Card size: 152x152mm. Blank inside.

Photography: Rob Hudson (CW101, CW106), Riccardo Beghini (CW102), Ben Hall (CW103, CW112, CW117), Simon Kitchin (CW104, CW105, CW109, CW111), James Samuel (CW107, CW108, CW114, CW116), Paul Wakely (CW110), Peter Hyde (CW113, CW118), Peter Cairns (CW115, XCW301), Stephen Ellaway (CW119, CW120, XCW302), Adam Burton (CW121, CW122), John Martin (CW123), Ray O'Hara (CW124), Philip Corley (CW125), Ifthi Mutaliph (CW126), Nick Ridley (CW127), Rory Trappe (CW128, CW130-131), Allen Lloyd (CW129)

Llyn Cwm-llwch lies in the shadow of Pen-y-fan, in the Brecon Beacons. These are the highest mountains in South Wales, a place where soldiers exercise and rare birds fly. The Welsh landscape that we experience today was formed by millions of years of geological and climatic activity. Then came the glaciers, scouring deep narrow valleys through the mountains. The glaciers retreated northwards at the close of the Ice Age, leaving Wales with hundreds of lakes and pools throughout her territory. Long ago, many people in Wales saw lakes as gateways to Annwfn, the Celtic Otherworld. They cast objects into them as sacrifices. There was a belief that an invisible island lay in the middle of Llyn Cwm-llwch, and that anybody disturbing its inhabitants’ peace would undergo terrible retribution.

This reservoir, created by the Liverpool Corporation in 1888, covers the remains of the old village of Llanwddyn. In the Middle Ages, pilgrims travelling through this mountainous district found protection from the Knights of Saint John. The Quakers found refuge here in the seventeenth century. The straining tower recalls one of Ludwig II’s castles, and the conifers which have covered the slopes seem to take us to some remote valley in Middle Europe. The bird sanctuary attracts many lovers of nature. Around the reservoir is a network of pathways where sculptors have created a constellation of vivid wooden statues, some of them in the trees themselves.

These beautiful birds were flying over the landscape of Wales more than 100,000 years ago. They are scavengers, feeding mainly on the carcasses of dead animals, and on waste and scraps. Long ago, they were common in towns and villages, where their scavenging activities helped cleanse the streets. However, the Industrial Revolution destroyed many of their habitats. Gamekeepers and others tried to exterminate them in the countryside. About a hundred years ago, they were almost extinct. A group of naturalists organised a conservation scheme, which has eventually borne fruit. Nowadays the Red Kite nests and breeds all over Wales. It has been adopted as the symbol of Powys, the largest county, and many Welsh people regard the Red Kite as their national bird.

Some of the strongest winds in Wales blow here amongst the highest mountains in the country: the name Castell y Gwynt ‘Wind Castle’ makes sense to anyone who has climbed here. The two mountains named ‘Glyder’ were marked by the passage of the glaciers, which left strange formations such as this one behind. You could almost believe that a giant’s children had cast their toys aside here before they went to sleep. These high slopes provide a habitat for some rare plants and creatures, where less hardy life forms are unable to flourish. Not far from here, in the heart of a mountain, is Dinorwig hydroelectric station, whose main hall is big enough to hold a cathedral. For generations, these slopes have been popular with mountaineers. George Mallory came here to practice before he disappeared on Everest in 1924.

The fertile island of Anglesey is known as ‘The Mother of Wales’, but its windswept shores are highly dangerous to shipping. The people of Anglesey have for centuries played their part in the constant struggle to save lives at sea. The lifeboat crews are renowned for their skill and courage, and on the shores of the island are sited a number of lighthouses. These have helped secure the busy sea lanes for many years. It was the loss of the Rothesay Castle in 1831 that brought about the building of this lighthouse, at the western end of the Menai Straits. There were some 130 people on board, and the response was strong. The lighthouse was opened in 1838, with cottages for the lighthouse keepers. By now, the lighthouse has become wholly automatic, in common with most of the others. For some years now, the equipment has operated on solar power.

Geology and history have made this beautiful peninsula a world apart. On its western side, it looks over the famous cockle beds of the Loughor and the gentle countryside of Carmarthenshire. On the eastern side, it faces the busy city of Swansea, and the world of industrial South Wales. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of people who lived here 25,000 years ago, when beasts such as the mammoth and the hairy rhinoceros grazed on the peninsula. The Gower Peninsula now attracts swimmers and surfers to its incomparable beaches, and countless visitors are drawn by the beauty of the countryside and the little villages.

The Mumbles became a suburb of Swansea a good while ago, but the unique spirit of the old village still thrives. It attracted Romans in search of oysters, Normans set on building a castle, and Cornish industrialists intent on setting up a copper industry. The Mumbles was served by one of the world’s first railways, now closed, but the famous pier still stands to remind us of the role of the sea in the life of the community. The parish church displays a memorial window in tribute to eight local lifeboat men, who lost their lives in 1947 in an attempt to save the crew of the Samtampa. The Mumbles for long drew revellers, attracted by the famous ‘Mumbles Mile’ of pubs where Dylan Thomas and his friends drunk prodigiously. The village was also the home of Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825), whose attempts to purge Shakespeare created the verb ‘bowdlerise’, and the actress Catherine Zeta Jones.

The horse has been a part of the life of the people of Wales since the Neolithic period. The Romans in their turn brought new breeds, and the normal word in Welsh for a horse, ceffyl, is in fact a loan from spoken Latin. The custom of the Mari Lwyd still survives in a few places in South Wales: from Christmas to the New Year, revellers carrying a horse’s skull on a veiled pole carouse from house to house, singing songs asking for food and drink. Traditional Welsh breeds of horses remain popular, with numerous supporters in Wales and abroad. Pale or white horses play a role in the mythology of the Britons, and the best-known is probably the white horse that Rhiannon (‘Great Queen’) rode by the Hill of Narberth the first time that her future husband, Prince Pwyll, saw her.

Welsh poets have for centuries praised the abiding strength of the country’s mountains, symbols of the people’s steadfast character. The mountains of Gwynedd, the country’s north-western region, were created in remote prehistoric times, and further shaped by centuries of a freezing climate. The retreating glaciers left over a hundred pools and lakes amongst the mountains. More recently, humans came to make their homes here, and with them arrived the flocks of sheep that created extensive pastures in the valleys. The high slopes provide a habitat for the Snowdon Lily, the Cornish Chough, and other unusual species. Tradition associates the lakes with the characters of the Mabinogi and other mythological cycles. For centuries the people of Gwynedd struggled to make their living by quarrying and small-scale farming, and the people of the area are famous for their independence of spirit.

Keeping sheep was essential to the livelihood of people in Wales in the Stone Age. Welsh poets have been struck by the discrepancy between the beauty of the landscape where the shepherd lived and worked, and the short years granted him to enjoy it. By the Middle Ages, great flocks were the chief maintenance of the monasteries. Woollen cloth known as brethyn became an unofficial national costume. The shepherds of Wales succeeded in creating tough, surefooted breeds of sheep that could thrive on the windswept slopes. Today, the human population of Wales is outnumbered several times over by the sheep. If you go into the mountains, you may see a flock flowing down from the top of a ridge like a slow white waterfall.

Ynys Llanddwyn, the Island of Saint Dwynwen on the shores of Anglesey, is sometimes known as the island for lovers. Dwynwen was one of the 24 daughters of the renowned King Brychan of Brycheiniog, and she and a prince called Maelon fell deeply in love. However, her father had arranged for her to marry somebody else for dynastic reasons. Maelon was turned into a block of ice for disrupting this important alliance. Dwynwen prayed for Maelon to be released, for those who suffered the pains of love to find healing, and to be allowed to remain unmarried. After she died on 25th January 465, her well gradually became a destination for pilgrims. Lovers hoped, by gazing into the waters of the well, to gain some glimpse of where the paths of love would lead them. It has become a custom for lovers to exchange cards and gifts on her feast day.

The remarkable native woodland of Coed Trellyniau lies in Flintshire, in the industrialised North East of Wales. Oak and ash still thrive here, and provide shelter for other forms of plant life and for wild creatures. The atmosphere recalls the ambience of the old woods of Wales, as they were before the coming of industrialised forestry. Among the forms of life flourishing here are bluebells, known in Welsh as Clychau’r Gog or ‘Cuckoo’s Bells’. Celebrated by Welsh poets, they announce that spring has now arrived, and also remind us that everything beautiful perishes.

This beautiful area in North East Wales has long been the home of remarkable people as well as attracting pioneers. The hillfort of Dinas Brân is thought to be named after Brân the Blessed, in the legend cycle of the Mabinogi, whose magical head was buried beneath Tower Hill in London. Craig Arthur is a link to the major mythology of the Isle of Britain. Saint Collen did missionary work here in the sixth century, and both the church and town are named after him. Thomas Telford’s iron viaduct, the first of its kind, still astounds as much as it did in 1805. Since 1947, the International Music Eisteddfod had brought countless musicians here from all over the world. The ECTARC Centre (1988) researches folk and regional culture and provides a meeting place for young Europeans.

Long before the first humans reached the area, the River Neath had scoured numerous waterfalls through layers of limestone on its way down from the mountains. Roman soldiers were stationed here, and the Normans fought to establish themselves, but the inhabitants have always clung firmly to their independence. Many famous artists came to paint the waterfalls, and later on industrialists succeeded in applying the water power to driving machinery. A thriving industrial society, based on coal and copper, grew up in the valley. It was here that the Welsh Rugby Union was founded in 1881. The Neath Valley gave the world such great entertainers as Ray Milland, Ivor Emmanuel, Richard Burton, and Anthony Hopkins. Despite the rapid decline of industry, the waterfalls remained an unfailing attraction. Nowadays, some of them are also used to generate cleaner electricity.

Pembrokeshire reminds some people of a piece of Ireland that floated away. The shores make up a patchwork of islands and headlands, with a strange blend of Welsh and Norse place names. One of the islands, known in Welsh as Gwales and in English as Grassholm, was reputed to be the gateway to Annwfn, the enchanted otherworld where there is no time or suffering. The area is home to many remarkable marine creatures, including numerous seals. Because of the shape of their faces and the sound of their voices, in the olden days many people believed them to be partly human creatures. Some said that they contained the spirits of drowned sailors. Others claimed that they were magical creatures capable of changing into human form.

Porthcawl is probably best known as the town where generations of miners and their families came to relax. Another claim to fame is that it is the home of the Miners’ Eisteddfod. When the great African-American singer Paul Robeson (1898–1976), star of Proud Valley, was banned from travel by the US Government, he sang to the miners here over the transatlantic phone. This town lies at the centre of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, where geology, wildlife, history and legend have created a feast for the alert stroller. This part of the Glamorgan coast is rich in fossils and strange rock formations, and the dunes attract flocks of fascinating birds. According to some of the legends, the dunes of the Kenffig Reserve cover a lost city similar to Cantre’s Gwaelod, Lyonesse, or Ys.

The Normans are said to have brought the rabbit to Wales, initially as a farm animal. They kept these furry livestock either on islands, or in warrens specially built to prevent the rabbits from escaping. However, escape they did, and they soon spread. They found Wales full of enemies, including the hawk, the fox, and the ferret. Despite all the perils, they colonised every part of the country. In the olden days, when food was scarce and expensive, it was the rabbit that provided many poor families with both food and clothing.

This rugged peninsula was given its name by Irish settlers from Leinster (Laighean in Irish). The granite-studded landscape will also remind the discerning observer of the Celtic land of Cornwall. The Welsh language is still in daily use here, and the deserted village of Nant Gwrtheyrn (‘Vortigern’s Brook’) has been transformed into a centre for learning it. In 1936, three Welsh patriots carried out the symbolic act of setting light to the Bombing School at Penyberth and giving themselves up to the police. The Welsh poet R.S. Thomas (1913–2000), who worked in the parish of Aberdaron, was only one of many major figures who have loved Llŷn.

Standing on the boundary between the leafy suburbs of Cardiff and the striking landscape of the old industrial valleys, Castell Coch is an unexpected delight to the eye. It was built by the flamboyant architect William Burgess on the commission of one of Wales’ wealthiest coal-owners. There, on its wooded ridge, the castle stands like some dreamy apparition left over from the Middle Ages. Within the red walls, the chambers and the galleries are like a vision of a legendary age. Nowadays, people from the surrounding districts come here to enjoy theatrical performances, to re-create visions of the past, and to observe the ceremonies marking the milestones in life. Castell Coch has provided locations for many films set in the ages of chivalry and legend, but in the winter it is a place for people to celebrate the inherent drama in personal life.

Cardiff Civic Centre is renowned for its dignified buildings and its beautiful gardens. This is the seat of government for Wales – and also the site of concerts, fairs, and a wealth of other entertainment. As the mid-winter cold begins to bite, the Big Wheel and the skating rink are assembled, and stallholders and showmen start to gather. The residents of Cardiff and the neighbouring districts are soon flocking to the Winter Wonderland, which will last into the New Year. Here is their opportunity to meet Father Christmas, drink hot chocolate, eat roasted chestnuts, and throw themselves into all the fun of the Wonderland in the company of family and friends.

Llangattock Escarpment is a striking feature of the wild landscape a little to the north of the old industrial districts of South Wales. We know that the area was inhabited thousands of years ago. The Industrial Revolution brought more people here, to quarry for the lime that was essential for the iron and steel works. Their activity left a scar that dominates the landscape. The industrial activity has almost entirely ceased, but now people come to walk, to climb, and to explore the maze of caves.

According to Welsh mythology, the border between the different worlds lies in Pembrokeshire. The county contains the frontiers between the fertile low country and the bleak uplands, the two languages, and the Celtic and Viking worlds. The sea has carved the shoreline into a delirium of islands, headlands, strange rocks, and secret places. The name ‘Elegug’ derives from heligog, a dialect name for the guillemot. As parts of the coastline are used for military exercises, an astounding variety of wildlife has been able to flourish here. The chough, a traditional Cornish icon, is more common in this one Welsh county than in the whole of Cornwall.

The leek was the original Welsh emblem, but during early modern times the daffodil – cenhinen Bedr or ‘Peter’s leek’ in Welsh – became popular as well. Their habitat extends over much of Europe, and they flower early in the spring. Their golden trumpets are a delight to the eye. On St David’s Day on March 1st, the Welsh people will be eating cawl cennin or leek broth – but most will be wearing daffodils.

The Llangollen Canal constituted a transport revolution two centuries ago. It was yet another of the engineer Thomas Telford’s great achievements. It passes over the valley of the River Dee for nearly a quarter of a mile on the Pontcysyllte viaduct. Nowadays, the Llangollen Canal is a quiet waterway. As the winter recedes, and the days draw out, people make leisurely journeys along the canal to enjoy the beauty and the quiet.

The popular counting song Cyfri’r Geifr refers to milking goats, and goats and sheep were historically important dairy animals in Wales. Goats were probably more numerous than sheep in Wales until after the Act of Union in Tudor times. These tough and sure-footed animals are very much at home in the rough landscape of Wales. They have also been accepted for ages as mascots in patriotic parades. Although the sheep has replaced the goat at the heart of Welsh agriculture, colonies of wild goats still flourish in the mountains and on rocky headlands.

This striking castle was founded in 1283 by Edward I during his long campaign to occupy Wales. Conwy Castle has changed hands many times, and for a while was held by Owain Glyndŵr’s followers. In the eighteenth century, it attracted many of the artists who were beginning to discover the picturesque character of the Welsh landscape. Some two centuries ago, the great engineer Thomas Telford built his remarkable bridge here, and in due course the railway followed. The castle is now a World Heritage Site.

Welsh shepherds made use of sheep dogs in ancient times, according to the legend Culhwch and Olwen. These excellent creatures’ contribution to the life of the countryside is still highly appreciated. The keeping of sheep has played an important role in shaping the Welsh landscape, and sheep heavily outnumber people in Wales. On the lower country, the flocks swell in springtime as the new lambs arrive. In the mountains, they will be flowing down the slopes like slow white waterfalls. The shepherds who guard this living wealth are supported by intelligent and energetic dogs of breeds originating in Scotland. These dogs frequently display their talents in the popular sheepdog trials, which are a regular feature on television.

The Romans built a fortress here, and called it Segontium. Welsh mythology speaks of a local princess called Helen of the Hosts, said to be the mother of Constantine the Great. When Edward I of England was invading Wales over eight hundred years ago, he had the walls of his new castle designed specifically to imitate the walls of Constantinople. Despite this, Caernarfon has remained a stronghold of the Welsh language and culture. The port of Caernarfon became exceptionally busy through the growth of the slate industry, and Caernarfon ships reached all over the world. People who have left the town still long for their first sighting of the towers of the castle.

The River Wye rises in Wales, and then surreptitiously makes its way down through the Marches. For the last part of its course, it forms the border between Wales and England. This is a beautiful and tranquil valley, well wooded and an attraction to visitors for centuries. The Cistercian Order came to Tintern some nine hundred years ago and started an agricultural revolution; its traces are still manifest in many parts of the country. William Wordsworth wrote a famous poem about Tintern Abbey, and countless pilgrims come to walk the grassy paths down to the remarkable castle at Chepstow, where the Wye flows into the Severn Sea.

Lake Bala stretches from the cultural hub, which is the town of Bala, to the heart of the mountains. This is the largest natural lake in Wales, within sight of the Berwyn and Arennig mountains. From it flow streams and rivers feeding reservoirs much larger than the lake. In local and national tradition, they are associated with the drowned village of Tryweryn. The communities surrounding the lake have produced many community leaders in the fields of politics, culture, and religion. This is the area that gave birth to the Bible Society and the women’s organisation Merched y Wawr. Lake Bala is home to a rare species of fish called gwyniaid, trapped here since the end of the last Ice Age. Recently, the lake has become a world-famous centre for water sports.

The fantasy village of Portmeirion came into being as the dream of the remarkable architect Clough Williams-Ellis (1883–1978). It was his lifetime ambition to stir people up against ugliness, tastelessness, and complacency. He spent over half a century creating what he called a home for fallen buildings, with a magnificently Italianate atmosphere. This was the location for the thriller series The Prisoner, creating a perfect backdrop for Patrick McGoohan’s disturbing vision. Fans of the programme still visit Portmeirion, along with vast numbers of people in search of a completely different holiday. Nowadays, the village is managed by Williams-Ellis’s grandson, the surrealist writer Robin Llywelyn.

An old Welsh song tells how the robin will come to sing merrily on the hill when the spring returns. For wild creatures of all kinds, however, the intervening winter is a bleak, often dangerous, season. While we are enjoying our Christmas gifts and the hunt for calennig, the carols and the wassail songs, the birds are struggling hour by hour and day by day to feed themselves. Some of them will go so far as to accept help proffered by us humans. Our awareness turns towards celebration, and renewal, and gathering together socially. For that bird, perched a moment, nature presents an awesome challenge. In the winter, as we contemplate the seasonal celebrations and the ordeal of the birds, we have an opportunity to reflect.

The mountainous interior is the mother of the rivers of Wales. Here, in the kingdom of the winds, clear and lively springs rise amongst the heather and the gorse. This is the dreaming time of the lakes, when the human beings and their flocks retreat to the lower ground. When the winter comes the springs run cold and clear, and the lakes go to sleep. There are legends bound up with some of these lakes. Tales of disappearing islands, immortal races, and hidden treasures. In the quiet and the freezing stillness, the dreams live on.