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NORTH WALES...

Welcome to a land of inspiration, of stunning landscape and beautiful coastline, of unique charm and ancient legend - one of the last unspoiled areas of Europe. Oh how you are in for a treat...

From the moment you cross the border, you know that you are in another country with its own language, culture and way of life. North Wales comprises multiple districts, of which you will be visiting most today. Crossing from one district to another is seamless and, in most cases, you will be unaware of each boundary crossing. English is the day-to-day language but, thankfully, due to the dedicated efforts of many people, the Welsh language still flourishes (and there is even a Welsh-language TV channel). In 1991 a census issued the figure of 18.5% of the Welsh population are Welsh speakers, but it is feared this has dropped considerably in the last 10 years.

The currency is the pound sterling ("£" or GBP - Great Britain Pound). This is currently hovering at around 1.5 US dollars and Euro alike in conversion value.

Wales has a "temperate" weather climate. It never gets very hot or very cold. May, June, July and August are the sunniest and driest months, but even in the winter a raincoat and sweater will usually cope with the worst that the weather can throw.

The land area of North Wales is approximately 2,000 square miles (5,200 square Kms), measuring 60 miles long by 60 miles wide at the extremes, with extensive tracts of high-plateau mountains deeply dissected by river valleys and forests. The lowland area is confined mainly to the relatively narrow coastal belts and the valley floors. The coastline is almost 250 miles (400 Km.) long .

Nowadays, tourism is a key employer and revenue earner for Wales with a wealth of holiday cottages and private  hotels, renowned for their hospitality. Wales has an active mountain rescue service but everyone, especially parents with children, should take care when walking or visiting the ancient castles of Wales. Cliffs, rivers, waterfalls, moats, battlements and dungeons as none of these were designed to be "visitor friendly".

Wales is a land of small farms, with sheep predominant in the mountains and moorlands with dairy cattle and mixed farming around the coast. The old heavy industries which once made North Wales (utilising the port of Cardiff  - the capital city) the busiest in the world have declined to such an extent that even coal mining has almost ceased. British governments have attracted English and multi-national companies to Wales with generous incentives but unemployment is still higher than the average for Britain. Recent years have seen a strong growth in the science and technology sectors, however, so this may change.

The Welsh flag has two equal horizontal stripes, white above green, and a large red dragon passant with the Daffodil And The Leek famous emblems of Wales:

St. David - the patron saint of Wales:

St. David's Day. This is the most important day in the Welsh calendar and the day on which expatriates around the world remember their roots. It is a day for Welsh people to celebrate their culture and identity. St. David was an early crusader for Christianity in Wales and is supposed to have died on March 1st, 589AD. His remains were buried at what is now the Cathedral of St. David's in Pembrokeshire, West Wales.

Anyone studying Welsh place names could be forgiven for expecting the Welsh to be a very religious people! Most of the place names which start with "Llan" refer to ancient Welsh saints, and there are many of these. Things change, however, over the course of a thousand years or so and despite the 19th century religious revivals, the average Welsh person now attends church about as often as the average English person - and that's not too often!

As to the large number of Welsh saints, well, the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, claims that  "the Celtic countries had shownMarch 1st is celebrated in Wales as persistent tenacity to local tradition and had been less susceptible to Roman influence than England ... In their cult of saints, as in some other matters, Celtic traditions had developed somewhat differently than elsewhere in the West. ... In these countries the word (saint) had come to mean hardly more than pious church founder or learned ecclesiastic."

By the 11th century, when there was a demand for written documentation, many ancient records had been long destroyed in countless Viking raids. The papacy was not able to discover sufficient detail of the lives and acts of the early Welsh saints and in many cases their only memorials are place names and 19th century "restorations" of tiny churches on land held sacred to their names by local communities for a thousand years or more.

St. David is the only Welsh saint to be recognised and promoted in the Western Church. He has been the patron saint of Wales since the 12th century, but very little is known about his life. He died in 589AD (sometimes argued 601AD) after founding a monastery in the area of Pembrokeshire which now bears his name, and living an austere life devoted to God. He is first to be found in an Irish Catalogue of Saints dating from around 730AD and by 800AD his feast day was determined as March 1st.

By the 9th century he had gained the name Aquaticus because he and the monks of his establishments were supposed to have drunk only water. His earliest Biography appeared around 1090AD and was composed by a son of Sulien, bishop of St. David's. The aim of this work was to promote the independence of the Welsh church. The Biography tells us that St. David founded ten monasteries (including Glastonbury) and that the monks were vegetarian. Their regime included manual labour, study and worship.

There are more than fifty Welsh churches dedicated to St. David all located in south Wales. The greatest concentration is in the south west with his cult seeming to have spread eastwards along what remained of the Roman road system of Wales.

The peace and tranquility of the Welsh landscape belies a turbulent history. The Romans occupied Britain for 400 years but never succeeded in entirely subduing Wales. Testaments to their efforts may still be seen at the site of the barracks of the II Augusta Legion at the pretty town of Careen in South Wales. Archeological excavation still takes place in nearby Caerwent (Venta Silurum) where the beautifully constructed core of the Roman town wall still fascinates, despite the fact that much of its facing stone has been re-used in local houses and farms. Following the Romans came the Saxons, Picts, Vikings and Normans. The history of the medieval period is dominated by the exploits of the rebellious Welsh princes such as Owain Glyndwr. Acts of parliament between 1536 and 1543 unified Wales with England.

This history of struggle against invaders from within and without mainland Britain has left Wales with more castles per square mile than any other country in Western Europe. It's a nice irony that previous centuries of oppression have left Wales with a priceless national asset, the great castles in peaceful rural settings that contribute so much to the beauty of the Welsh landscape.

The character of Wales is, thankfully, still unique. Welsh culture and tradition is celebrated at a festival called the Eisteddfod. We are indebted to the Wales Tourist Board for the background to this important element of Welsh life:

"....The present form of the eisteddfod is a nineteenth century creation. Wales at that time was a country where the national language and culture lacked patronage because the property-owning gentry had become Anglicised. The medieval meeting of the bards called an eisteddfod was revived as a means of attracting patronage for Welsh cultural activity. At first competitions were confined to poetry composition and harp playing but today choir singing, bands, acting, recitation, fiction writing, painting and much more is judged at an eisteddfod.

There are two important annual eisteddfodau in Wales. The first is the National Eisteddfod which is held in North and South Wales in alternate years at the beginning of August. The ceremonies of this Eisteddfod are carried out by the Gorsedd of Bards which is an association of people interested in Welsh literature and music. The International Eisteddfod takes place in Llangollen where dancers, singers and choirs from every part of the world converge to take part in this global festival of music. The Llangollen Eisteddfod usually takes place in July."

Today is your day to savor, to relish and to enjoy a mere sample of this land. One thing is for sure, you will want..., no..., need, to return...

BUSYBUS looks forward to being part of your holiday memories!!

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