Wales is the friendly green hilly bit on the western side of Britain about 2 hours west of London by rail or by road.

Wales is a very different place. The language is one of the oldest in Europe, spoken fluently by about one in five of the population together with English. Wales hilly landscape covers an area of around 8,000 square miles (or 20,800 square kilometres). It has 3 National Parks and 5 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, all part of a landscape that offers opportunities for all kinds of activities. Walking, cycling, climbing, golf, mountain biking and paragliding are just the beginning of the list.

With over 400 castles, the Welsh National Opera, the largest single-span glasshouse in the world and a cool flag with a Red Dragon on it Wales is definitely an essential place to visit.

The capital city is Cardiff. The Romans had a fortress there in the first Century AD, but Cardiff’s a lively youngster really. It was officially designated as capital in 1955, and it’s home to a large concentration of media and creative types, turning out award- winning productions like the current incarnation of the legendary Dr Who series.