The Rough Guide To Wales 4

by Rough Guides

INTRODUCTION Perched on the rocky fringe of western Europe, Wales often gets short shrift in comparison to its Celtic cousins of Ireland and Scotland. Neither so internationally renowned nor so romantically perceived, the country is usually defined – if it is known at all – by its male voice choirs and tightly-packed pit villages. But there’s far more to the place than the hackneyed stereotypes, and at its best, Wales is the most beguiling part of the British Isles. Even its comparative anonymity serves it where the tourist dollar has swept away some of the more gritty aspects of local life in parts of Ireland and Scotland, reducing ancient cultures to misty Celtic pastiche, Wales remains brittle and brutal enough to be real, and diverse enough to remain endlessly interesting. Within its small mass of land, Wales boasts some stunning physical attributes. Its mountain ranges, ragged coastline, lush valleys and old-fashioned market towns all invite long and repeated visits. The culture, too, is compelling, whether in its Welsh- or English-language manifestations, its Celtic or its industrial traditions, its ancient cornerstones of belief or its contemporary chutzpah. Recent years have seen a huge and dizzying upsurge in Welsh self-confidence, a commodity no longer so dependent upon comparison with its big and powerful neighbour of England. Popular culture – especially music and film – has contributed much to this revival, as has the arrival of a National Assembly in 1999, the first all-Wales tier of government for six hundred years. After centuries of enforced subjugation, the national spirit is undergoing a remarkable renaissance. The ancient symbol of the country, y ddraig goch or the red dragon, seen fluttering on flags everywhere in Wales, is waking up from what seems like a very long slumber. Once you’ve crossed the border from England into Wales, the differences in appearance, attitude and culture between the two countries are immediately obvious. Wales shares many physical and emotional similarities with the other Celtic lands – Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Brittany and even Asturias and Galicia in northwest Spain. A rocky and mountainous landscape, whose colours are predominantly grey and green, a thinly scattered, largely rural population, a culture rooted deeply in folklore and legend and the survival of a distinct, ancient language are all hallmarks of Wales and its sister countries. To the visitor, it is perhaps the Welsh language, the strongest survivor of the Celtic tongues, that most obviously marks out the country. Tongue-twisting village names and vast bilingual signposts point to a glorious tale of endurance against the odds, slap next to the heartland of English language and culture, the most expansionist in history. Everyone in Wales speaks English, but a quarter of the population also speak TV and radio stations broadcast in it, all children learn it at school and visitors too are encouraged to try speaking at least a fragment of the rich, earthy tones of one of Europe’s oldest living languages.

Genres: Travel, Reference, Nonfiction, Guidebook

Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

Founded in 1982, Rough Guides Ltd is a British publisher of print and digital guide book, phrasebooks and inspirational travel reference books, and a provider of personalised trips. Since November 2017, Rough Guides has been owned by APA Publications UK Ltd, the parent company of Insight Guides.
With the company's personalised trip service encompassing over eighty destinations, and 200 guidebooks covering 180 destinations, Rough Guides is a multi-faceted travel platform, with global sales of 100 million guidebooks since their inception.

Reviews

[Yvonne]

I did not like the sarcastic comments of the writers of this guide, especially when they don't inform themselves well enough before pointing their arrows.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a handy little guide to the main tourist sites across Wales and is certainly handy for those with some familiarity with the country but may not be enough for those without. Admittedly I have managed to tick off a lot of places in here but there are a few that still need a visit.

[Darren Jolley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book useful, as I visit Wales on a regular basis. It is slightly annoying that they spell whisky as whiskey (we do not spell it that way on this side of the Irish sea and I see that there is not the same mistake with “The Rough Guide To Scotland”).

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was The Rough Guide To Wales which is an excellent book which I bought from Amazon. There are only 3 big cities in Wales which are Cardiff, Swansea & Newport & Newport was declared a city in 2002. All 3 are in the south and are ports. Most people live in the south because traditionally they mined coal and iron ore there. Wales got its own National Assembly in Cardiff in 1999. Many of the buildings in the centre of Cardiff are very stylish & it's becoming a bit of a tourist attraction. Much of the centre of Swansea - Wale's 2nd city - has been modernized too. Considering Wales is only a small country with 3 million inhabitants it does have a lot of tourist attractions. There is Britain's smallest city St Davids which has a very impressive cathedral where the patron saint is buried. In times past many people made pilgrimages here. In central Wales Machynlleth houses the renewable resource centre where you can find out about looking after the environment. Not that far away is Dinorwic which is a power station built inside a mountain and when the National Grid is short of electricity sluice gates are opened allowing water to go from a high up reservoir to a lower one and this creates a huge amount of electricity. When the National Grid is less busy the water is pumped back up. They do tours around Dinorwic. There is also the Blaneau Ffestiniog Railway which is a narrow gauge but links the North Coast Railway to the cambrian Coast line. The entire coastline of Wales has been connected up into 1 very long footpath & this along with other long distance footpaths like Offa's Dyke are very popular with tourists. Near Rhayader in Central Wales is the Elan Valley Reservoir System which stretches for 9 miles and has a visitors centre. These were built to supply Birmingham with water and the way land was usurped at the time was very controversial. There are many castles in Wales and some of the best preserved are at Harlech & Caernarvon in North Wales. Mount Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales and has a narrow gauge railway that runs up it. One of the beauties of Wales is it has a lot of the celtic culture of Scotland & Ireland but is less commercialized.

[Greg Scowen · Rating 2 out of 5]

We have now used Rough Guides to travel extensively to many countries, and have typically found there to be no better guide. Unfortunately, the Rough Guide to Wales seems to let the series down a little.

We are fans of getting off the beaten track, and we certainly did that when following this guide. However, some of the destinations we went out of way too (often by hours) just weren't all that the guide left us expecting. Often we would arrive at a muddy field with a mediocre attraction, having expected a spectacular view or ancient monument. We also failed to stay in any accommodation mentioned in the guide, but this was due to lack of availability, albeit out of season. It seems many places in Wales won't accept one-night stays. Forewarning of this would be beneficial.

Typical of Rough Guides, though, the restaurant reviews, and a couple of mentioned attractions were worth visiting. The guide appears to be written by an older person that is particularly keen on the inside of churches, and may not appeal so much to people looking for something a bit more adventurous. For us, this was fine... as history is what draws us on our travels.

I would still suggest anyone planning a Wales holiday should buy the book. We didn't find a better one. Also, visit Wales... it is worth the effort.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the brutal honesty in this guide. It's helped me to focus some on where I'd like to go. It seems one of the big challenges is getting around in Wales and I wish it had more suggested itineraries with details on buses and trains. Originally I was thinking Wales would be the only place in the UK where I'd rent a car then someone told me if I was brave enough to get a car in Wales where most of the streets are two-way single lanes, then I could get a car for the whole trip which made me worry that I didn't understand what I was getting myself into.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very thorough....perhaps a bit too much. It contains the facts and information, but there is so much that it's not really plausible as a take along guide. It's more for the months-ahead planning read.
It is certainly a good read and good reference, though not as excited as some others.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read and well worth getting if you'll be visiting Wales.

[Maddalenah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rough Guides are my favorite travel guides, and this was as satisfying as the others

[Celtic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terrible cover and needs a lot more pictures; otherwise OK.

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very thorough overview of pretty much everything there is to see or do in Wales.

[David Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems to be very thorough, but may spend a bit too much time on restaurants and accommodations and not enough on things to see.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first rough guide. I managed to put together a list a route for the things I want to see in Wales. It was a great jumping off point.