不论您是痴迷于古典文学艺术还是新潮派对动物，现代威尔士都能满足您的需求。它是英国海拔最高的度假胜地之一，凭借其迤逦多姿的风光吸引了各种类型的旅游者。
Whether you are a culture vulture or a party animal, modern Wales has a lot to keep you entertained. It’s one of Britain’s top holiday destinations, and Wales attracts all types of people for all sorts of reasons (See the Glossary below for definitions and vocabulary).
Adrenalin junkies go canoeing, kayaking and white water rafting on rocky Welsh rivers and lakes, and mountain biking through miles of dense forests in Coed Llandegla and Afan Park. Spiderman wannabe’s take the Tree Top Adventure in the forests of Betws-y-Coed. The truly adventurous put on a wetsuit and helmet to try coasteering, a new sport invented in Wales, which mixes rock-climbing, diving and swimming.
Bookworms head for Hay-On-Wye, nicknamed the ‘town of books’, for the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts (May-June). It’s the world’s biggest literary festival and attracts the world’s major contemporary authors and thinkers. Writers Martin Amis, Iain Banks and Sir Richard Attenborough, Britain’s beloved nature expert and broadcaster, visited this year. Young writer Rachel Trezise represented contemporary Welsh literature. British PM Gordon Brown also spoke at 2007’s festival.
Wales was famously the home of poet Dylan Thomas, and bookworms also come to visit places such as Laugharne, the ‘beguiling island of a town’ that inspired Thomas’ poetry and the characters and voices in his masterpiece, Under Milk Wood - A Play for Voices.
Campers chill out amongst stunning countryside in areas such as Brecon Beacons National Park and lakesides like Bala.
Climbers try not to fall off the steep rocky hills of Snowdonia. Amateur mountaineers climb Snowdon, the highest mountain in England and Wales. If you are a lazybones you can take the train to and from the summit.
Culture vultures watch ballet, the celebrated Welsh National Opera, contemporary theatre and performance art at Cardiff’s Millennium Centre. They also explore the uniqueness of Welsh culture.
Foodies savour Welsh delicacies such as laverbread (made with seaweed). True gastronomes attend the Cardiff International Food & Drink Festival (July) and the Anglesey Oyster Festival (October) to sample Welsh cuisine and food from around the world.
Hikers walk the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and trek through the hundreds of trails in the Welsh hills, woodlands and valleys.
Intellectuals follow bookworms to the Hay festival to hear lectures from some of the world’s greatest minds on contemporary issues in philosophy, politics, religion and ecology. This year’s highlights included author Doris Lessing’s talk on ‘What use are men?’, and geneticist Richard Dawkins’ speech on religion and evolution following his book The God Delusion.
Music buffs go to the ‘land of song’ for many reasons. Wales is famous for its male voice choirs and visitors can watch the boys practice in over a hundred venues in Wales just by making a phone call. Fans go to see the best of world and classical music at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod (June), and those into jazz and blues click their fingers at the Brecon Jazz Festival (August).
Wales is also home to bestselling band the Manic Street Preachers and the brilliant Super Furry Animals (SFA). The SFA mix rock, folk, and rave beats in songs about love and gravity, politics and technology, consumerism, and turtles named Venus and Serena. The bilingual SFA epitomise all that is groovy, surreally humourous, intelligent and unique about modern Wales. Their Welsh language album, Mwng, is an ideal introduction to the melodious national language, Welsh.
Nature lovers flock to the nation’s beautiful beaches, countryside and lakes to watch dolphins and the wildlife of coastal and rural Wales, a nature lover’s paradise.
Party animals head for the pubs and dance clubs of Cardiff, the nations capital. Cardiff is starting to rival Manchester and Liverpool for world-class nightlife.
Welsh people of course don’t have to travel far to experience the joys of their country. As you know, the UK is a union of four nations, and each has its own distinctive culture and national character. Wales is the only officially bilingual country of the four, with English and Welsh as the two national languages, and this gives you some idea of how different Wales is to England.
The cool Cyrmu (Welsh) are as proud of their country, language, and culture as you are of yours, and have a unique and modern country with something for all types of people. What type are you?
