Wales Lets You Be A Free Man (Not A Number)
In a recent survery of 10,000 visitors from 20 different countries, ‘Visit Britain’ discovered that Buckingham Palace is actually second to the Castles of Wales as a reason to visit the UK. It seems that in the international community, the Castles are associated with quintessential ‘Britishness’, maybe even the legend of King Arthur. This is of course erroneous, as these spectacular medieval relics were a active and forceful oppression of the Welsh by the English and nothing to do with the 6th century figure. Still, it is undeniable that the Arthurian legend is a massive draw for international tourists tempted by beautiful Wales. There are many Arthurian sites, such as Carmarthen, birthplace of Merlin.
There are many reasons and many places to visit in Wales, but until recently, the industry has seemed almost too backwards looking. Whilst Wales is well positioned to accept waves of international tourists looking into its past, the last two decades have been about a new Welsh tourism that is far more dynamic and exciting. Both international and domestic tourism is increasingly travelling to Wales to experience the wide range of outdoor pursuits it supports, and to take in an ancient and spectacular landscape. Activities popular in Wales include conventional sports like mountain biking, surfing, sailing, canoeing and kayaking. But this more extreme scale of outdoor pursuits in Wales has spawned new and exciting pursuits. Coasteering is the greatest example of this phenomenon, and it has enjoyed replicated success in nations around the globe that share Wales’ fine coastline. Coasteering is a simple but difficult sport: it’s essentially a coast-level ramble around from beach to beach, traversing rocks and cliffs. The flexibility of the coast providing courses for experienced and inexperienced adventurers.
Throwing yourself at Wales’ jagged walls isn’t for everyone of course. So for something more serene, how about a trip to Cardiff? An increasingly culturally significant town, Cardiff is the location for a number of modern TV shows, and you can trail famous locations to explore this aspect. But the true Cult TV fan will know which gardens to visit: the northern town of Portmeirion was the place where the obscure and brilliant TV series “the Prisoner” was filmed.
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