DESTINATION WALES

Wales is rolling moorlands, glaciated mountain areas, mellifluous male-voice choirs, very long place names, Rugby Union,`Bread of Heaven', romantic castles, people with querying lilts, cheese on toast and old mining towns. Wales is also rampant deforestation, marching power lines and the gradual replacement of 19th-century mining ugliness with late 20th-century industrial playgrounds. The backbone behind this strange mixture of beauty and ugliness, poignancy and affliction is Welshness - a strength of spirit and character which despite centuries of English neglect and attempted assimilation remains defiant.

Wales has been described as one of the oldest countries in the world, with evidence of human habitation stretching back nearly 200,000 years. The European Celts, who arrived just after 600 BC, brought the popular Welsh attributes of eloquence, warmth and imagination. The subsequent Roman presence has been mythologised as a period of benevolent rule, perhaps due to the comparative chaos of the ensuing period, when raiding Irish pirates and Scots (the Brythons) arrived. Elements of Christianity arrived in the 5th century from Ireland, and was most famously proselytised by a monk called Dewi (later Normanised into David, patron saint of Wales). This nascent Christianity was grafted onto the contumaciously held Celtic belief system, with its sacred wells, holy men and hermit saints.

The period from the 5th to the 11th centuries was coloured by Anglo-Saxon pressure and invasion, and it was also around this time that the Brythons began to call themselves Cymry, or fellow countrymen. King Arthur, that font of legend, hope and inspiration, is thought to have led the Brythons against the Anglo-Saxons some time during the 8th century. More tangible, and dating from the same period, was the action of Offa, king of the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. He constructed a dyke to mark the boundary between the Welsh and the Mercians. Today, Offa's Dyke has been tamed as one of the country's best walks.

Tintern Abbey, Gwent (12K)

Viking invasions in the 9th and 10th centuries served to unify the individual Welsh kingdoms which had developed. Ironically, just as the threat of invasion caused Wales to develop as a recognisable entity, it also caused it to fall further under the control of the English crown. In 927, the Welsh kings recognised Athelstan, the Anglo-Saxon king, as their protective overlord. During the next century, William the Conqueror took full advantage of this precedent, setting up powerful and incursive feudal barons along the Welsh border.

Attempts were made in the 13th century to secure Wales as an independent state, and the poignantly named Llywelyn the Last managed to get himself recognised as the first Prince of Wales by Henry III of England in 1267. The nation's untrammelled joy was brief, however, with Henry's warlike successor, Edward I, soon casting the net of fealty over his neighbour. The crowning insult came in 1302 when the title of Prince of Wales was given to the English monarch's eldest son. Edward's authority was made further evident by the construction of a number of massive castles and the assignment of English colonists to set up English-style boroughs and counties.

The last armed opposition to English rule came in 1400, when Owain Glyndwr made a claim to the principality of Wales, as a descendant of the princes of northern Powys. His rebellion was crushed by Henry IV, whose imposition of severe punishments caused feelings to remain bitter for many years.

Wales lay slumbering until the 1730s, when it was awakened and sullied by the Industrial Revolution, and stirred and given a new identity by rampant Methodism. Coal, copper, slate and tin production led to a phenomenally increased population, rapidly changing the country's make-up from fragmented rural communities to urbanised mining and industrial centres. The smoky cities were hotbeds of nonconformism, nationalism, trade unionism, liberalism and support for the Labour Party. Change was slow but inexorable: Plaid Cymru, the Welsh National Party, was formed in 1925; the Welsh language was made legally acceptable in 1942; Cardiff was made the official capital in 1955; a Welsh minister of state was appointed with cabinet rank in the British government in 1964; and today, Plaid Cymru holds several seats in the House of Commons. Welsh culture and language also prevailed; Wales got its own Welsh-language TV channel in 1982.

Wales has entered the 1990s still adjusting to the collapse of its traditional coal and steel industries. Large-scale unemployment persists, despite diversification programmes. The current Labour government's policies are certainly more Welsh-friendly than those of the Conservatives (who hold no seats in Wales after the 1997 general election), but the likelihood of Wales emerging as a separate nation remains slim.

Swansea: a hodge-podge of the old and new (12K)

Attractions

Cardiff

A busy commercial and university city, the Welsh capital doesn't usually appear near the top of visitors' must-see lists. However, those who linger will discover its striking city-centre castle, important national museum and art gallery, redeveloped docks area and pockets of beautiful architecture. It's a good place to base yourself because it's surrounded by interesting sites and transport links are good.

Cardiff has a good selection of B&B accommodation, sprinkled along Cathedral Rd, to the west of the city centre, and Newport Rd to the east. Purveyors of Welsh specialties such as rarebit (the Welsh version of cheese on toast) and laverbread (a nice-than-you'd-think seaweed concoction) can be found in the city centre, along with coffee shops and bistros serving more usual fare. Rugby is Cardiff's most popular form of entertainment, but there's also theatre, an arts centre and a pop arena for those who want to avoid the scrum.

Snowdonia National Park

Britain's second-largest national park, after the Lake District, Snowdonia covers 840 sq miles (1352 sq km) of North Wales, including Snowdon - at 3560ft (1068m), the highest peak in Britain south of the Scottish Highlands. About 500,000 people touch the rugged summit every year, whether by climbing, walking or taking the Snowdon Mountain Railway. Long the testing ground of more ambitious mountaineers (Edmund Hillary, for example), Snowdon's many trails make the summit accessible to hikers of varying abilities. The park also contains rivers, lakes, waterfalls, forests, moorlands, glacial valleys and a lovely coastline, as well as Stone and Bronze Age burial chambers, Roman forts, Norman castles, steam railways and relics of the country's mining heritage. Centres include the climbers' haven of lakeside Llanberis, postcard-pretty Betws-y-Coed, the former slate-mining village of Blaenau Ffestiniog and the castle town of Harlech.

Blaenau Ffestiniog (20K)

Sex god from the slag heap

St David's

This special place would be a village if it were not for its cathedral and important links with the fondly remembered St David, whose remains are buried there. The late 12th-century cathedral can hardly be considered a landmark since one of the major preoccupations of its builders was to hide the structure from passing Norse raiders. The building has an atmosphere of great antiquity, with its drunken floor, Norman nave, shrine and permanently reserved monarch's stall. In the Middle Ages, two pilgrimages to the shrine were said to equal one to Rome. Apart from drinking in the antique ambience, there are several tours of St Non's Bay which visit nearby islands.

Off the Beaten Track

Hay-on-Wye

Hay-on-Wye has sloping lanes, Norman and Jacobean ruins, a market-town buzz and the world's largest collection of second-hand bookstores. Publicity stunts such as its 1977 declaration of independence from Britain and its vigorous self-promotion make this border market town like no other. There are more than 30 bookshops, some specialising in subjects so esoteric they can't be categorised, as well as auctions and out-of-print book search services. Not the place to go if your backpack's already gouging highways across your shoulder blades.

Laugharne

Lovers of poetry, romance and a good tipple won't need to be pushed in the direction of Laugharne, the most important stop on the Dylan Thomas trail. You can visit the boathouse where the befuddled bard lived and wrote, the pub where he drank (Brown's Hotel) and the churchyard where his pickled liver was buried. The house is preserved as a shrine, with photographs, manuscripts and recordings. Laugharne itself is a pleasant Georgian village, with the remains of a 12th-century castle nearby.

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

Most famous for the 167-mile Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the park runs along a coastline riddled with rugged cliffs, superb sandy beaches, rocky coves and tiny fishing villages - there's some gorgeous scenery and spectacular coastal walks. Inland, the historic Preseli Hills hide ancient trade routes, hill forts, standing stones and burial chambers. Offshore, the islands of Skomer, Skokholm and Grassholm are inhabited by colonies of puffins, guillemots, razorbills, gannets and grey seals. The area is an activity-lover's paradise, with a choice of hiking, pony trekking, surfing, windsurfing, kayaking and fishing opportunities.

Great Little Railways of Wales

Ffestiniog line is the most scenic, running for 14 miles (22km) through the Snowdonia National Park. Most lines are run by train enthusiasts who saved the lines from the scrap heap.

Activities

Wales vigorously promotes itself as the place to come for an activity-based holiday. Perhaps the most obvious activity is the country's popular network of walks. The most challenging are around the rocky Snowdonia or the moody Brecon Beacons national parks. Wales has seven long-distance walks, the most famous being the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and Offa's Dyke Path. Slightly less busy are the 274-mile (441km) Cambrian Way and the 120-mile (193km) Glyndwr's Way. Pony trekking opportunities are found throughout Wales, in particular around the Pembrokeshire Coast and Brecon Beacon national parks. Cyclers will experience quiet roads and the odd strenuous hill by cycling through the Cambrian and Black mountains or the Brecon Beacons; the Pembrokeshire coast has flatter terrain.

Wales' south-west coast has a number of passable surfing spots, including Porthcawl, Oxwich Bay, Rhossili, Manorbier, Freshwater West and Whitesands. Canoeing and white-water rafting are good in Snowdonia, and Llangollen on the River Dee has a reputation as a canoeing centre. Canal cruising along the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal is a breeze, partly because there are only six locks along its 33-mile (53km) length. Spelunkers can head for the Brecon Beacons, where there are several limestone cave systems.