Travel Trade Wales

Castles of Wales
With 641 castles in Wales, you’ve got plenty to choose from. Beaumaris, Conwy, Caernarfon, and Harlech in the North have all been named World Heritage Sites; whilst Powis in mid Wales is a mecca for garden lovers. Caerphilly in the South is one of Britain’s largest medieval fortresses, but if you like your castles a bit closer to the shops, why not try Cardiff right in the middle of the city. If you’re out West, don’t miss Carreg Cennen which sits on a limestone crag 91metres above a river, it’s a bit of a climb but the views are well worth the effort.

 

Music & Male Voice Choirs
Wales is often referred to as The Land of Song. We’re famous for our Eisteddfodau – cultural competitions involving singing, dancing reciting and acting; and if you’ve ever watched Wales play rugby you’ll notice we tend to win hands down when it comes to singing. Probably our most famous are our male voice choirs which listening to is a unique and moving experience. Other Welsh greats include Sir Tom Jones, Dame Shirley Bassey, Bryn Terfel, Katherine Jenkins, Duffy and bands such as the Manic Streeet Preachers and Stereophonics. Those of us not blessed with great singing voices could opt for an instrument instead. The harp is most traditionally associated with Wales and today artists such as Catrin Finch are bringing it right up-to-date.

 

Tracing your Ancestors
Is your surname Davies, Jones, Evans or Williams? Or perhaps over the years you’ve heard your parents or grandparents talking of their Welsh ancestry? If so, you may have Welsh ancestry. It’s easier than you think to start looking into your family history and find out about your family roots. You’ll be in good company as Tom Cruise, Susan Sarandon, Russell Crowe and Kylie Minogue have all been tracing their Welsh ancestry.

 

Literary Greats
As we love to talk, it’s not surprising that all our literature stems from the storytelling tradition. We have a thriving literary culture in both the Welsh and English language and just to make sure we celebrate our literature we’re home to the world’s most famous literary festival Hay–on-Wye. Our oldest surviving poetry dates from the sixth century, but perhaps Wales’ greatest contribution to European literature is The Mabinogion - medieval Welsh folk tales came to prominence in the mid 19th century. Our most famous literary figure is Dylan Thomas who wrote poems and short stories including ‘Under Milk Wood’. Other writers to come from Wales include children’s favourite Roald Dahl who was born in Cardiff to Norwegian parents and Sarah Waters shortlisted for the Booker and Orange prize for her novel ‘Fingersmith’.