PORTMEIRION

     An Italianate village on the coast of Wales: is it possible? Portmeirion is the most charming place in the Principality. It was begun in 1925 by architect Clough Williams-Ellis, who called it "a lighthearted live exhibition of architecture, decor and landscaping." His intention was to prove that buildings could actually enhanced an already beautiful landscape. Towers, spires, turrets, domes, campaniles, triumphal arches, murals and weatherboard cottages make up this joyous fantasy, in a thickly wooded setting on the edge of a big sandy bay.

 Portmeirion, Gwynedd

 
It is familiar to many who haven't even been here from the cult T.V. series The Prisoner. Many of the cottages offer first-rate accommodations as part of the Portmeirion Hotel. One of the most elegant and unusual places to stay in Wales, this waterfront mansion is located at the heart of Portmeirion. The original part of the building is Victorian, although it was greatly expanded in the 1920s.

CARDIFF

 Cardiff – in Welsh ‘Caerdydd’ – is located on the Southern coast of Wales, at the mouth of the River Taff, about 150 miles west of London. Outsiders most readily associate the capital of Wales with Cardiff Arms Park, where stirring international rugby matches are played. Another famous association is the highly acclaimed Welsh National Opera. Cardiff was fairly insignificant until the 1830s, when the second Marquis of Bute began building docks to transport coal from the nearby valleys. 

Roath Park, Cardiff: The clock tower and promenade

    Nowadays the docks at Cardiff Bay are undergoing massive regeneration. The Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum provides a full-scale introduction into the coal- and iron-ore industries through an exhibition on power and displays of old locomotives and boats, and Techniquest is an excellent and interesting hands-on science center.

TENBY

 Pembrokeshire Coast National Park - the only British national park focused almost exclusively on the coast lies in the far-flung south-west corner of Wales. The impressive cliffs alternate with secluded coves and big sandy beaches, good for swimming, though the waters are chilly. The park has a smattering of historic sites, including the impossibly picturesque St David’s Cathedral, built in a Viking-proof nook by the Irish Sea.

Tenby, with four sandy beaches, is the the most popular resort in the region, a combination of narrow, cobbled streets within the walls  of its old town and of pastel-shaded Regency and  Georgian houses overlooking the harbor. Medieval Tenby’s ancient town walls still stand, enclosing streets and passageways full of shops, inns, and places to eat. A Tudor scientist named Robert Recorde, who invented the "equals" (=) sign, was born here.

From the harbor you can take a short boat trip to Caldey Island, with its active Cistercian community.

TENBY HARBOUR

ANGLESEY

 Low-lying and agricultural, the island of Anglesey seems, on the first impression, rather dull in comparison with the splendid scenery on the other side of the great suspension bridge across the Menai Strait. Yet it has a beautiful coastline, a fair number of historic sights and is one of the most resolutely Welsh parts of the country. The Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path extends 125 miles around the island, with cliffs, sandy covers, and plenty of scenic variety.

Menai Straits and bridges showing Swillies

Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch is a village on the Menai Strait. The longest place name in Britain, known to locals just as Llanfair PG, came about as a 19th-century hoax to draw tourists, but it stuck. Isle of Anglesey is linked to the mainland by the Britannia road and rail bridge and by Thomas Telford’s remarkable chain suspension bridge, built in 1826 over the Menai Strait.

Received from Thomas, Northamptonshire

CAERNARFON

 Royal fortress-palace built on legends and bitter medieval conflict. Caernarvon is architecturally one of the most impressive of all of the castles in Wales. It was modeled on fortress at Constantinople. Standing at the mouth of the Seiont river, the fortress (with its unique polygonal towers, intimidating battlements and colour banded masonry) dominates the walled town also founded by Edward I. Caernarfon Castle is recognised around the world as one of the greatest buildings of the Middle Ages. In 1969, the castle gained worldwide fame as the setting for the Investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales. The castle also houses the Regimental Museum of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, Wales's oldest regiment. Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant (1726–98) called Caernarfon Castle “that most magnificent badge of our subjection.”

Caernarfon Castle, North Wales
Eagle Tower

Received from Polish blogger and postcrosser Joanna

GREAT BRITAIN

This is the name of the island which is made up of England, Scotland and Wales. The origin of the word 'Great' is a reference to size, because in many European languages the word for Britain and Brittany in France are the same. In fact, it was the French who first talked about Grande Bretagne! In everyday speech 'Britain' is used to mean United Kingdom.
The flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of three crosses. The upright red cross is the cross of St George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross is the cross of St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

England is a land of scenic mountains, as well as great urban sprawls and congested roads. Scotland has two of the country's most absorbing cities. It is a land of tartan kilts, bagpipes, drams of whisky and misty glens. Wales offers superb introductions to a lost industrial heritage as well as abounds with lush valleys and medieval castles.