catholic, with an estimated 43,000 adherents

Ethnicity

• The population of Wales identifying as "White" ethnic groups in 2021 was 93.8 per cent
• The second highest ethnicity identified as "Asian, Asian Welsh or Asian British" at 2.9 per cent of the population in 2021
• 5.3 per cent of households in Wales were multiple ethnic group households
• In 2021, the first statue of a named, non-fictional woman outdoors was raised for Wales's first black headteacher, Betty Campbell
• In 2023, Patti Flynn became the first black Welsh woman to be awarded a purple plaque
• In 2024, Vaughan Gething was elected First Minister becoming the first black head of government in Europe

National Identity

• The 2021 census showed that 63.3 per cent identified as Welsh
• A 2022 YouGov poll found that 67 per cent considered themselves Welsh to some degree

Culture

• Wales has a distinctive culture with its own language, customs, holidays, and music
• There are four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Wales

Mythology

• Remnants of native Celtic Mythology passed down orally by the cynfeirdd (the early poets)
• Medieval Manuscripts such as the Black Book of Carmarthen and the Book of Aneirin contain some of their work
• The prose stories from the White and Red Books are known as the Mabinogion

Literature

• Earliest body of Welsh verse by poets Taliesin and Aneirin
• Native lore and learning survived through the era of the Poets of the Princes (c. 1100–1280)
• The Renaissance brought humanist ideals from English universities
• In 1588 William Morgan became the first person to translate the Bible into Welsh
• The period produced one of Wales's greatest poets, Dafydd ap Gwilym
• Developments in 19th-century Welsh literature include Lady Charlotte Guest's translation into English of the Mabinogion
• The 20th century saw a move from the verbose Victorian Welsh style, with works such as Thomas Gwynn Jones's Ymadawiad Arthur
• The First World War had a profound effect on Welsh literature with a more pessimistic style championed by T. H. Parry-Williams and R. Williams Parry
• The most famous work Under Milk Wood was first broadcast in 1954
• R. S. Thomas was the most important figure throughout the second half of the 20th century

Museums and Libraries

• Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales was founded by royal charter in 1907 as the National Museum of Wales
• It operates at seven sites
• Entry to all sites is free
• The National Library of Wales, based in Aberystwyth, houses important collections of printed works

National Symbols and Identity

• Wales is regarded as a modern Celtic nation
• The red dragon is the principal symbol of national identity
• The dragon is first referenced in literature as a symbol of the people in the Historia Brittonum
• As an emblem, the red dragon of Wales has been used since the reign of Cadwaladr
• Owain Glyndŵr Day is celebrated on 16 September in Wales
• On 1 March, Welsh people celebrate Saint David's Day
• Several Welsh representative teams, including the Welsh rugby union, use the badge or a stylised version of it
• Traditional dishes include Laverbread, Bara brith, Cawl, Cawl Cennin, and Welsh cakes
• National dishes may also be influenced by England, India, China and the United States.

Museums and Libraries

• Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales was founded by royal charter in 1907
• It operates at seven sites
• Entry to all sites is free
• The National Library of Wales, based in Aberystwyth, houses important collections of printed works

Visual Arts

• Works of Celtic art have been found in Wales
• In the Early Medieval period, itwas part of the Insular art of the British Isles
• A number of illuminated manuscripts from Wales survive, including the 8th-century Hereford Gospels and Lichfield Gospels
• Some Welsh artists of the 16th–18th centuries tended to leave the country to work, moving to London or Italy
• Richard Wilson (1714–1782) is arguably the first major British landscapist
• An Act of Parliament in 1857 provided for the establishment of a number of art schools throughout the United Kingdom, and the Cardiff School of Art opened in 1865

Transport

• Main roads include the M4 motorway and the A55 expressway
• Rail services are overseen by the Welsh Government with passenger services operated by Transport for Wales Rail
• Cardiff Airport is the international airport
• Regular ferry services to Ireland operate from Holyhead, Pembroke Dock and Fishguard

Sport

• More than 50 national governing bodies regulate and organise their sports in Wales
• Wales is represented at major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and the Commonwealth Games
• Football has traditionally been the more popular sport in North Wales
• Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness
• The Wales national rugby union team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship
• Wales has had its own football league, the Welsh Premier League, since 1992
• For historical reasons, five Welsh clubs play in the English football league system
• In international cricket Wales and England field a single representative team

Media

• Wales became the UK's first digital television nation in 2010
• BBC Cymru Wales is the national broadcaster, producing both television and radio programmes in Welsh and English
• ITV has a Welsh-orientated service branded ITV Cymru Wales
• S4C began broadcasting in 1982, exclusively in Welsh since the digital switchover
• BBC Radio Cymru is the BBC's Welsh-language radio service
• The Western Mail is Wales's only print national daily newspaper
• The Books Council of Wales is the Welsh-Government-funded body tasked with promoting Welsh literature in both languages
• Journals with a Welsh focus include Cambria and Poetry Wales

Cuisine

• Traditional Welsh dishes include laverbread and bara brith
• Chicken tikka masala is the country's favourite dish

Performing Arts - Music and Festivals

• Wales, "the land of song", is notable for its solo artists, its male voice choirs and its harpists
• The annual National Eisteddfod is the country's main performance festival
• The Llangollen International Eisteddfod provides an opportunity for the singers and musicians of the world to perform
• Traditional instruments of Wales include the Telyn deires treble harp
• Male voice choirs emerged in the 19th century, and embraced the popular secular hymns of the day
• The BBC National Orchestra of Wales performs in Wales and internationally
• The Welsh National Opera is based at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay

Drama

• A recognised Welsh tradition of theatre emerged during the 18th century, in the form of an interlude
• Plays by Emlyn Williams and Alun Owen and others were staged, while Welsh actors, including Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins, were establishing international reputations
• Wales has also produced some well-known comedians.
• Competition from television in the mid-20th century led to greater professionalism in the theatre.
• Traditional dances include Welsh folk dancing and clog dancing
• the art on local and national stages. was preserved and developed by Hywel Wood (1882–1967)
• The Welsh Folk Dance Society was founded in 1949
• The National Dance Company Wales Contemporary dance grew out of Cardiff in the 1970s. formed in 1983, is now resident at the Wales Millennium Centre