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Wales hasn't always been like this before. It has been
subject to many a invasions from the Vikings to the
Normans. This left Wales with a rich history and strong
castles telling their stories of success and failures.
The Caerphilly castle in the heart of Wales is the second
largest in UK
and one of the largest and strongest castle in Europe.
Built in the late 13th & early 14th century, Caerphilly
castle has been the gateway to Wales since the early
time. It is situated only 45 minutes from Cardiff,
the capital city of Wales.
Wales was always admired as a place of natural beauty
and it was not a place for industries. Hence, Wales
always had its population to the low. However, somewhere
in the 18th century, the Welsh people discovered coal
in the hilly terrain and then came the industrial revolution
of Wales. People flooded in from all parts of the world
to South Wales and villages outgrew themselves to towns
and cities in just about 100 years. Wales had gone through
a change which would be permanent. Although with time,
the mines ran out of coal and the coal mines were shut
down, they are now being used as museums. You can actually
go into the mine and see how it was like during those
times. One such example is the Big Pit Coal Mine in
the village of Torfaen, which is just around 45 minutes
from Cardiff.
The Welsh people, unlike the English are not much interested
in playing cricket. They are rather fond of Rugby, which
is their national game. To accomodate their rugby needs
the now famous Millennium
Stadium was built right in the heart of Cardiff
in the early 1880s. Cricket and rugby were now played
here regularly. However, things totally changed for
Cardiff
when they were won the bid to host the Rugby Championship
in 1999. The old Millennium
Stadium was knocked off, old material auctioned
and the development of the new Millennium
Stadium was launched in 1997. The new stadium was
bigger and can now accomodate upto 75,000 people at
one time. But, there's more to it. This stadium can
now host indoor matches in bad weather as its hatch
can now be closed in just 20 minutes. And the cost of
closing it, just £2.40. The new Millennium
Stadium has changed the look of Cardiff
completely and the city has now become a highly popular
tourist place in a matter of a few years.
Wales is in interesting place to visit. Beautiful nature
and very nice people indeed. The Welsh people are much
more tolerant, polite and have a great sense of humour
compared to the English. They are very hard working
and like to enjoy their lives fully. Probably with all
these quaility, they can indeed claim that they are
the best in comparison with their neighbours in the
British Isles.
Swansea
(population 250,000) is Wales' second largest city and
located on the beautiful Gower
Peninsular - the UK's
first designated "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty".
Swansea,
Wales' City by the Sea is a hometown of Hollywood star
Catherine Zeta Jones and birthplace of celebrated poet
Dylan Thomas, is the only place in the UK
where you can shop, eat out and enjoy a vibrant arts,
entertainment and club scene yet be so close to an 'Area
of Outstanding Natural Beauty'
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