Wales l0l · you read through Wales l0l. ... Languages: English and Welsh. ... As part of the European Union and the United Kingdom, Wales elects four

Walesl0l

Keep this page folded out asyou read through Wales l0l.The numbers that appear onthis map relate to some of theindividual numbered facts youread. They show you where inWales the geography, events,history and tourist attractionsin this book are to be found.

68Original thinkers welcome

Aberystwyth

St David’s

Tenby

Milford Haven

Swansea

To Cork

To Rosslare

To Rosslare

To Dublin

To Dublin/Belfast/Douglas

Wrexham

Holyhead LlandudnoAnglesey

GowerNewport

Manchester80 km50 miles

M56

M4

CARDIFF

Hay-on-Wye

M53

London205 km128 miles

Birmingham97 km60 miles

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks

Bristol

Cardiff

19

7049

78

66

88

16

36

5041

18

50

4

62

6023

14, 29, 47, 51,59, 93

5

64

46

Llangollen

Bangor

Fishguard

Brecon

Newtown

Liverpool

Brecon Beacons

ClwydianRange

Pembrokeshire Coast

Snowdonia

Location:Wales is in Western Europe on the western part of mainland Britain, bordering England to the east and surrounded by sea to the north, south and west.

Size:20,732 km2 (8,005 square miles). 250 kms (155 miles) north to south and 200 kms (124 miles) east to west at its widest. Only 75 kms (47 miles) from the English border to the coast at its narrowest.

Population:2.9 million (2001 census). That’s an average of 140 people per km2 (361 people per square mile).

Languages:English and Welsh. Both languages have equal legal status. English is spoken as a fi rst or second language by nearly everyone, whilst Welsh is spoken as a fi rst or second language by over 20% of the population.

Government:As part of the European Union and the United Kingdom, Wales elects four Members to the European Parliament and 40 Members to the UK Parliament. At the national level, government is provided by the National Assembly for Wales, made up of Assembly Members, from which the Welsh Assembly Government is formed.

Geography:Ranges of the hills and mountains are the main feature, especially in Mid and North Wales. Valleys radiate across the south, linking the mountains of Mid Wales to the coast. The south-east is home to the largest centres of population: Cardiff, the capital city, Newport and Swansea.

See Wales at a glance

Aberaeron

11

20Llyn Llydaw

Llanymynech60

Abergavenny

Bethesda


Aberystwyth

St David’s

Tenby

Milford Haven

Swansea

To Cork

To Rosslare

To Rosslare

To Dublin

To Dublin/Belfast/Douglas

Wrexham

Holyhead LlandudnoAnglesey

GowerNewport

Manchester80 km50 miles

M56

M4

CARDIFF

Hay-on-Wye

M53

London205 km128 miles

Birmingham97 km60 miles

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks

Bristol

Cardiff

19

7049

78

66

88

16

36

5041

18

50

4

62

6023

14, 29, 47, 51,59, 93

5

64

46

Llangollen

Bangor

Fishguard

Brecon

Newtown

Liverpool

Brecon Beacons

ClwydianRange

Pembrokeshire Coast

Snowdonia


Size:20,732 km2 (8,005 square miles). 250 kms (155 miles) north to south and 200 kms (124 miles) east to west at its widest. Only 75 kms (47 miles) from the English border to the coast at its narrowest.

Population:2.9 million (2001 census). That’s an average of 140 people per km2 (361 people per square mile).

Languages:English and Welsh. Both languages have equal legal status. English is spoken as a fi rst or second language by nearly everyone, whilst Welsh is spoken as a fi rst or second language by over 20% of the population.

Government:As part of the European Union and the United Kingdom, Wales elects four Members to the European Parliament and 40 Members to the UK Parliament. At the national level, government is provided by the National Assembly for Wales, made up of Assembly Members, from which the Welsh Assembly Government is formed.

Geography:Ranges of the hills and mountains are the main feature, especially in Mid and North Wales. Valleys radiate across the south, linking the mountains of Mid Wales to the coast. The south-east is home to the largest centres of population: Cardiff, the capital city, Newport and Swansea.


Aberaeron

11

20Llyn Llydaw

Llanymynech60

Abergavenny

Bethesda


Size:20,782 km² (8,024 sq miles). 229 kms (142 miles) north to south and 183 kms (114 miles) east to west at its widest. Only 57 kms (36 miles) from the English border to the coast at its narrowest (OS 2013).

Population:3,063,456 (2011 Census. That’s an average of 148 people per km² (382 per square mile).

Languages:English and Welsh. Bothlanguages have equal legal status. English is spoken as a first or second language by nearly everyone, whilst Welsh is spoken as a first or second language by over 20% of the population.

Government:As part of the European Union and the United Kingdom, Wales elects four Members to the European Parliament and 40 Members to the UK Parliament. At the national level, the Welsh Government is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, which has 60 Members.

Geography:Ranges of the hills andmountains are the main feature, especially in Mid and North Wales. Valleys radiate across the south, linking the mountains of Mid Wales to the coast. The south-east is hometo the largest centres ofpopulation: Cardiff, the capital city, Newport and Swansea.


Welcome to

WalesLinked by land to England,by air to the world, and byattitude to anyone who valuesoriginal thinking, loves culture,craves opportunity or simply wants room to breathe. Where is Wales? You’ll find the answerto that on the fold-out page opposite. What is Wales? You’llfind the answer to that on every page of this booklet. You’ll seethat, more than anything, Walesand ‘Welshness’ is about original

thinking. An original language(but yes, we all speak Englishtoo), an original people, an original spirit. We’ve gatheredtogether l0l of the originalthoughts from and aboutWales. Our history, businesscommunity, lifestyle, landscape and culture. Enjoy exploringthe 20,872 km² (8,024 squaremiles), 3 million people, £47 billion economy and 3,000 year history that is Wales.

Fact Pgl–l0 Original thoughts 1ll–26 History & Geography 927–37 Government & Economy 1938–5l Language & Culture 2752–7l Leisure & Tourism 3572–83 Education & Health 4984–l00 Trade & Investment 57l0l Original thinkers welcome 67

1st

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Original thoughts 2

First for business; first for lifestyle .

You’d expect a place that cherishes original thinking to have a lot of ‘firsts’ to its name. Wales was the first industrialised nation and home to Aneurin Bevan, architect of the world’s first national health service. Today, we continue our list of firsts by being a first choice for those seeking a safe and friendly place to study and a great business environment.

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2The dragon is the perfectsymbol of our original thinking:bold and imaginative. Maybethat’s why we’re the onlycountry in the world to enter the third millennium with the same symbol on our national flag that we had when we entered the second millennium.

Sometimes an original thought is so good it sticks.Forever.

4Original thoughts

3“See you on the beach with your board at 5:31pm.” In Wales the work/life balance isn’t a precarious tightrope act or a well-intended but impractical ambition. It’s a daily reality.

4Most of the world’s toll bridges are two-way affairs: you pay when you go over them, whichever way you are going.As a land of original thinkers,it won’t surprise you to find out that Wales is different. Cross theSevern Bridge into Wales and

you have to pay a toll – but then you are entering one of themost beautiful and fascinating parts of the world. Re-cross theSevern Bridge to go to England,however, and you won’t have to pay a thing. Think about it.Why is that?

Anything good is worth paying for.

‘All aboard for original thinking.’The world’s first fare-payingpassenger railway took to therails between Swansea andMumbles on March 25th, 1807.

What have an ostrich, a vegetable and a flower got in common?The three feathers of thePrince of Wales, the daffodiland the leek are all symbolsof Wales. The first Black Princewho became Prince of Walesadopted the ostrich feathers after the Battle of Crécy.The leek commemoratesanother battle, fought against the Saxons in a field of leeks.And the daffodil? Well, in Welsh,the daffodil happens to sharea common name (cenhinenPedr) with the leek (cenhinen)and it’s a bit more colourful to wear in your jacket buttonhole.

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Original thoughts

7 8The World’s first Fair Trade Nation.In 2008 an independent panel assessed that Welsh schools, universities and colleges, along with towns, local and national government were doing so much to promote a fairer deal for farmers in the developing world that we were qualified to call ourselves a Fair Trade Nation.

March 1st.The first day of spring and the National Day of Wales.St David’s Day is the first of the UK’s patron saints’ days celebrated every year.

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Our agriculture and coastlinemean that from lamb to lobstersand Caerphilly cheese to laverbread, all Welsh people have a bit of the gourmet in them.But with so much to do, speedand practicality sometimes win the day. Here’s the recipe forWales’ favourite snack called‘Caws Wedi Pobi’ in Welsh.In English it’s called ‘WelshRarebit’. Try it to enjoy a little taste of Wales.

A taste of Wales.

Is ‘Croeso’ Welsh for hello?You are very likely to come across the Welsh word ‘Croeso’ on your travels – on road signs as you enter Wales, from the 117,000 people who work in tourism and as a greeting from the local barman. It doesn’t just mean ‘Hello’ but ‘Welcome’. So Croeso i Gymru – Welcome to Wales!

8Original thoughts

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11A bird’s eye view of 200 years of history.

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Once the largest slate quarries in the world, Penrhyn Quarry in Bethesda, North Wales is now home to the longest and fastest zip wire rides in Europe.

Celts and Conquerors.We Welsh trace our originalthinking and love of poetry,music and art (as well as our language) back to the Celts.From 500 BC, they were thedominant force in Wales, until the arrival of the Romans.Like the Normans after them,the Romans built many afortification to subdue the unruly Welsh. The Romansand Normans have gone, but we’ve kept the castles. Thereare hundreds of them left for visitors to enjoy today.

Wales. Popular since 250,000 BC. That’s when it’s thought Wales was first inhabited. We waitedanother 245,000 years before building anything you can still see today. ‘Cromlechs’ or standing stone structures were built just before the Iron Age.

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10History and Geography

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Coal-powered history.Our natural resources fuelledthe world in the 18th and 19thcenturies and changed Walesin just 30 years into somethingcompletely original: the world’s first industrialised nation.By 1913, over 250,000 minerswere producing over 57 milliontons of coal and Cardiff was the world’s biggest port.

Saying ‘yes’ or ‘ie’.In September 1997, the majority of voters said yes (or ‘ie’ in Welsh) to the establishment of a national assembly. For the first time in over 400 years, Wales became a distinct constitutional entity within the UK when HM The Queen opened The National Assembly for Wales in May 1999.

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17An ancient land.Literally.Around St David’s Head in the far south-west of Wales, we have some of the oldest exposed rocks on the planet. Whilst our landscapes, valleys, hills and coastline are all home-grown, the name ‘Wales’ is not. It is derived from the ancient Anglo Saxon for ‘foreigners’ or ‘wealas’: hence ‘Wales’.

Mt Everest.It may not be in Wales, butit gets its English languagename from WelshmanSir George Everest fromCrickhowell. Proof thatwherever you find a challenge,you’ll find a Welsh persontaking it on (in his case, asSurveyor General of India in 1865). Snowdon, however, is in Wales. OK, at 1,085 metres (3,560 feet) it may be more than a few centimetres shorter than Everest, but we’re just as proud of it. It’s the highest peak in the UK outside Scotland. Which is probably why the first team to successfully scale Everest in 1953 trained on Snowdon.


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The Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and....Pontcystyllte Aqueduct. When ‘the stream in the sky’ was awarded World Heritage status by UNESCO in 2009 it became the latest Welsh site to join the Castles of King Edward 1 and Blaenavon Landscape on this illustrious list of places of ‘outstanding universal value’.

Are there any deserts in Wales?Strictly speaking, no. But filmmakers of the epic Lawrenceof Arabia were so impressed bythe Merthyr Mawr sand dunesnear Bridgend that they decidedto let them stand in for theWadi Rum desert in Jordan.Or maybe they just rememberedthat original thinker and authorof ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’,T. E. Lawrence (or ‘Lawrenceof Arabia’), was himself fromTremadog, Wales.


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Like what you see?We’ve got 398 natural lakes not counting the 90 we built ourselves.

Rain: a Welsh invention.Wales has a temperate climate, thanks to the Atlantic. Like therest of the British Isles, it canbe a bit cloudy, but rain fallsmainly between October andJanuary. After all, you don’t getto have stunning green valleyslike ours without watering them a bit. Maybe that’s why,after pioneering the use ofRadar in the second worldwar, Eddie Bowen of Gendrosin Swansea went on to invent artificial rain in the 1950s.

21 22If you were designing a country, how green would you make it? 50%, 70%, 80%?Four-fifths of Wales is given over to agriculture. So, whilst in our urban landscapes you’ll find plenty of cosmopolitan life,we’ve preserved much of ournatural landscape as originally intended. 80% of Wales isagricultural – and woodland covers a further 12.5%.


You are staring at an AONB.No, that’s not another Welshplace name: it’s short for ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’.Wales is home to the first everarea to win this accolade: the Gower Peninsula.

Highs and lows.Wales is big on mountains.Snowdonia links to theCambrian Mountains, whichlink to the Brecon Beaconsand the Black Mountains in the south. And where you gethighs, you also get lows – likethe awesome green valleys for which we’re so famous.

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Officially beautiful.26% of Wales’ land surfaceis designated as eitherNational Park or as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Why would you want to walk right around a country?Because in Wales you can. In 2012 the Wales Coast Path became the longest continuous path along a nation’s coastline. If you’re looking for a challenge you can do all 870 miles in one go but most of us take it in shorter distances, with stretches which are wheelchair friendly.

Yes, we know the coast only goes around 3 sides of Wales – but if you also walk Offa’s Dyke, the border with England, you can walk right around the country.


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27Original Thinker, MP.Some of the heavyweights of British politics, or ‘MP’s – Members of Parliament – have come from Wales. Like British Prime Minister in the last century David Lloyd George MP, with his original thoughts on social welfare. Or Aneurin Bevan MP, with his very original invention of the world’s first national health service.

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From a thought to a proposal to one of Europe’s newest democracies.What originally was anaspiration – devolution – becamea reality in May 1999. Two yearsafter the people of Wales votedto establish a national assembly,the first election of memberstook place. Wales now has adevolved government within theUK. It just shows the power ofan idea when its time has come.

29Legislation – made in Wales.From its early beginnings in 1999, the National Assembly now has full law-making powers. A 2011 referendum confirmed the support of the Welsh people for legislation to be made in Wales for Wales in relation to most public services, as well as culture, economic development and the environment.

30A public building completed on time and on budget? Now there’s an original thought.The stunning National Assembly for Wales building in Cardiff Bay, which was designed by original thinker Richard Rogers (of Pompidou Centre, Paris fame) and opened in 2006, houses the 60 electedAssembly Members (AMs).Wales still elects 40 Membersof Parliament (MPs) to theUK Parliament in London andthe Secretary of State forWales is in the Cabinet thatsits at the heart of the UKGovernment. We also electfour Members of the EuropeanParliament (MEPs).

20Government and Economy

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31Forward thinking.It’s not just our NationalAssembly and its buildingthat have been designedto meet current and futureneeds. From its creation, theNational Assembly for Waleshas always had a statutoryresponsibility to promotesustainable development.

32“Wales is a single noun, but a plural experience.”This quote from culturalhistorian Dai Smith is not just true of the inclusive, social nature of our people. It’s also true of our politics. Assembly Members have regularly used both English and Welsh as the working languages of debate and government. And in 2012 The National Assembly for Wales (Official Languages) Act became the first Welsh Bill to receive Royal Assent following the 2011 referendum on law making powers.


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To find out what the light’s like on the top floor of a Kuala Lumpur skyscraper, come to Cardiff.The Skydome at the WelshSchool of Architecture cansimulate the sky conditions atany time of day at any place in the world. It uses 640 lamps towork out how to maximise theuse of natural light in a building,reduce the use of electric light and control solar radiation.

Big ideas are a speciality in Wales.Like the advanced semi-conductor wafers manufactured by IQE’s plc of St Mellons, South Wales. As well as enabling a range of optical applications, IQE’s wafers are faster and more powerful than traditional silicon and are exported all over the world. Maybe we’ll have to rename the St Mellons area the Semiconductor Wafer Valley.

34Small country, big economy.£47billion big to be almost exact. Today that economy is driven by the original thinking of workers in 21st Century sectors, such as advanced materials and manufacturing, life sciences and creative industries.

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Fancy a £5 billion holiday?Tourism in Wales employs 117,000 people and earns some £5 billion a year.

So a fair amount of the currency struck by the Royal Mint in Llantrisant for the UK and other countries finds its way back home to Wales.

Where would the internet be without Wales?Welshman Donald Davies invented ‘Packet Switching’ – sending large amounts of data across the world by breaking it up into smaller packets of data which move independently through a series of networks.

Today we’re committed to making superfast broadband available to 96% of all homes and businesses.

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Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychw yrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Language of Europe.We call Welsh the “language of heaven” but these days it is has its place in Europe too.

Since 2008 Ministers at the Council of the European Union have had the option of speaking Welsh with full translation into the EU’s 23 official languages.

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Wales. Cymru. So good they named it twice.Every road sign in Wales isan opportunity to brush upon your Welsh. How many othercountries give drivers a freelanguage lesson?

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Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychw yrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

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Welsh: From Arthur to Oscar. Did you know that two Welsh language films have been nominated for Oscars – Hedd Wyn and Solomon a Gaenor under the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category?

It’s also quite possible that the first round table discussions were held in the language. The earliest references to King Arthur and Merlin are all in Welsh!

Welsh is a Celtic language and has special legal status. With 562,000 speakers, it is the most widely spoken Celtic language. Over 40% of 3 to 15 year olds can speak Welsh. There are dedicated Welsh language radio and TV channels. And the 1993 Welsh Language Act and 2011 Welsh Language Measure say that public bodies must give Welsh and English equal status. There is even a Commissioner to make sure that happens.

What you see (and say) is what you get. It’s not just the Welsh peoplewho are straightforward and open. Our language is too. It’s a phonetic language where what you see is what you get. Which arguably makes it easy for even beginners to pronounce. Although visitors to the village with Britain’s longest place name, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogery-chwyrndrobwllllantysilio-gogogoch may not agree.

28Language and Culture

And the prize for most original National Anthem goes to…Yes, it’s Wales. ‘Hen Wlad fyNhadau’ or ‘Land of my Fathers’(you can see a few bars of ithere) is one of the world’soldest national anthems still used today. Written by fatherand son team Evan James (lyrics)and James James (melody),“Hen Wlad fy Nhadau”, celebratesthe landscape, love of music,poetry and sense of communitythat unites Wales and the Welsh to this day. Have a try at thefew bars reproduced here – guaranteed to stir the soul.

42Is it a record?Another Welsh world recordgoes to Spillers Records in Cardiff. Established in 1894, it’s the world’s oldest record shop. Pop in and ask for some famous Welsh artists, from show-stopping originalsShirley Bassey or Tom Jonesto the contemporary soundsof the Manic Street Preachers, or Cate Le Bon. In the mood forsomething more classical? Trythe internationally famousbaritone Bryn Terfel or thewonderfully sublime voice of Katherine Jenkins.

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These famous lines are fromthe poem ‘Leisure’ by WilliamHenry Davies. Davies was awanderer and a highly originalWelsh poet. As you can tell, hewas a man who knew how toappreciate a landscape.


‘What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.’

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Nothing comes close to Welsh harmony singing.Hear the voices of theMorriston Orpheus MaleVoice Choir in close harmonyand it’s as close as you’ll get to perfection. Like many other Welsh choirs, they tour the world taking this unique musical form to millions. TheWelsh National Opera alsotours, as well as performing atthe Wales Millennium Centrein Cardiff Bay, as does the BBCNational Orchestra of Wales.

45Sit in on an Eisteddfod.We have our own annualweek-long celebration ofthe originality of Welsh culture. Our music, poetry, dance, literature and crafts. It’s called The National Eisteddfod of Wales. The name comes from the Welsh ‘eistedd’, ‘to sit’ (though feel free to dance, join in or tour the many different attractions rather than just ‘sitting’ there). And we don’t just champion home-grown originality and creativity, we encourage it wherever it originates from at events such as the International Eisteddfod at Llangollen.

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As original as the performances it hosts.The brief to the architects of the Wales Millennium Centre was to create something ‘unmistakably Welsh and internationally outstanding’. That’s a motto we try to live up to in everything we do. The result is one of the largest theatres in the world, hosting ballet, opera, theatre and dance.

47Poetry wherever you look.‘In the mustardseed sun, by fulltilt river and switchback sea where the cormorants scud…’These opening lines from DylanThomas’ ‘Poem on his Birthday’reveal two other great Welsh loves. Our landscape and the poetry it inspires. We are true Celts, with an in-built feeling for poetry and art. (Robert Zimmerman was so inspired by the work of Dylan Thomas that he changed his name to ‘Bob Dylan’.)

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Are there little green men in Wales?Well, not so much little green men but certainly a big Green Man. The Green Man Festival is just one of our many festivals. If it moves, grows, sings, is edible, makes you laugh, feels good, sounds good, or just looks pretty, we’ll celebrate it with a festival. Any excuse really.

50Alice (and Peter!) in Wales.Not only local poets, painters,singers and musicians are inspired by Wales. It was inLlandudno, North Wales, thatC. L. Dodgson (also known asLewis Carroll) created and setAlice in Wonderland. WhilstBeatrix Potter took inspirationfor her world-famous PeterRabbit books from Tenby,West Wales.

51Doctor Who.Welsh television writer and novelist Terry Nation created Doctor Who’s most famous enemy for the original series in the 1960s. When Swansea born writer Russell T Davies revived the cult TV programme in 2005 even he could not have predicted the world-wide phenomenon it has become. These days fans from all over the world can be found dalek spotting in Cardiff.


52What do you call that ‘enjoying-myself- talking-passionately-and-eloquently-with-friends’ feeling?Ever had a feeling you justcan’t put into words? In Wales,when that happens, we inventone. Hwyl. A very Welsh wordfor a very Welsh emotion.

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36Leisure and Tourism

53 54Wales is not a spectator sport.We may have lots of beautifullandscapes, but they’re not justfor looking at. Mountain-bikethem. Horse-ride them. Swimthem. Fish them. Sail them.Canoe them. Hike them. Whitewater raft them. Surf them.

Rugby is not a national obsession: we take it much more seriously than that.Since it first came into thecountry in the 1850s theegalitarian, physical natureof rugby has been a naturalfit with our temperament.Even here you’ll find examplesof our original thinking: ourstyle of play is often referredto as ‘imaginative’, ‘creative’or ‘adventurous’ (and notonly by us!).

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Wimbledon wouldn’t be Wimbledon without Wales.We like sports so much we invent them. Lawn tennis is thelasting legacy of North Walesresident Major Walter Wingfield,who patented the game. Withits simple rules, it was accessibleto all and has certainly stood the test of time.

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On our bikes. We don’t know whether it is our Olympic champion role models like Nicole Cooke and Geraint Thomas; maybe it is our more than 1,200 miles of national cycle track with some fantastic scenery; or could it be the thrills of the UK’s first full scale mountain bike park at Bike Park Wales. Whatever it is, cycling is very popular in Wales and with its benefits to health that’s fine by us.

57 58Climb, scramble, run, jump and swim yourself fit.That’s the original thoughtbehind a sport inventedin Wales. Coasteering. It’s aguided expedition along acoastline that will get youtrying all of these activities.And with such a spectacular coastline to go at, no wonder it was invented here. As was another world first: bog snorkelling. Proof that we never stop looking for original ways to enjoy our country and ourselves.

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Flying the flag at the friendly games. No Commonwealth Games is complete without the Queen’s Baton Relay – but did you know it originated in Wales? The first ever baton used, when the Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff in 1958, can now be seen at the National Museum Cardiff. Our sportsmen and women love the Commonwealth Games because it means competing under the Welsh flag.

59Join 74,499 other fans.The Millennium Stadium is anincredible 40,000 square metre(430,570 square foot), 74,500seater arena. When we built it, it was the world’s largest stadium with a retractable roof. If you were going to build such a monster, where would you look? A greenfield site? Regenerate old industrial land?Being Welsh, we had an originalthought and put it right in thecentre of our capital city. Visit Cardiff and you can’t mistake its futuristic pylons, just like you can’t mistake the sound of more than 70,000 rugby fans singing ‘Bread of Heaven’ on match day.


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60 61Golfing Holiday. The Twenty Ten course at the Celtic Manor Resort where the 2010 Ryder Cup was played is just one of the 200 golf courses in Wales. At Llanymynech Golf Club, on the fourth hole you tee off in Wales, putt in England and return to Wales three holes later.

What a score!1957: John Charles – Juventus – £65,000

2013: Gareth Bale – Real Madrid – €100million (£85million)

Two world record breaking transfers of Welsh footballers who also shared the distinction of being Wales’ youngest ever international player when they made their international debut.


62Opening time: 1380 AD.The Blue Anchor Inn,located in the villageof East Aberthaw, isa complete original andhas served thirsty andhungry customers forover five centuries.

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Croeso / Welcome.Each year around 10.5 million visitors come to stay in Wales and over a hundred million come just for the day.

The Prisoner of Portmeirion.The highly original Italianatearchitecture created by Sir CloughWilliams-Ellis at Portmeirioncaptured the world’s imaginationwhen it became the settingfor an equally original 1960stelevision series, The Prisoner.At Portmeirion today, fans ofthe architecture join fans of thetelevision series, as well as fansof Snowdonia’s coastline andfans of just a great day out.The village also hosts the annual Festival No 6 for fans of music, art and culture.

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Wise words.Sir Clough Williams-Ellis left usmore than Portmeirion. He alsoleft the original thought thatinspired it: that you developa naturally beautiful site withoutdefiling it. We like to think westuck to Sir Clough’s wise wordsin growing our tourism business.

Sometimes, it takes 250 years to appreciate a good idea.When the tunnel of yew treeswas planted at Aberglasneya quarter of a millennium ago,the gardener must have beena very patient man. It tookmany decades for them to growinto the amazing arcade theyare today.6566

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How do you like your castles? Norman, Gothic or Victorian?We’ve got 641 castles to choose from in Wales. More per squarekilometer than any otherEuropean country.

Think laterally, and you can turn a symbol of oppression into a money-spinner.Many of our castles were builtby invaders to rule over Wales.We got rid of the invaders, butkept their castles. We’ve eventurned these former symbolsof domination into touristattractions (now there’s acreative thought!).6768


Ignore the sheep, they just work here.Sheep outnumber people 3:1 in Wales. Welsh lamb is famous the world over. Andwhen they are hard at worklooking impossibly scenic in a Welsh landscape, it’s hard to believe they don’t work for Welsh tourism.

69Buried treasure.‘Big Pit’ coal mine has become a showcase of what made Wales the world’s first industrialised nation. This underground treasure is now one of Wales’ National Museums and the surrounding area of Blaenavon is one of three ‘World Heritage Sites’ in Wales.

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71Is the Welsh flag blue?No, but with beaches right around our coastline carrying the Blue Flag accreditation for cleanliness, you could be forgiven for wondering if we’d changed our national flag.


Wales = Education.The man who had the originalthought of inventing the ‘=’ signas a shorthand for ‘equals’ wasRobert Recorde from Tenby.That was back in 1550. Loveof learning is a part of Wales.Children generally attendschool between 5 and 16 yearsold. We have 1,376 statenursery and primary schools foryounger children, 4 middle schools and 212 statesecondary schools for 11–16year olds. Many young peoplethen choose to stay in full-timeeducation after 16, either intheir secondary school or oneof our further education colleges. At 18, they can leave to enter the world of work or followfurther courses of study.

Pi: a Welsh character.Another Welsh original thinkeris William Jones, who in 1706became the first person touse the Greek letter Pi (π)as a mathematical symbolto calculate the circumferenceto diameter ratio of circles.

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Meet Elizabeth ‘Bessie’ Phillips Hughes, BA Hons.Wales is a country of early adopters – and that’s particularly true of education. ‘Bessie’ from Carmarthenshire was the first ever woman to achieve a first class honours at degree level and went on to campaign for universal secondary education. Today there are almost 130,000 higher education students in Wales. We think Bessie would be proud to see the number of departments at our 9 higher education institutions carrying out research of national and international excellence.

74 75Child’s Play.We believe learning should be fun. The Foundation Phase is the statutory curriculum for all 3 to 7 years old children in Wales. It is based on the principle that early years’ provision should offer a sound foundation for future learning. Young children are given opportunities to gain first hand experiences through play and active involvement relevant to their developmental stage.

50Education and Health

76Some lessons you can’t learn in a classroom.

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78Lifelong learning is an industry in Wales.As well as formal work-based learning and career development for adults, we are also home to the world’s second hand book capital where educational – and not so educational – books can be picked up at bargain prices. Hay-on-Wye’s world famous Literary Festival attracts people world wide. It’s all the very original idea of Richard Booth who over 40 years ago opened Hay’s first second-hand bookshop in the town’s old fire station.

Independent learners.Welsh schoolchildren can study the Welsh Baccalaureate alongside existing qualifications. It encourages them to become effective independent learners and to learn how to develop and use transferable skills. Exciting and interesting activities give them wider experiences and increases their understanding of active citizenship.


79 80Where science evolves.In science, the theories ofCharles Darwin that so radicallychanged our understanding ofhuman development would nothave evolved so fast withoutAlfred Russel Wallace from Usk.Both men’s work formed part ofthe original presentation of thetheory of evolution of speciesby natural selection in 1858.

Teaching the world of medicine new words.Have you ever talked of ‘visitinga shrink’, undergoing ‘analysis’or tried to ‘rationalise someone’smotives’? If so, you owe it tothe person who coined thesewords and organised the world’sfirst psychiatric conference inSalzburg alongside Carl GustavJung – psychiatrist Ernest Jonesfrom Gowerton. Today thePsychology Department ofCardiff University has aninternational reputationin its field.

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The original health service.A Welshman was the driving force behind the establishment of the world’s first national health service in 1948. Aneurin Bevan, as the UK’s Minister for Health, was inspired by the community health projects he saw in action in Tredegar, South Wales.

Life Sciences – it’s in our DNA.Prof. Sir Martin Evans, Chancellor, Cardiff University was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine for “a series of ground-breaking discoveries concerning embryonic stem cells and DNA recombination in mammals”.

You can make a healthy meal, but how do you make a healthy nation?

That is the job of the Welsh Government and its five-year vision Together for Health.

Healthcare is delivered by seven health boards and NHS trusts in Wales and programmes like Change4Life are pioneering ways of improving people’s health and wellbeing. Since devolution, life expectancy in Wales has increased; men now live to an average age of 78.2 and women 82.2 – an increase of around four years.

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84What a great place to put a country.We can’t lay claim to the originalthought of putting Wales so closeto key European markets. But wewould like to take the credit forall of the strategic rail, road, seaand air links we’ve invested in topromote trade. We’re 2 hours from London and we’ve investedbillions in developing future-prooftransport and communicationsfor business with fast andeffective links from South,North and Mid Wales to England,Ireland and beyond – to Europeand the rest of the world.

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85 86Exporting imagination.Many original thinkers tracetheir roots to Wales, includingarchitect Frank Lloyd Wright.Next time you visit one of hisoriginal creations, like NewYork’s Guggenheim Museum,try looking for the Welsh mottohe incorporated in many of hisbuildings. ‘Y Gwir yn Erbyn y Byd’.‘The Truth against the World’.Thanks Frank, we couldn’t haveput our national pride in originalthinking any better.

“Testing, testing.”Among the many scientificand engineering firsts tocome from Wales is the carbonmicrophone. Developed byDavid Edward Hughes of Balain the 1870s, the technologystill forms the basis of allmicrophones. In 1879, hesuccessfully transmitted radiosignals over a distance ofseveral hundred metres,pre-dating Marconi’s firstexperiments by 16 years.Guglielmo Marconi also cameto Wales to carry out radioexperiments with his Welshcollaborator, William Preece.An early example of a Welshwireless network perhaps?

58Trade and Investment

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88 89Self-starting, original thinking. In a can.Our entrepreneurial spiritis also evident in one ofmankind’s greatest inventions:canned beer! It was inventedat the Felinfoel Brewery,Llanelli, in 1933, with the firstcans on sale in 1935. Withoutbusiness brains like this, andmore recently those of peoplelike Sir Howard Stringer andMichael Morritz, the worldwould be a distinctly lessoriginal place.

Internet shopping, 19th century style.Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones, a draperfrom Newtown, invented homeshopping when he saw thepotential of emerging railwaynetworks and a reformed postalsystem to expand his market.Some say he also inventeddirect mail, sending leafletsout to advertise his goods.One must have found its wayto Queen Victoria. She wasone of Sir Pryce’s more highprofile customers.

In the zone:It could be Energy at Anglesey or Haven Waterway, Manufacturing at Deeside or Ebbw Vale, Aerospace at St Athan – Cardiff Airport, Financial & Professional Services at Central Cardiff, or Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems at Snowdonia. Whichever they choose, businesses can enjoy compelling incentives and a first class business infrastructure in all 7 of our Enterprise Zones.


90 91Getting Connected:High Performance Computing (HPC) Wales is a £40m collaboration between global technology giant Fujitsu, Welsh Government and Welsh universities, which gives businesses and researchers access to world class, secure and easy-to-use HPC technology. Unique in the UK, this supercomputing infrastructure and service can help firms carry out financial forecasting and model customer behaviour, helping to predict future trends.

From Swansea to outer space.The fuel cells like those onthe NASA Apollo and Shuttleprogrammes were first inventedby William Grove of Swansea.“Wales, we don’t have a problem...”

We like making things – and we’re good at it!Our long established heritage of manufacturing and expertise is why companies come to Wales when they’re looking for quality in advanced materials and manufacturing. When Toyota was looking for somewhere outside Japan to manufacture its new hybrid engine it chose Wales. Perhaps this was because they’d seen how well things were going for Airbus manufacturing their A380 wings here.

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We know a thing or two about big financial transactions.In the early1900’s the world’s first £1 million cheque was signed at the Coal Exchange in Cardiff. Today, with a high concentration of Financial and Professional Services-related graduates, Cardiff is home to the fastest growing financial services sector in the UK.

You are in good company. We don’t do after care, there is no after in Wales. For us, its all about an ongoing partnership with your business. We provide dedicated support to new businesses coming into Wales, as well as individual account management to our 45 Anchor Companies. We hold businesses hand throughout.

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Why fish grow bigger in smaller ponds.Every incoming business is vitalto us. In Wales, you get to bea big fish in a small pond.And we do everything we canto help. As a smaller country,you have more direct accessto opinion-formers anddecision-makers withingovernment. Not to mentionthe opportunity to thrive withina mutually supportive businesscommunity that can help yourbusiness grow.

Because we’re small on size, we are small on red tape too.

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Treat business people as people? What an original idea!It seems obvious, but mostGovernments spend so longluring business in, they forgetthat business is all about people.We see attracting business asthe start of the relationship,not the end of it. You’ll find wehave lots of bright ideas to helpyou and your executives getthe most out of Wales.

Executives who have a love of space, lower housing costs and quality leisure time – and a dislike of congestion, long commutes and pollution – would be wise to consider Wales for their business.

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PMA. Three letters all Welsh employees have after their name.We Welsh have a PositiveMental Attitude. It goes withour original thinking. Just askthe likes of Ford, Sony, GE andToyota. Most businesses thatinvest in Wales repeatedlyreinvest. No wonder we feelso positive!

Why shouldn’t better quality cost you less?It’s a radical thought, but whenyou look at the well-educated,committed, flexible workforce,the lower cost of qualitycommercial property (and thestunning cities and landscapesthat are thrown in for free),it’s also a very appealing one.


Original thinkers welcome.We hope that this bookhas given you a flavour ofwhat Wales is all about. Andthere’s obviously much moreto find out. For more information visit wales.com

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Wales

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Wales l0l · you read through Wales l0l. ... Languages: English and Welsh. ... As part of the European Union and the United Kingdom, Wales elects four