1. Project On Wales

2. Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. Bordered by England to its east, the Irish Sea to its north and west, and the Bristol Channel to its south. It has a population of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). 3. Map of wales 4. Much of Wales' diverse landscape is mountainous, particularly in the north and central regions. The mountains were shaped during the last ice age, the Devensian glaciation. The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia (Eryri), of which five are over 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The highest of these is Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), at 1,085 m (3,560 ft). The 14 Welsh mountains, or 15 if including Garnedd Uchaf often discounted because of its low topographic prominence over 3,000 feet (910 metres) high are known collectively as the Welsh 3000s and are located in a small area in the north-west. Snowdon, Gwynedd, the highest mountain in Wales 5. Wales has three national parks: Snowdonia, Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast. It has five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. These areas include Anglesey, the Clwydian Range, the Gower Peninsula, the Lln Peninsula and the Wye Valley. The Gower Peninsula was the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in 1956. Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wales. 6. Flag of wales Dragons In Welsh mythology, King Vortigern ordered two sleeping dragons one white, one red, to be awoken. A ferocious battle lasting many years began but finally the red dragon was triumphant. It is now the symbol of Wales. 7. Myths and legends are at the heart of Welsh culture The Mabinogion A group of medieval stories known that dates from the 11th century. It includes Arthurian romances, the story of Afanc the monster in the lake and also Annwn, King of the Fairies. Arthur and Merlin The Gododdin is one of the earliest surviving poems written in Welsh by the bard (poet) Aneirin around the year 594, and contains the earliest known reference to Arthur. The reputed burial site of Merlin the Wizard is near Carmarthen and his Round Table is still there in the Roman remains at Caerleon near Newport. Devils Bridge The town of Devils bridge near the University of Wales Aberystwyth takes its name from a legend of a clever old lady who outwitted Satan! 8. REGIONS IN WALES 1. Cardiff* 2. Swansea 3. Rhondda 4. Cynon Taff 5. Caerphilly 6. Newport 7. Carmarthenshire 8. Neath Port Talbot 9. Bridgend 10. Vale of Glamorgan 11. Flintshire 12. Wrexham 13. Conwy 14. Denbighshire 15. Pembrokeshire 16. Blaenau Gwent 17. Gwynedd 18. Powys 19. Monmouthshire 20. Merthyr Tydfil 21. Ceredigion 22. Anglesey For the purposes of local government, Wales has been divided into 22 council areas since 1996. These "principal areas" are responsible for the provision of all local government services, including education, social work, environment and roads services. 9. Climate in wales Wales has a moderate climate, very similar to the rest of the UK, but it can also be slightly unpredictable! The mountainous nature of our landscape and the shape of our coast mean that the weather can differ quite dramatically within a very short distance. Weather also changes quite quickly here- it could be raining in the morning and gloriously sunny by the afternoon. 10. Most of our rain tends to fall in the autumn and early winter months (October January) so be sure to bring a raincoat and a good pair of waterproof walking shoes to Wales. Our days in winter are shorter and we tend to experience snow, which provides us with some spectacular scenery. Although its not all rain and clouds in Wales - the summer months of June to August are the hottest here and a great time to take advantage of some of our beautiful beaches and coastline. April, May and September also offer some warm days to explore our landscape. Our long summer days also help, it often doesnt get dark until 10pm/22:00 in midsummer thanks to our northerly latitude. The temperature in winter months averages around 6C with summer months climbing up to 20C. However, conditions in the upland areas can be changeable throughout the entire year. 11. Leeks and Daffodils The daffodil and the leek are national flowers of Wales. The leek was adopted after St David advised his men to wear leeks in their helmets as they went into battle so that they could identify friend or foe. The flowering of Daffodils coincides with St Davids Day. Two varieties of daffodil are unique to Wales, the Tenby Daffodil and the Welsh Daffodil. 12. Welsh Culture Welsh people have special celebrations around the Christmas season. The get up between 3 and 6 AM to go to church services. Many families spend the entire night of Christmas eve decorating the house and singing and dancing until it is time to go to church. They go wassailing which means going out drinking and singing and carrying the wassail bowl to friends and neighbors. The wassail bowl contains cakes, baked apples and sugar with warm beer and spices poured over it. 13. Welsh Lovespoons Welsh people have a tradition of giving hand carved wooden love spoons as a romantic gesture dates back centuries. The earliest known example dates back to 1677 and is kept in The Museum of Welsh Life in Cardiff though the tradition probably dates back far before that. Each different spoon has a different romantic meaning - a diamond means wealth and good fortune, a dragon means protection, a daffodil means affection, and a double spoon means togetherness. 14. National Eisteddfod first held at Lord Rhyss castle in Cardigan in 1176. A grand gathering of poets and musicians from all over the country. A chair at the Lord's table was awarded to the best poet and musician, a tradition that prevails in the modern day National Eisteddfod. In 1880, the National Eisteddfod association was formed and charged with the responsibility of staging an annual festival to be held in North and South Wales alternately, and with the exception of 1914 and 1940, this target has been met. Welsh festival of literature, music and performance 15. Music Wales justly deserves to be called the "Land of Song". It is a rich source of musical talent with its own world-class opera company, the Welsh National Opera (NO), and a National Orchestra for Wales. Another celebrated form of musical activity is the Male Voice Choir and Welsh pop bands such as Stereophonics, Super Furry Animals and Catatonia have gone global. 16. Wales for Food and Drink Wales is well known for its unique cheeses and wines, famous Welsh beef and lamb, and fresh fish and seafood. Swansea has UKs oldest and largest indoor market which is still located in the city centre. Laverbread - A traditional welsh delicacy made from seaweed Welsh Cakes - A traditional welsh snack, similar to scones, made from flour, butter, eggs, sugar, currants and/or raisins. 17. Cawl - Stew-like dish consisting of meat and vegetables Bara Brith - Sometimes known as speckled bread. There are almost 40 food festivals a year in Wales celebrating the culinary traditions of Wales alongside those of China, India and other countries. 18. Traditional music and Folk music The most common Welsh folk song is the love song, with lyrics pertaining to the sorrow of parting or in praise of the girl. After love songs, the ballad was a very popular form of song, with its tales of manual labour, agriculture and the every day life. The most traditional of Welsh instruments is the harp, and is considered the national musical item. 19. Modern Music in Wales In the non-traditional arena, many Welsh musicians have been present in popular rock and pop, either as individuals, individuals in or as bands formed in Wales. Roger David Glover performing live with Deep Purple in 2013. Shakin' Stevens ,UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s 20. Education in Wales The education system in Wales is the same as England Pre-school (creche, nursery, kindergarten) Primary school (aged 4 or 5 to11) Secondary school (aged 11 to 16 or 18) The minimum school leaving age is 16 Pupils sit GCSE Ordinary level exams at aged 18 and GCSE Advanced levels at aged 18 GCSE A levels are required for entry to university 21. Primary and Secondary Schools There are 2 types of schools state (also called comprehensive) and private (also called independent). There are fees at private schools, state schools are free. Some private schools are boarding schools, state schools are day schools. About 90% of children in Wales go to state schools Pupils sit various tests throughout their school life Almost all schools have a uniform Pupils can have school meals or bring meals from home 22. Independent Schools There are currently 68 Independent Schools located throughout Wales. Age ranges from 3 to18+ are covered by the majority of the schools, whilst the others concentrate on either on 3 to11 or 11 to 18+ Pupil numbers at the schools range from 3 pupils in small schools to 838 pupils in larger schools. The smaller schools specialize in pupils with special educational needs who require more individual attention. Most are of mixed gender with the odd one or two single sex schools. 23. Further Education Education for people over compulsory school age (sixteen years), including academic and vocational courses. general education for people of all ages who want to study academic subjects or recreational activities as well as to develop and upgrade work skills. full-time and part-time courses qualifications which are accepted for entry into UK universities 24. MORE ABOUT FURTHER EDUCATION There are 24 Welsh further education institutions (usually called FE colleges), covering all parts of Wales and all sorts of vocational and academic specialisms. For example, Deeside College works closely with Airbus Industries (which has a factory nearby) to provide training for aircraft and wider aerospace technicians, as well as the other skills needed by a major multinational company. 25. There are 12 higher education institutions in Wales Cardiff University North East Wales Institute Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Swansea Institute of Higher Education Trinity College Carmarthen University of Glamorgan University of Wales Aberystwyth University of Wales Bangor University of Wales Lampeter University of Wales Institute, Cardiff University of Wales Newport Swansea University 26. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is Chancellor of the University of Wales 27. Wrexham Steeple Overton Yew Trees Pistyll Rhaeadr a tall waterfall, at 240 ft (73 m) 16th-century tower of St Giles' Church, Wrexham ancient yew trees in the churchyard of St. Mary's at Overton-on- Dee 28. Snowdons Mountain St. Winifreds Well Llangollen Bridge Gresford Bells the highest mountain a pilgrimage site at Holywell built in 1347 over the River Dee the peal of bells in the medieval church of All Saints at Gresford 29. Global games Football Rugby Traditional games World Bog Snorkelling Championships Man vs Horse Marathon Wakestock(water sport) Boxing icon-Joe Calzaghe CBE 30. Rugby Soccer 31. World Bog Snorkelling Man vs Horse Marathon 32. Rugby The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy an d Scotland. Wales most recent championship win came in 2013. World position of wales is sixth. 33. Wales rugby team in 1881 played for the first time against England 34. 1895 35. In 1905 won triple crown by defeating New Zeland 36. Shane Williams Sham Warbuton James Hook Stephen Jones Leigh Halfpenny Lee Byrne 37. FOOTBALL FAW(football association of wales 1876) 38. Mellennium stadium The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales and the third largest stadium in Britain. The stadium was built to host the final at the 1999 Rugby World Cup and replaced Wales previous national stadium, the Cardiff Arms Park, which by that time had gotten severely outdated and lacked the facilities to stage such final. Construction of the Millennium Stadium began in 1997 and was completed in 1999 at a total cost of 114 million. The first match played at the stadium was a rugby friendly between Wales and South Africa. The first football match was a friendly between the Welsh and Finnish national teams in March 2000. 39. Legends and famous personalities of football from wales John Charles Ivor Allchurch Alf Sherwood These were some of the guys who made to the world cup quarter finals competing against brazil 40. New era football players Ryan giggs Gareth bale Aron Ramsey 41. Joseph William "Joe" Calzaghe, born 23 March 1972) is a retired Welsh professional boxer. He is a former WBO, IBF,WBC, WBA & The Ring Super Middleweight Champion and The Ring Light Heavyweight Champion 42. List of Holidays in Wales New Year's Day January 1 Good Friday April 18 Easter Monday April 21 Early May Bank Holiday May 5 Spring Bank Holiday May 26 Summer Bank Holiday August 25 Christmas Day December 25 Boxing Day December 26 43. Seasonal festivals St. David's Day (Dydd Gyl Dewi Sant) is celebrated on 1 March, Dydd Santes Dwynwen is celebrated on 25 January every year as the Welsh day of love Gyl Fairy Canhwyllau Literally translates as "Mary's Festival of the Candles on February 2. Alban Eilir (March 2021) in the middle of Spring. Calan Awst which is around August 1: The first day of Autumn, a time of festival and drinking. Nos Galan Gaeaf and Calan Gaeaf October 31 and November 1: Winter's eve and the first day of winter. Alban Arthan on December 2122: A Winter Solstice or Midwinter festival, the shortest day of the year. June 24: Gwyl Ifan (St John's Day) otherwise known as Midsummer's day. 44. Transportation in Wales The geography of Wales has been a key influence on the development of its transport system, with the main settlements lying on the coasts of North and South Wales, while Mid Wales is lightly populated. The main transport corridors are east-west routes 45. Some modes of transportation in Wales are- Railways Airways Waterways Roadways 46. Railways Urban Rail The only form of commuter rail system in Wales is the Valley Lines network serving Cardiff and the South Wales valleys, serving 20 stations in Cardiff and 61 stations in the surrounding area. Train frequency at the core of the network is up to every 5 minutes. 47. Great Orme Tramway The only surviving tram service within Wales is the Great Orme Tramway, a cable hauled tramway in Llandudno which survives as a tourist attraction. 48. Cardiff International Airport 49. Airways Wales has two airports offering scheduled services, Cardiff and Anglesey. In South Wales the air travel market is estimated to be in the region of 3.5 million passengers, half of which are served by Cardiff Airport while the remainder travels mainly to Heathrow, Bristol and Gatwick. 50. Waterways Milford Haven is the fourth largest port in the UK in terms of tonnage and the busiest for oil products. Newport is the busiest UK port for iron and steel and Port Talbot is the third busiest for ores. 51. Roadways The trunk road network carries around one third of road traffic in Wales. Around 80 per cent of traffic on Welsh roads is cars, taxis, and minibuses, mainly on east-west routes in north and south Wales. Wales has 133 kilometres of motorways, all of which are in the south. The major artery is the M4, which enters Wales via the Second Severn Crossing and terminates at Pont Abraham in Carmarthenshire. 52. M4 motorway The M4 is a motorway which runs between London and South Wales in the United Kingdom. Originally referred to as the London-South Wales Motorway 53. A483 Road The A483 is a major road in the United Kingdom, running from Swansea in Wales to Chester in England, although the official title is the Swansea to Manchester Trunk Road. 54. Famous Artist in Welsh Art Thomas Jones (26 September 1742 29 April 1803) was a Welsh landscape painter The Bard (1774). Oil on canvas, 114.5 168.0 cm. National Museum Cardiff. 55. Richard Wilson Richard Wilson is described in the Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales as the "most distinguished painter Wales has ever produced. Richard Wilson Lake Avernus (c. 1765) 56. Welsh Celebrity Hopkins is well known for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins 57. Richard Burton, was a Welsh stage and cinema actor noted for his mellifluous baritone voice and his great acting talent. Burton was nominated seven times for an Academy Award without ever winning. 58. She is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the mid-1950s and has been called "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century. In the US, in particular, she is best known for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Di amonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979) Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey 59. places to visit 60. Castell caerffili It is one of the great medieval castles of western Europe. Several factors give it this pre-eminence - its immense size (1.2h), making it the largest in Britain after Windsor, its large-scale use of water for defence and the fact that it is the first truly concentric castle in Britain. Of the time of its building in the late 13th century, it was a revolutionary masterpiece of military planning. 61. Aberystwyth Aberystwyth is on the coast. There is university there and it is home to the National Library of Wales. 62. Brecon Beacons The Brecon Beacons National Park is a place of rivers and mountains with all sorts of outdoor activities. 63. Tenby Tenby is a popular seaside resort and also a mediaeval walled town. It has lovely sandy beaches and lots of beautiful places to walk. 64. Swansea has a beautiful bay and a large marina. It is the second largest city in Wales. Swansea A statue of Dylan Thomas a famous Welsh author who lived in Swansea. 65. Cardiff Cardiff is the capital of Wales. It has a castle and its new Millennium Stadium has hosted some important football and rugby matches. It is also home to the Welsh Assembly. 66. Llandudno Llandudno is a Victorian seaside resort situated in a bay between two hills. You can ride a cable car up one, called the Great Orme. 67. Conwy Conwy is a walled town situated on the mouth of the river Conwy. It has a castle and the smallest house in Wales. 68. Snowdonia National Park Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales and is in the second largest National Park, after the Lake District, in England and Wales. 69. Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay is home to a huge range of wildlife from skylarks to dolphins. The coastline runs for 40 miles and ancient footpaths wind their way along the edge of the rugged cliffs. 70. Milford Haven Milford Haven is a seaport. It has a large dock for the tankers to collect the oil from its oil refineries. It is the leading oil port in Britain and the second largest in Europe. 71. Anglesey Anglesey is an island separated from the mainland by the Menai Strait. You can cross over on one of its two bridges. There is a ferry port on the island from which you can sail to Dublin. 72. Lln Peninsula The Lln peninsula is a narrow strip of land only 8 miles wide. It is surrounded by many beautiful beaches that are popular with holiday makers. Most are owned by the National Trust. 73. Cambrian Mountains The Cambrian Mountains are a large upland area of Mid Wales, that are wild and unpopulated. They are the source of many of Wales main rivers. 74. Vale of Clwyd The Vale of Clwyd is a valley that surrounds the River Clwyd. It is edged by the Clwydian hills.The land is good for farming and is only 40 metres above sea level. 75. Wrexham Wrexham is the principal town of North Eastern Wales. It is close to the border of England and is a centre for many industries and factories. It also has a busy agricultural market. 76. Fishguard is a major ferry link between Pembrokeshire and Rosslare in Ireland. It has a new high-speed catamaran. A lot of wild life can be found in the sea around. Fishguard 77. Porthcawl was originally built as a port to transport coal from the valley mines. It became a popular holiday resort. It has an extensive promenade and several beaches. Four rocky points line the shore. Porthcawl 78. Newport Newport is the third largest city in Wales (after Cardiff and Swansea). It stands at the gateway of England and Wales, on the banks of the River Usk. 79. Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil is situated high up in the mountains and is famous for producing iron and coal . The last iron foundry closed in 1987. The rugby club, Merthyr Tydfil RFC, are known as the Ironmen. 80. Economy The economy of Wales is closely linked with the rest of the United Kingdom and the wider European Economic Area. In 2012, according to ONS provisional data, headline gross value added (GVA) in Wales was 47.3 billion, making the Welsh economy the tenth largest of the UK's twelve regions (counting Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland alongside the nine English Government Office Regions) ahead of only Northern Ireland and the North East of England. The modern Welsh economy is dominated by the service sector. In 2000, services contributed 66% to GVA, the manufacturing sector contributed 32%, while agriculture, forestry and fishing together contributed 1.5% 81. The currency used in Wales is the pound sterlin. The Bank of England is the central bank, responsible for issuing currency. The Royal Mint, which issues the coinage circulated over the whole of the UK, has been based at a single site in Llantrisant, south Wales since 1980central bank, represented by the symbol , responsible for issuing currency 82. BANKS 83. Banks in Wales First Choice Finance NatWest Bank plc Santander Coutts & Co TSB HSBC Julian Hodge Bank Ltd 84. Polymer notes In September 2013 the Bank of England opened a period of public consultation about the introduction of polymer or plastic banknotes, which would be introduced into circulation from 2016 if the proposals were supported. In December 2013, the Bank confirmed the introduction of plastic or polymer notes would commence in 2016.It has been confirmed that the first Polymer note to be put into circulation will be the 5. A 10 note will go into circulation about a year later. A spokesman for LINK, the company that operates cash machines in the United Kingdom, said machines would need to be altered to fit the smaller 5 banknotes 85. No Bank Notes of wales There are no Welsh banknotes in circulation; Bank of England notes are used throughout Wales. The last Welsh banknotes were withdrawn in 1908 upon the closure of the last Welsh bank, the North and South Wales Bank. An attempt was made in 1969 by a Welsh banker to revive Welsh banknotes, but the venture was short-lived and the notes did not enter general circulation 86. An example of a provincial English banknote: a 1 note issued in 1814 by the Gloucester Old Bank 87. Top 5 Banks in UK Bank Headquart ers Market value (bn) 4 October 2013 Total Assets (bn) As of 30 June 2012 HSBC Canary Wharf 126.3 1,677 Lloyds Banking Group City of London 53.5 955 Royal Bank of Scotland Group Edinburgh 42 1,405 Barclays Canary Wharf 43.6 1,620 Standard Chartered City of London 36.7 395 88. B.T. & Its Competitors BT Global Services is one of the UKs leading suppliers of networked IT services for public, finance and corporate sector customers. Many customers are based in the UK or have operations in the country. They offer extensive domestic voice, contact centre and IP VPN services in the UK. They also have 1,182 core fibre Ethernet nodes and 730 Ethernet over Copper access nodes. Global Services customers will also be able to take advantage of the superfast broadband network (VDSL & GPON), which will be available to around two-thirds of the UKs homes and businesses by the end of 2014. We also have three security operations centres. BT Global Services has around 1,800 UK customers connecting businesses and organisations in almost every sector of the British economy. 89. Top Competitors for BT Group plc BT has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Virgin Media Talk Talk Sky Cable & Wireless Worldwide plc Deutsche Telekom AG Vodafone Group Plc