VISIT WALES
A CELTIC NATION
Wales is one of the seven Celtic Nations, the others being Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall (UK), Britanny (France), the Isle of Man (UK) and Galicia (Spain). It is generally acknowledged that the Welsh People are direct descendants of the Brythonic (or British) Celtic race. Their language is unique and still the most widely spoken in The Celtic World.
Wales is home to the most spectacular and varied scenery in Britain, from the green valleys of the Rhondda in The South, where the finest coal was mined, and fuelled the World, to the mystic mountains of Snowdonia, where slate was King and, and as they say in the North, "Roofed the World". Wherever you go in Wales, the greatest of voices sing the songs, hymns and anthems, and speak the poetry and prose that is legendary.
Following the departure of Roman rule, "Britannia" slipped into what is historically known as The Dark Ages, when little was recorded during the late 4th to the mid 5th /early 6th century. During this period, as the Saxons pressed their boundaries from the South and East, the Irish raiders from the West, and the Caledonian tribes from the North, legend has it that a Romano/Celtic leader emerged, a man of nobility, education, intellect, and military training, hailing from West Wales (Now Cornwall), whose name was Arthnou (or Ambrosius),or as it translated over time, Arthur. He took the bear as his battle symbol, and with his inspired use of a fast moving military force, he secured the borders of what is now known as Wales, a name derived from the frustrated application of the Saxon word Waelsa, meaning "Foreigner" (The Saxons could not penetrate and conquer "The Land of The Brothers Gathered Together"), or in the old Celtic, surviving today as a nationality and language, The Cymraeg, or the people of Cymru. The word derives from "The Old North"of Celtic Wales, now in England, in the County of Cumbria, better known to visitors to England as The Lake District. French and English romantic writers, including Christen de Troyes, Geraldus Cambrensis, Geoffrey of Monmouth and Sir Thomas Mallory, not to mention more recently T. H . White, Lerner and Lowe, and Walt Disney, have used and modified the reality into a legend, but such concensus as there is establishes Arthur as the most famous of the High Kings of The British, a legendary title conferred by The Celts of Britain on their most influential leaders, recorded in the famous History of Britain. Wales remains a principality, and has never been a kingdom, with a single ruling monarchy, as in the case of England and Scotland. However, the Princes of Gwynedd, Llywelyn The Great, his grandson Llywelyn II, and their successor by claim, Owain Glyndwr, are recognised as those who unified the nation against English rule.
As well as the natural resources of Coal and Slate, Wales traditionally produced Copper, Gold, Silver and Tin. In fact, Welsh Gold is the rarest with its pink colouration and is still held in quantities, on bond for the production of the Wedding Rings for the Royal Family; the most recent recipient being Kate Middleton now the Duchess of Cambridge, who will - one day - become the Princess of Wales when Prince Charles - the present Prince of Wales - ascends to the Throne.
Where we Visit
The Snowdonia National Park, was created as the 2nd National Park in Britain and the largest in Wales. It covers 840 square miles of the highest mountains and breathtaking coastline, and the "Mother Island" of Anglesey, one of the largest in The British Isles.
Pembrokeshire in the far West is the location of the only true coastal national park in The United Kingdom, home to St Davids, the smallest city in Britain.
The 19 mile long Gower Peninsula in the South West is the first designated area of natural beauty in Britain, and boasts some of Europe's most unspoilt beaches.
Spend some time in Cardiff, capital of the nation, once the most important port exporting Welsh coal and now amongst Europe's top cultural centres.
Within easy reach are the breathtaking Brecon Beacons and The Wye Valley, to the North and East. Some thirty five miles West of Cardiff is Swansea, the second city "By The Sea", birthplace of Wales literary giant Dylan Thomas, who described the place where he grew up, and wrote some of his best work as "My ugly, lovely town".
In Wales (If you have the time!) you can vist 631 castles, with "The Iron Ring" built by the English King Edward I in the 13th century, remaining the finest examples of medieval fortified buildings on Earth, all of them UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
So click on our 'TOURS' page options for more details, and choose whichever itinerary suits your wish list, timescale, and budget, and remember that WELSH DRAGON TOURS, can also customize a tour, subject to availability, JUST FOR YOU.
Please contact Welsh Dragon Tours:-
Contact: info@welshdragontours.com
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Telephone: +44 (0)1286 831818
