Steves - Rick Steves Snapshot North Wales

Rick Steves

This Snapshot guide, excerpted from my guidebook Rick Steves Great Britain, introduces you to colorful and dramatic North Wales. In this time-passed Celtic corner of Britain, youll find welcoming locals who still speak the distinctive, age-old Welsh tongue. North Wales is home to some of the British Isles best brooding castlesespecially those at Conwy and Caernarfon, either of which makes a great home-base town. For a dose of rugged scenery, delve into Snowdonia National Park, with charming villages such as Betws-y-Coed and Beddgelert, and an opportunity to ascend to the top of Mount Snowdon. Rounding out North Wales attractions are the lush Bodnant Garden, the low-key market-town of Ruthin, and a fascinating industrial tour of the Victorian-era and still-functioning slate mine in Blaenau Ffestiniog.

To help you have the best trip possible, Ive included the following topics in this book:

Planning Your Time, with advice on how to make the most of your limited time

Orientation, including tourist information (abbreviated as TI), tips on public transportation, local tour options, and helpful hints

Sights with ratings:

Dont miss

Try hard to see

Worthwhile if you can make it

No ratingWorth knowing about

Sleeping and Eating, with good-value recommendations in every price range

Connections, with tips on trains, buses, and driving

Practicalities, near the end of this book, has information on money, phoning, hotel reservations, transportation, and more.

To travel smartly, read this little book in its entirety before you go. Its my hope that this guide will make your trip more meaningful and rewarding. Traveling like a temporary local, youll get the absolute most out of every mile, minute, and dollar.

Happy travels!

Rick Steves

WALES

Wales, a country the size of Massachusetts, is located on a peninsula on the west coast of the Isle of Britain, facing the Irish Sea. Longer than it is wide (170 miles by 60 miles), its shaped somewhat like a miniature Britain. The north is mountainous, rural, and sparsely populated. The south, with a less-rugged topography, is where two-thirds of the people live (including 345,000 in the capital of Cardiff). The country has 750 miles of scenic, windswept coastline and is capped by Mount Snowdon, which, at 3,560 feet, is taller than any mountain in England.

Despite centuries of English imperialism, the Welsh language (a.k.a. Cymraeg, pronounced kum-RAH-ig) remains alive and wellmore so than its nearly dead Celtic cousin in Scotland, Gaelic. Though everyone in Wales speaks English, one in five can also speak the native tongue. In the northwest, well over half the population is fluent in Welsh and uses it in everyday life. Listen in.

Most certainly not a dialect of English, the Celtic Welsh tongue sounds to foreign ears like it might be Elvish from The Lord of the Rings. One of Europes oldest languages, Welsh has been written down since about A.D. 600, and was spoken 300 years before French or German. Today, the Welsh language is protected by law from complete English encroachmentthe country is officially bilingual, and signs always display both languages (e.g., Cardiff/Caerdydd). In schools, its either the first or the required second language; in many areas, English isnt used in classes at all until middle school.

Though English has been the dominant language in Wales for many years (and most newspapers and media are in English), the Welsh people cherish their linguistic heritage as something that sets them apart. In fact, a line of the Welsh national anthem goes, Oh, may the old language survive!

Speaking Welsh

Welsh pronunciation is tricky. The common ll combination sounds roughly like thl (pronounced as if you were ready to make an l sound and then blew it out). As in Scotland, ch is a soft, guttural k, pronounced in the back of the throat. The Welsh dd sounds like the English th, f = v, ff = f, w = the u in push, y = i. Non-Welsh people often make the mistake of trying to say a long Welsh name too fast, and inevitably trip themselves up. A local tipped me off: Slow down and say each syllable separately, and itll come out right. For example, Llangollen is thlang-GOT-hlen.

Although theres no need to learn any Welsh (because everyone also speaks English), without too much effort you can make friends and impress the locals by learning a few polite phrases:

In a pub, toast the guy who just bought your drink with Diolch and Yeach-hid dah (YECH-id dah, Good health to you).

Wales has some traditional foods worth looking for, particularly lamb dishes and leek soup (cawl). In fact, the national symbol is the leek, ever since medieval warriorswho wore the vegetable on their helmets in battlesaved the land from Saxon invaders. Cheese on toast is known as Welsh rarebit (or Welsh rabbit; the name is a throwback to a time when the poor Welsh couldnt afford much meat in their diet). At breakfast, you might get some Welsh cakes, basically a small squashed scone. Cockles and seaweed bread were once common breakfast itemsbut dont expect your hotel to serve them.

Wales three million people are mostly white and Christian (Presbyterian, Anglican, or Catholic). Like their English and Scottish counterparts, they enjoy football (soccer), but rugby is the unofficial Welsh sport, more popular in Wales than in any country outside of New Zealand. Other big sports are cricket and snooker (similar to billiards).

The Welsh flag features a red dragon on a field of green and white. The dragon has been a symbol of Wales since at least the ninth century (maybe even from Roman days). According to legend, King Arthurs men carried the dragon flag to battle.

Singing the Praises of Welsh Choirs

The Welsh love their choirs. Every town has a choir (mens or mixed) that practices weekly. Visitors are usually welcome to observe the session (lasting about 1.5-2 hours), and sometimes the choir heads to the pub afterward for a good old-fashioned, beer-lubricated sing-along that you can join.

As these choir rehearsals have become something of a tourist attraction, many choirs ask attendees for a small donationfair enough. Note that some towns have more than one choir, and schedules are subject to change; confirm the schedule with a local TI or your B&B before making the trip. Additionally, many choirs regularly perform concertsinquire for the latest schedule.