Panayot Milev and Ivailo Mihailov
7 grade c
“Vasil Aprilov” Primary School
Burgas
Wales Geography
Wales (Welsh: Cymru)
comprises a peninsula in
central-west Great Britain
together with offshore islands
of which the largest is
Anglesey. It is a country of
the United Kingdom. It
borders England to the east,
and is surrounded by sea on
the other three sides: the
Bristol Channel to the south,
St George's Channel to the
west, and the Irish Sea to the
north. It is about 274 km
(170 mi) long and 97 km (60
mi) wide, with a total area of
20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). It
has over 1,200 km (746 mi)
of coastline.
Welsh History

It depends, if you
count "Cymru" as
when the Celts moved
over here and set up
a nation, as Cambria
as the Roman state,
or Wales as it is now
formed in the Late
Middle Ages.
The capital of Wales Cardiff
The capital Cardiff (Welsh: Caerdydd)
is Wales's largest city, with 317,500
people. For a period it was the
biggest coal port in the world and, for
a few years before World War I, it
handled a greater tonnage of cargo
than either London or Liverpool. Twothirds of the Welsh population live in
South Wales, with another
concentration in eastern North Wales.
Many tourists have been drawn to
Wales's "wild... and picturesque"
landscapes. From the late 19th
century onwards, Wales acquired its
popular image as the "land of song",
attributable in part to the revival of the
eisteddfod tradition. Actors, singers
and other artists are celebrated in
Wales today, often achieving
international success. Cardiff is the
largest media centre in the UK
outside of London.
The largest cities in Wales:
Newport
Newport : Newport (Welsh:
Casnewydd) is a city and unitary
authority area in Wales. Standing on
the banks of the River Usk, it is
located about 12 miles (19 km) east
of Cardiff, and is the largest urban
area within the historic county
boundaries of Monmouthshire and
the preserved county of Gwent. The
City of Newport, which includes rural
areas as well as the built up area, is
governed by the unitary Newport
City Council, and has a population of
140,200, making it the seventh most
populous unitary authority in Wales.
According to Census 2001 data the
population of the core built-up area
was 116,143,[1] making it the third
most populous city in Wales.
Swansea
Swansea :Seaport and county (pop.,
2001: 223,293), southern Wales.
Lying along the Bristol Channel, it is
the second largest city in Wales. It
dates from the 12th century. Until the
early 18th century it was a small
market town and coal port; thereafter
it grew steadily with industry, and by
the mid-19th century it was the focus
of the world copper trade. The city
centre was almost totally destroyed by
German bombing in 1941 but has
been redeveloped, and Swansea is
now the chief shopping and service
hub for southwestern Wales. The poet
Dylan Thomas was born there.
The most famous castles in Wales:
Conwy
Words cannot do justice to Conwy
Castle. The best, simple description
is found in the guidebook
published by CADW, the Welsh
Historic Trust, which states:
"Conwy is by any standards one of
the great fortresses of medieval
Europe." Conwy along with
Harlech is probably the most
impressive of all the Welsh castles.
Both were designed by Edward I's
master castle builder James of St.
George, and while Harlech has a
more storied past, Conwy's eight
massive towers and high curtain
wall are more impressive than
those at Harlech.
Harlech
As if its spectacular situation, foreboding
might, and great power were not
sufficient to ensure the fame of this
magnificent castle, Harlech is also
inseparably linked in Welsh myth with the
tragic heroine of Branwen, the daughter
of Llyr, of the Mabinogion. Mythology
aside, it is small wonder that this is one
of the most familiar strongholds in Britain.
Seen from the bluff of rock to the south of
the town, the view of castle, sea and
mountain panorama is truly breathtaking.
But not only has it an unsurpassed
natural setting, as a piece of castlebuilding Harlech is also unrivalled. Even
after seven centuries, it remains a
testament to a military architect of
genius, Master James of St. George.
Here he adapted the natural strength of
the site to the defensive requirements of
the age, and created a building which
combines a marvellous sense of majesty
with great beauty of line and form.
Beaumaris
Beaumaris, begun in
1295, was the last and
largest of the castles to
be built by King Edward I
in Wales. Raised on an
entirely new site, without
earlier buildings to fetter
its designer's creative
genius, it is possibly the
most sophisticated
example of medieval
military architecture in
Britain.