Contents
Page
Where is Wales?
Travelling to Wales
Travelling in Wales
Leisure in Wales
Who are the Welsh?
Famous buildings in Wales
The castles of Wales
Sport in Wales
Energy in Wales
Holidays in Wales
Time to investigate!
Vocabulary
Page 2
Where is Wales?
Where is Wales?
What is Wales?
In Europe
A country
Wales is in Europe.
Wales is a country in Europe.
[Map]
EUROPE
ASIA
AFRICA
ANTARCTICA
OCEANIA
NORTH AMERICA
SOUTH AMERICA
N
E
S
W
north
south
west
east
Scotland
France (The Channel)
Ireland
England
Page 3
Travelling to Wales
By aeroplane
People travel by aeroplane to Wales.
By ferry
Sometimes people travel by ferry to Wales.
By car
People travel by car to Wales.
People travel here along the A55 in the north and the M4 in the south.
By train and bus
People travel by train to Wales.
People also travel by bus to Wales.
Page 4
Travelling in Wales
[Map key]
Main road
Motorway
Railway
How do people travel in Wales?
People travel by bike in Wales.
People travel by car in Wales.
People travel by bus or train in Wales.
People travel on the CymruExpress bus from north to south.
Some people travel in a small aeroplane in Wales.
People travel from Anglesey airport to Cardiff airport.
Page 5
Leisure in Wales
What kind of things do the Welsh enjoy?
Some people in Wales enjoy:
rugby
football
basketball
ten-pin bowling
cricket
golf
cinema
swimming
sailing
surfing
cycling
walking
Rugby is important in Wales.
The Welsh rugby team wears red.
Page 6
Who are the Welsh?
We remember Saint David on the first of March every year.
Saint David died in about 589.
David’s last words are said to have been “Do the little things”.
The Celts
The Celts were the ancestors of the Welsh.
The Celts lived in Wales.
They lived in the Iron Age (750 BC – 50 AD).
[Caption]
Castell Henllys Celtic Village, Pembrokeshire
The Celts were farmers.
They used animal skins and wool to make clothes.
Lived:
Ate:
Drank:
Wore:
Spoke:
in roundhouses
bread, meat, pulses, cheese
water, mead
woollen clothes, animal skins
a Celtic language, similar to Welsh
Llywelyn the Last (Ein Llyw Olaf = Our Last Leader) (c. 1225–1282)
Llywelyn was the last prince of Wales.
Owain Glyndŵr
Owain wanted a parliament for Wales. He also wanted a church and two universities
for Wales – one in the south and one in the north. Owain had to fight for Wales
against the English.
Owain Glyndŵr’s parliament was in Machynlleth.
[Caption]
Owain Glyndŵr’s banner
The Welsh today
Some famous Welsh people today…
JONES IS A COMMON SURNAME IN WALES!
Page 7
Famous buildings in Wales
There are some very famous buildings in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales.
The Senedd
The Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Centre
There is also a famous building in Aberystwyth.
The National Library of Wales
There are six cathedrals in Wales.
[Map]
Bangor
St Asaph
St Davids
Brecon
Newport
Cardiff
St Davids Cathedral
Saint David lived in the St Davids area in the sixth century.
The cathedral has been there since the twelfth century.
St Asaph Cathedral
There is a memorial outside St Asaph Cathedral to commemorate the work of William
Morgan, who translated the Bible into Welsh, along with those who helped him.
Page 8
The castles of Wales
Wherever you live in Wales, there’s a castle not far from you!
The Norman castles
The Normans came to Wales in 1066.
At first, they built motte and bailey castles, and then stone castles.
Cardiff Castle is a Norman castle.
The castles of Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great was prince of North Wales from 1195 until 1240. Llywelyn’s
people built stone castles. Dolbadarn Castle is one of Llywelyn’s castles.
The castles of Edward I
Edward I was king of England from 1272 until 1307. The Welsh didn’t like Edward I
because he wanted to rule Wales. They didn’t like Edward’s castles because the
Welsh were not permitted to live within the castle walls nor to buy and sell things
within the castle walls. Conwy Castle is one of the castles of Edward I.
CAN YOU NAME ANOTHER CASTLE?
Page 9
Sport in Wales
Rugby
The Welsh like to play and watch rugby.
Many of the big rugby teams are in south Wales.
BUT THEY PLAY RUGBY IN THE NORTH TOO!
The Six Nations Championship is held every year.
Women enjoy playing rugby too. The Welsh women’s team won the Triple Crown for
the first time in 2009!
Football
The first football match to be played on the Racecourse in Wrexham was held in 1906,
between Wales and Ireland. The score was 4–4.
Today, many people enjoy watching football on television.
A famous Welsh footballer
Name:
From:
School:
Born:
Job:
Aaron Ramsay
Caerphilly
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Cwm Rhymni
26 December 1990
Playing football for Arsenal
Page 10
Watersports
surfing
white water rafting
coasteering
sailing
Canolfan Tryweryn, Bala
What?
white water rafting
canoeing
kayaking
Tŵr y Felin (TYF) Centre, St Davids
What?
coasteering
rock climbing
surfing
kayaking
THE WELSH ARE GOOD AT MANY SPORTS!
The London Olympics 2012
30 members of Team GB in the Olympic Games were Welsh. They won 7 medals.
Medals
Who?
Fred Evans
Geraint Thomas
Sarah Thomas
Chris Bartley
Tom James
Hannah Mills
Jade Jones
From?
Cardiff
Cardiff
Merthyr Tydfil
Wrexham
Wrexham
Cardiff
Flint
What?
boxing
cycling
hockey
rowing
rowing
sailing
taekwondo
Medal
silver
gold
bronze
silver
gold
silver
gold
38 members of Team GB in the Paralympic Games in 2012 were Welsh. They won 15
medals – 3 gold, 3 silver and 9 bronze. Do you know who won the medals?
Page 11
Energy in Wales
The Welsh use …
solar energy
hydroelectric power
wind energy
gas power
oil power
coal power
wave energy
Page 12
Where do we convert energy in Wales?
Dinorwig hydroelectric power station
Pembroke oil power station
Aberthaw coal-fired power station
Hydroelectric power at Dinorwig Power Station
There is a very special power station in Llanberis.
They use water to make electricity.
You can walk into the mountain. The mountain is called Elidir Fawr.
Coal
Welsh coal provides important fuel for the power stations. The power stations
generate electricity.
Coal and oil are types of non-renewable energy. This energy will come to an end!
Wind and water are types of renewable energy. This energy will never come to an
end!
Some people think that types of energy such as oil, coal and gas are dirty.
They think that energy such as solar energy and wind energy are clean – green energy.
Page 13
Green energy
Wind turbines
Wind farms
A lot of wind turbines are required in order to generate a lot of energy.
This is a wind farm.
The farm is on top of a hill, because it’s windy there!
SOME PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE THAT GREEN ENERGY IS ENOUGH. THEY
WANT TO USE NUCLEAR POWER.
Here is another wind farm.
The wind farm is in the sea near Rhyl.
The farm is in the sea because it’s windy there.
Some people think that wind turbines are ugly and harmful to nature.
Page 14
Nuclear power
Between the 1960s and the 1990s there were two nuclear power stations in Wales.
Trawsfynydd nuclear power station was in the north-west and Wylfa power station
was on Anglesey.
Trawsfynydd nuclear power station
Wales must have low carbon energy by 2050.
What is the government’s plan?
 to have wind turbines on 2% of Wales’ land;
 to make Anglesey an Energy Enterprise zone – building more wind turbines
on the land and in the sea;
 the Tan 8 scheme to achieve fewer carbon emissions.
The Tan 8 scheme
What will happen under the Tan 8 Scheme?
Will the scheme affect one particular part of Wales?
Why are some people opposed to the Tan 8 Scheme?
Page 15
Holidays in Wales
People like coming on holiday to Wales.
Why?
Wales is beautiful.
Wales is historic.
Wales is modern.
Page 16
Where do they stay?
In a campsite or caravan site
People like to go camping in a tent. They also like to stay in a caravan.
Some people like to stay in a tent or a caravan on a farm.
Bed and breakfast
People like to stay at a bed and breakfast in Wales.
People also like to stay in a cottage or a house where they can make their own food.
Holidays in a seaside hotel
Some people like to stay in a hotel. Sometimes they like to stay in a posh hotel by the
sea.
AND SOME LIKE TO STAY IN A TIPI NEAR ABERPORTH!
Page 17
What activities do people enjoy on holiday in Wales?
Walking holidays in Wales
People like to go on walking holidays.
There are many footpaths in Wales.
The Pembrokeshire coast path is 186 miles long.
According to one travel company, the path is one of the 10 best walks in the world!
Around five hundred thousand (500,000) people go up Snowdon every year. They
don’t all walk! Many go on the mountain railway.
It’s important that visitors come to Wales. But it’s also important to follow the
Countryside Code when walking, in order to keep the area beautiful, and the animals
happy.
WHAT ARE THE RULES OF THE COUNTRYSIDE CODE?
How does Skomer Island care for wildlife?
The island is a nature reserve.
The boat brings visitors to the island in the summer.
The boat brings people to see the birds and the wildlife on the island.
There are 12,000 puffins on Skomer Island in the summer.
The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park controls how many people go to the island
every day in the summer. This protects the island’s wildlife.
Page 18
Holidays in the capital
We like to go on holiday to Cardiff.
It’s a good place to …
go shopping
go on a boat on the river Taf
see a game of rugby
go out to eat
go on the big wheel in Cardiff Bay
Wales in the future!
More visitors to Wales will be a good thing because it will mean…




more money for Wales
more work for the people of Wales
more leisure activities for visitors and the people of Wales too
more money to improve facilities – walking/travelling/etc.
More visitors to Wales will be a bad thing because it will mean …




too much traffic on the roads
paths will be destroyed
more holiday accommodation rather than houses for local people
animals/plants disappearing; farm animals frightened
What do you think?
Page 19
Time to investigate!
LOOK FOR THE ANSWERS IN THIS BOOK!
How do people travel in Wales?
Who were the Celts?
Is Wales famous for its sports?
What kind of buildings are there in Wales?
How does Wales get its energy?
Where are the wind farms in Wales?
Why do people come on holiday to Wales?
What do people do on holiday in Wales?
What kind of sports can you do in Wales?
Page 20
LOOK IN OTHER SOURCES!
What leisure activities do people do in your area?
What is the story of Llywelyn the Last?
What is the story of William Morgan?
Which famous Welsh people can speak Welsh?
Which Welsh athletes competed in the Olympics or the Paralympics?
What interesting buildings are there in your area?
Is there a power station/wind farm in your area?
What do you think about renewable energy and non-renewable energy?