W is for WALES

This week we honour the letter W as in welcome, wharf, wedding, whip, wrestle, and west.  Following last week's post about views of England, I'm showing you a tiny bit of Wales, the country of some of my ancestors.  This small part of the United Kingdom is bordered on the east by England, on the north and west by the Irish Sea, and on the south by the Bristol Channel. It has over 1600 miles of coastline with many of the most beautiful beaches in the entire kingdom; also, it is largely mountainous with Mount Snowdon its highest peak.  In the map below, you can see just how small the country is - the black line on the right is the border with England and you can see just how close Dublin (Ireland) is .

My connection with Wales is most recently through my paternal grandmother, whose ancestors came over from Ireland to the northwestern part - called Anglesey.  They then moved east and ended up in Llandudno, one of the most beautiful cities in the country.  It retains a Victorian appearance in its architecture but is completely modern now.  Also, it boasts a pier that is almost 2,300 feet long, the longest in Wales and 5th longest in all of England and Wales. Click here for more information.

Wales has three national symbols - the leek, the daffodil, and the harp. 

The Leek

According to legend on the eve of the battle against the Saxons St David advised the Britons to wear leeks in their caps so as to easily distinguish friend from foe. This helped to secure a great victory. Today Welsh people around the world wear leeks on St David's Day. It is also a surviving tradition that soldiers in the Welsh regiments eat a raw leek on St David's Day.

The Daffodil

The Welsh for leek (the original national emblem) is Cenhinen, while the Welsh for daffodil is Cenhinen Pedr. Over the years they became confused until the daffodil was adopted as a second emblem of Wales.

The Harp

The harp is regarded as the national instrument of Wales. By the end of the 18th century, the triple harp - so called because it had three rows of strings - was widely known as the Welsh harp on account of its popularity in Wales. The harp has been used through the ages as an accompaniment to folk-singing and dancing and as a solo instrument. HRH Prince Charles appoints a Welsh Royal Harpist on a scholarship programme annually. Past Royal harpists include Catrin Finch.

When I was a little girl, my Nana Jones gave me a doll dressed in the national costume of Wales.  I don't still have it, but I did take a photo of a Welsh lady from Conwy (town next to Llandudno where Nana grew up) as she was standing next to the smallest house in Great Britain. The ladies certainly have a very distinctive hat!

For such a small country, Wales has a lot to offer tourists.  There are castles, abbeys, ancient ruins, rocky coastlines and beautiful beaches, green that never seems to end, modern cities like Cardiff (the capital with its Millennium Stadium and a new waterfront area), older cities like Newport that was built by the Normans and boasts the Celtic Manor Resort, a modern golf, spa, and leisure resort where the 2010 Ryder Cup and the 2014 NATO summit were held.  There are so many ancient towns scattered throughout the green grass and forests where King Henry VIII used to hunt deer (right near my friend Jane's place).  Wales also boasts about past and present famous folk like Dylan Thomas (poet), Tom Jones (singer), Sir Anthony Hopkins (actor), Richard Burton (actor), Roald Dahl (writer), Catherine Zeta-Jones (actress). 

I've put together a very short presentation of some of my photos of areas in Wales that I've visited. This is just a taste and I hope it encourages you to consider putting it on your bucket list.  The music I chose this week is "Eternal Pride" which I thought apt as I have eternal pride in my heritage. Now turn up your sound and enjoy the show!