Wales

 Wales was an independent nation during most of the Middle Ages since the early settlers were Celts, they were invaded by Romans and the Normans fought against them to control rebellions after William the Conqueror but the worst invasion was led by the English king Edward I who built many castles such as Caernafon and Conwy castles to keep Welsh rebels controlled. The Welsh continued their fight with heroes  like Owain Glyndwr, the last native Welsh to hold the title of Prince of Wales through rebellions till Henry VIII of England passed in 1535 and 1542 the Laws of Wales Acts giving the same legal rights to Welsh as English people. The climate is mild atlantic though changeable and stormy in the coast and its geography is diverse and beautiful landscapes of the coastline with sandy beaches or high cliffs and many islands, it has valleys and also mountains in the north and central part in Snowdonia National Park with high peaks like Crib Goch in Snowdon Mountains. Legends has it that is the tomb of the giant Rhita Gawr who was killed by King Arthur. Along the coast and islands you can see dolphins, porpoises, seals, whales or birds like the red kite and others birds of prey. The Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenvon is one of the last remaining mines of all the coal and slate mines of all coal industry thriving in the 19th and 20th centuries. Cardiff is the capital city, it has five castles from the Romans, Normans till the English and three rivers, Taff, Ely and Rhymney and the bustling Cardiff Bay, the Senedd, the National Assemby of Wales and the Millenium Centre are famous landmarks.Welsh language is a Celtic language of the Brittonic group and it has long words or sentences without any vowel and the strange spelling attracts tourists to take pictures of local names like the village with the longest name in the world which is in the Isle of Anglesey. The biggest towns are Swansea, Newport, Wrexham, Nenth, Cwmbram but there are are many picturesque villages like Beaumaris, Criccieth, Dale, Hay-on-Wye, Llanrwst, Llangollen, Ar Lan y Mor especially in the coast of Cowys or Pembrokeshire or along river Colwyn or Solva, there is even an Italian designed villa named Portmeirion or the famous Tintern in the Wye Valley with its famous Gothic abbey. Gastronomy is simple and delicious like cawl, a soup of lamb, leek and other vegetables, laverbread is a Welsh dish made of laver and edible seaweed from the rocks, the Welsh breakfast is made of laverbread, bacon, sausage, eggs and cockles. The Glamorgan sausage is the only vegetarian sausage made of Caerphilly cheese, leek and breadcrumbs, the Bara Brith a bread with dried fruit and spices and Welsh drinks like the seaweed gin. Celebrations like the Eisteddfod is a festival of music, literature and performance since the twelfth century held in August completely in Welsh. 

Wales has St. David as patron saint which is a national day on the 1st of March and his emblem is the dove, also on the 25th January is celebrated St. Dwynwen´s Day, the patron saint for lovers, a Welsh princess who was forced to marry a man she did not love but she preferred to become a nun and founded a convent in the island of Llanddwyn and the Welsh lovespoon is used also for newlyweds. Sports most popular are rugby in men and women with rugby songs like "Men of Harlech" which tells the siege of its castle in 1468, there are jousting in medieval festivals and the Welsh football team is proud of their footballer Gareth Bale. There are writers as Roald Dahl and poet Dylan Thomas, singers like Sir Tom Jones and actors like Sir Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones. There are many legends such as the vision of wizard Merlin of a vision of a red dragon (Welsh native Britons) fighting against a white dragon (Anglo Saxon invaders) and the red dragon won the battle so Anglo Saxon were kept bay from Wales. Another legend has it that King Cadwaladr ordered his soldiers to put a leek on their helmets to camouflage themselves in the fight against the Saxons. Daffodils are worn on St. David´s day so its another Welsh symbol and Welsh women wore the traditional "chimney hat" and a striped under-dress with a shawl and apron. There are also many ghost legends in castles like those of Cardiff and Coch. King Arthur legendary sword Excalibur is believed to remain in lake Llydaw and lake Ogwen, a stone beside lake Barfog is said that has the footprints of King Arthur´s horse and it is said he was buried Bardsey Island and its monastery built in 516. Welsh male choirs are famous since the nineteenth century because miners used to sing traditional Welsh songs and hymns often accompanied by a harp with three strings. Nowadays Wales is  part of United Kingdom with its own parliament and nationalist Welsh party, Plaid Cymru, and its a hotspot for tourists who like visiting magnificent landscapes, beaches, castles and other nature landmarks to practise cycling, climbing, canoeing, hang-gliding, downhill mountain biking and enjoy a lodgement in a quaint village, manor, bed&breakfast hostel, camping or glamping.