SUMARY CHAPTER 7, Wales

Welsh is a living Language: about 25 per cent of Welsh people know it well, although they also know English. There is a Welsh Language TV and newspapers, and the signs in towns are in Welsh and English.

Food

Breakfast in Wales may include black laverbread, which is a paste made with the same type of seaweed that sushi. Other typical Welsh dishes are Welsh rarebit (cheese on toast made in a special way) and Bara Brith (Welsh fruit cake).

Sport

Rugby is the most popular sport in Wales. The Wales team take part in the “Six Nations” competition. But, another type of sports, which are so popular, are Football, cricket, snooker and surfing which on many beaches from Wales you can do it.

The Land of Song

Wales is called the “land of song”, and the Welsh national song is called “Land of my Fathers”. Wales is famous for its men’s choir and they often sing before rugby matches.

The Eisteddfod

Eisteddfod is a Welsh word which means “to be sitting together”. An Eisteddfod is an annual meeting of poets, musicians, singers and sometimes dancers who compete for prizes.

The Eisteddfods are symbols of the Welsh love of poetry, music and song.

Iconic places

Cardiff is the capital of Wales.  The second largest city in Wales is Swansea.

Near Swansea there are some prize-winning beaches:

Oxwich Bay

Three Cliffs Bay

Rhossili Bay

Saint David’s is the smallest city in the UK.

Snowdonia is a national park in North Wales. The name comes from the highest mountain, Mount Snowdon.

The English king Edward I wanted to control Wales, so he built huge castles to protect Wales. Four of the most important castles that you can see today are Caernafon, Harlech, Beaumaris and Conwy.

There are many other beautiful areas in Wales, such as Cardigan Bay, the Pembrokeshire Coast, the island of Anglesey and interesting towns like Aberystwyth, Bangor and Llandudno.

Ionic people

Two heroes of the Welsh people are Llewellyn the Great (1173-1240) and Owen Glendower (1357-1416).

Glendower was a nationalist leader who led a revolution against the English king, Henry IV, from 1400 to 1412.

Henry Morgan was a Welsh pirate who robbed ships and towns in the Caribbean in the seventeenth century.

In recent times, there have been many famous Welsh writers, actors, and politicians…

Shirley Bassey has had a long career in show business since she began performing in 1953. She is famous for singing the title songs for three James Bond films.

Welsh legends: King Arthur and Branwen

Some people say that Arthur’s castle, Camelot, was in Wales but others say it was in south-west England or Brittany in France.

                                                                                                     

Another legend is about a girl called Branwen, whose brother was a giant, and a king in Wales. Brawen married the Irish king but when he took her to Ireland he was very unkind to her. Branwen sent news to her brother. Her brother walked through the sea to help his sister. There was a terrible war and many people were killed, including the Welsh and Irish kings. Branwen returned to Wales with the head of her dead brother and was sad about what happened. 

The flag