Contents
Where is Wales?
The Welsh flag
Travelling to Wales
Travelling in Wales
What is there in Wales?
What kind of place is Wales?
Where do people live in Wales?
Living in the capital
Time to investigate!
Vocabulary
Page
Page 2
Where is Wales?
Where is Wales?
In Europe
What is Wales?
A country
north – Scotland
south – France (The Bristol Channel)
west – Ireland
east – England
Page 3
The Welsh flag
Why is it red, white and green?
red – someone brave and strong
white – peace
green – hope, love
A dragon, like the flag of Henry VII, King of England (1457–1509)
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Travelling to Wales
By aeroplane
People fly to Wales by aeroplane.
Sometimes people fly in a big aeroplane to Heathrow in England.
Then people sometimes fly in a small aeroplane to Cardiff in Wales.
Heathrow airport
Cardiff airport
People also fly from Scotland and Ireland to Cardiff airport.
By ferry
Sometimes people travel by ferry to Wales.
People travel by ferry to Fishguard, Holyhead and Pembroke Dock.
I’ve travelled by ferry from Holyhead to Ireland to watch a rugby match!
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By car
People travel by car to Wales.
People travel here on the A55 in the north and the M4 in the south.
People cross the Severn Bridge to Wales.
Do you know how much it costs to cross the Severn Bridge?
By train and bus
People travel by train to Wales.
People also travel by bus to Wales.
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Travelling in Wales
People travel by car, bus or train in Wales.
How do you travel from Wrexham to Swansea?
Many people travel by car because there is no train or bus in a town or village.
People travel on the CymruExpress bus from north to south.
The bus goes from Bangor to Cardiff in about 8 hours.
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Some people fly in a small aeroplane in Wales.
People fly from Anglesey airport (in Valley) to Cardiff airport.
The aeroplane flies from Valley to Cardiff in about an hour.
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What is there in Wales?
a river
the River Conwy
What else?
a lake
Lake Vyrnwy
a beach
Burry Port beach
an island
Bardsey Island
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a mountain
Cadair Idris
The story goes that Idris the giant used the mountain as a seat to watch the stars!
a forest
Bwlch Nant yr Arian
a bay
Cardigan Bay
a peninsula
the Lleyn Peninsula
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What kind of place is Wales?
Snowdon (1085m)
brown = high land
green = low land
high land 40%
low land 60%
There is high land in Wales.
There are very high mountains in north Wales. The mountains are called the
Mountains of Snowdonia.
There are also high mountains in mid Wales. The mountains are called the Elenydd
Mountains.
There are also high mountains in the south. They are called the Brecon Beacons.
Pen-y-fan (886m)
The Brecon Beacons
There are forests in Wales. Coed y Brenin in north Wales is famous.
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Beaches
The sea surrounds most of Wales.
Wales has 2120 km (1317 miles) of coastline.
There are beaches in Wales.
a pebble beach
a sandy beach
Islands
There are also islands in Wales.
Skomer Island
Llanddwyn Island
Caldey Island
Flat Holm
Llanddwyn Island is famous because of Saint Dwynwen!
Anglesey is the biggest island in Wales.
There are many puffins on Puffin Island.
Ynys Seiriol is called Puffin Island in English.
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Rivers
There are many rivers in Wales.
They flow into the sea or into another river.
Aber (estuary) = where a river flows into the sea or into another river.
That’s why many place names in Wales start with ‘Aber’.
Abertawe (Swansea)
The River Tawe goes into the sea here.
Aberconwy
The River Conwy goes into the sea here.
Can you think of other names?
The rivers Severn, Wye and Dee are big rivers and they begin in Wales and then flow
through England.
The River Towy is the longest river in Wales. It is 121 km (70 miles) long.
The rivers Usk, Conwy, Clwyd and Teifi are also quite long.
Lakes
There are many lakes in Wales. Bala Lake is the biggest natural lake in Wales. It has
an area of 4.84 square kilometres.
Some lakes are man-made. They store water.
a dam = a man-made lake for storing water.
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Mountains
There are many mountains in Wales because there is a lot of high land in Wales.
There are 5 peaks over 1000 metres in Snowdonia. Here are some of them:
Peak
Height (metres m)
Snowdon
Carnedd Llywelyn
Carnedd Dafydd
1085m
1064m
1044m
Snowdon
the Snowdon mountain railway
Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales – 1085 metres. The train goes up and
down Snowdon. There is a visitor centre at the summit, called Hafod Eryri. Around
five hundred thousand (500,000) people go up Snowdon every year.
Hi! I’ve had a very good day today, but I’m tired. I’ve just walked up and down
Snowdon. I saw the train going past from a distance. There were a lot of people
walking the path. The path was very steep at times. I went to Hafod Eryri café for
something to eat and drink.
The weather was good, and the sun was warm. The view from the summit was
wonderful. I saw Ireland and the Isle of Man! I saw the rivers and the lakes and the
rocks from the top of Snowdon. Everything looked so small. Have you walked up
Snowdon? Looking forward to showing you the pictures.
’Bye for now,
Anni
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Where do people live in Wales?
On the coast
Aberdyfi
In the countryside
Kerry
In the town
Denbigh
In the city
Newport
Page 15
A lot of people live in south-east Wales.
They live in Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and the Valleys.
People also live in villages in the countryside and on the coast.
Fewer people live in the villages.
Abersoch is a village on the Lleyn Peninsula in north-west Wales.
Abersoch is on the coast.
There is a primary school in Abersoch.
There are not many shops in Abersoch.
Abersoch.
Thousands of people come to Abersoch in the summer.
Why?
Abersoch is lovely. There are good beaches there.
There is a big festival in Abersoch in the summer, called Wakestock.
I’ve watched the surfing at Wakestock!
People live in Crymych. Crymych is a small village in the country.
There is a primary school and a secondary school there.
There is also a chapel and a hall there.
Crymych
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A lot of people live in towns in Wales.
Aberystwyth is a town on the west Wales coast.
Aber … where the river flows into the sea!
There is a good beach in Aberystwyth and people like to swim in the sea, play on the
beach and walk along the prom.
There is a castle in Aberystwyth. It was built in 1277.
There is a university in Aberystwyth.
There is a very big library in Aberystwyth – the National Library of Wales. There are
lots of old books, pictures, maps, photographs, music and films there.
There is an underground tunnel near the library! They hid valuable pictures, books
and letters there during the Second World War.
But there are also new towns in Wales. Cwmbrân is a new town. Cwmbrân is in
south-east Wales. Cwmbrân is 5 miles north of Newport.
Harri: Why is Cwmbrân a new town?
Anna: Cwmbrân was created in 1949 because there were too many people living and
working in the city, Newport.
Harri: What happened?
Anna: They planned the town for 55,000 people. They built 9527 houses, a new
shopping centre, 250 shops, 4 car parks, a post office, a bus station, a railway,
a supermarket, Tŷ Glyndŵr (offices), a leisure centre and a secondary school.
Harri: Wow! I’d like to go to see Cwmbrân.
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There are 6 cities in Wales – Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, St Davids, Bangor and
St Asaph.
There is a cathedral in a city. The cathedrals of Wales are very old.
St Davids
Bangor is in a very beautiful area close to the Menai Strait, Anglesey and Snowdonia.
There are schools in Bangor. There is also a university.
The pier opened in 1896 and is 458 metres long.
Thousands of people used to come here from Liverpool on steamships. They came
here on holiday.
The bridge from Bangor to Anglesey is called the Menai Bridge. Thomas Telford
built the bridge between 1819 and 1826. The big ships could pass under the bridge.
People can travel from London to Holyhead on the A5 over the Menai Bridge!
The Menai Bridge
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Living in the capital
Cardiff is the capital city of Wales.
Over 330,250 people live in the capital city.
Cardiff is in south-east Wales.
Some people live in the centre of Cardiff.
People like living in Cardiff because there are a lot of things to do. Cardiff is a good
place to shop, enjoy a carnival, watch rugby, ice-skate and go to see a show.
Cardiff has changed a lot.
In the docks now there is the Senedd, the Millenium Centre, a port and hotels.
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Time to investigate!
Look for the answers in this book!
How do you travel to Wales?
How do you travel in Wales?
What is there in Wales?
What is the highest mountain in Wales called?
What is the longest river in Wales called?
Do you remember why many place names in Wales start with ‘Aber’?
Why are there so many beaches in Wales?
What is on Puffin Island?
Where do people live in Wales?
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Look in other sources!
How do people travel in your area?
How high is the nearest mountain to you?
What is the river nearest to you called?
Is there a place beginning with ‘Aber’ in your area?
Where is the nearest town to you? How many people live there?
What kind of beach is the one nearest to you?
Is there a cathedral in your area? Who built the cathedral?