Portal:Wales

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Wales (Welsh: Cymru [ˈkəm.rɨ] ^ⓘ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic Sea to the south-west. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 3,107,494. It has a total area of 21,218 square kilometres (8,192 sq mi) and over 2,700 kilometres (1,680 mi) of coastline. It is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. The capital and largest city is Cardiff.

A distinct Welsh culture emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales was briefly united under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1055. After over 200 years of war, the conquest of Wales by King Edward I of England was completed by 1283, though Owain Glyndŵr led the Welsh Revolt against English rule in the early 15th century, and briefly re-established an independent Welsh state with its own national parliament (Welsh: senedd). In the 16th century the whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by David Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century: a nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, was formed in 1925, and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. A governing system of Welsh devolution is employed in Wales, of which the most major step was the formation of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament, formerly the National Assembly for Wales) in 1998, responsible for a range of devolved policy matters. (Full article...)

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Flat Holm (Welsh: Ynys Echni) is a limestone island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately 6 km (4 mi) from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan, but in the City and County of Cardiff. It includes the most southerly point of Wales. It is now managed by Cardiff Council's Flat Holm Project Team and designated as a Local Nature Reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area, because of the maritime grassland and rare plants such as Rock Sea-Lavender (Limonium binervosum) and Wild Leek (Allium ampeloprasum). The island also has significant breeding colonies of Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus), Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) and Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus). It is also home to Slow worms (Anguis fragilis) with larger than usual blue markings.

The island has a long history of occupation, dating at least from Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods. Religious uses include visits by disciples of Saint Cadoc in the 6th century, and in 1835 it was the site of the foundation of the Bristol Channel Mission, which later became the Mission to Seafarers. A sanatorium for cholera patients was built in 1896 as the isolation hospital for the port of Cardiff. Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first wireless signals over open sea from Flat Holm to Lavernock. Because of frequent shipwrecks a lighthouse was built on the island, which was replaced by a Trinity House lighthouse in 1737. Because of its strategic position on the approaches to Bristol and Cardiff a series of gun emplacements, known as Flat Holm Battery, were built in the 1860s as part of a line of defences, known as Palmerston Forts. On the outbreak of World War II, the island was rearmed.

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Credit: Donarreiskoffer

The Marloes peninsula on the Pembrokeshire coast, Wales

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Did you know...?

... that near Tresilian Bay in Wales, there is a cave where couples throw stones to find out how long they should wait before they get married?
... that the Welsh village name Ynysddu means "black island", although the village is not located on an island?
... that Welsh comedienne Gladys Morgan was renowned for her toothless, ear-splitting, infectious laugh?
... that jazz pianist Geoff Eales played the French horn with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and piano with the BBC Big Band?|

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The Bristol Channel was always my guide, and I was always able to draw an imaginary line from my bed to our house over in Wales. It was a great comfort.

— Roald Dahl, speaking during the mid 1950s

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Michael Christopher Sheen, OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh film and stage actor. He was born in Newport to Irene (née Thomas) and Meyrick Sheen, both of whom worked in personnel management; his father is also a part-time professional Jack Nicholson look-alike. When Sheen was five, the family moved to Liverpool, where he became a lifelong Liverpool F.C. fan. He returned to his parents' home of Port Talbot, Wales three years later, where he attended Glan Afan Comprehensive School and played football for Baglan boys club.

Sheen joined the West Glamorgan Youth theatre, where he was a contemporary of writer Russell T Davies. After leaving school, he accepted a place to study acting at the National Youth Theatre of Wales in Cardiff and then trained at the internationally renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Having worked with screenwriter Peter Morgan on five films, Sheen has become known for his portrayals of well-known public figures: Tony Blair in The Deal, The Queen, and The Special Relationship, David Frost in the stage production and film version of Frost/Nixon, and Brian Clough in The Damned United. He also played the Lycan Lucian in all three of the Underworld films, the vampire Aro in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and more recently, the role of Castor in Tron: Legacy.

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In the news

Wikinews Wales portal

General images

The following are images from various Wales-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Offa's Dyke (Clawdd Offa) Map. (from History of Wales)
Image 2'The Welsh at Mametz Wood' painted by Christopher Williams, commissioned by Secretary of State for War at the time, David Lloyd George. (from History of Wales)
Image 3Gravestone of King Cadfan ap Iago of Gwynedd (died c. 625) in Llangadwaladr church (from History of Wales)
Image 4Owain Glyndŵr (from History of Wales)
Image 5Big Pit, National Coal Museum. (from History of Wales)
Image 6Facsimile of Part of Column 579 from the Red Book of Hergest (from Culture of Wales)
Image 7Medieval crwth instrument (from Culture of Wales)
Image 8Standard of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, King of Powys 1063-1075. (from History of Wales)
Image 9Red Dragon of Wales (from Culture of Wales)
Image 10Tom Jones performing with Janis Joplin in 1969 (from Culture of Wales)
Image 11King Hywel Dda depicted in a 13th-century manuscript (from History of Wales)
Image 12Owain Glyndŵr painting by AC Michael (from Culture of Wales)
Image 13The Bard, 1774, by Thomas Jones (1742–1803) (from Culture of Wales)
Image 14Harlech Castle was one of a series built by Edward I to consolidate his conquest. (from History of Wales)
Image 15Cawl, a Welsh dish of meat and vegetables (from Culture of Wales)
Image 16Portrait of William Morgan. (from History of Wales)
Image 17Medieval kingdoms of Wales shown within the boundaries of the present day country of Wales and not inclusive of all (from History of Wales)
Image 18Senedd-Welsh Parliament, Cardiff Bay. (from History of Wales)
Image 19Roman invasion of Wales. (from History of Wales)
Image 20Island of Britain in AD 500. (from History of Wales)
Image 21Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper (1910) (from Culture of Wales)
Image 22Crempog - Anglesey style (from Culture of Wales)
Image 23Caradog by Thomas Prydderch. Caradog led multiple celtic tribes against the Romans. (from History of Wales)
Image 24Two of the furnaces of the Blaenavon Ironworks (from History of Wales)
Image 25The Flag of Saint David (from Culture of Wales)

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