1.
Local government in Wales
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For local government purposes, Wales has since 1 April 1996 been divided into 22 single-tier principal areas. The elected councils of these areas are responsible for the provision of all government services, including education, social work, environmental protection. Below these there are also elected community councils to which responsibility for specific aspects of the application of local policy may be devolved. The Queen appoints a Lord Lieutenant to represent her in each of the eight preserved counties of Wales, subdivisions of Wales created for such purposes as the provision of police and emergency services and the organization of the National Health Service are made up of combinations of principal areas. There are six cities in total in Wales, in addition to the three areas with city status, the communities of Bangor, St Davids and St Asaph also have the status. City status is granted by letters patent, the status was, however, not officially recognised for many years. When city status was restored to St Davids in 1994, St Asaph town council submitted a petition for the same purpose, the petition was refused as, unlike St Davids, there was no evidence of any charter or letters patent in the past conferring the status. Applications for city status in competitions in 2000 and 2002 were unsuccessful, There are 22 principal areas in Wales. They came into being on 1 April 1996 by virtue of the Local Government Act 1994, eleven are named as counties, including the Cities and Counties of Cardiff and Swansea, and eleven are styled as county boroughs. In 2002 Newport was granted city status, and the county borough is now styled as the City of Newport, Welsh language forms are given in parentheses, except where there is no English equivalent. Locations of each council headquarters are indicated by yellow markers, the current names of certain unitary authority areas are different from those specified in the Local Government Act 1994. Elections planned for 2012 were delayed until 2013, the historic counties of Wales are ancient subdivisions of Wales, used for various functions for several hundred years. The oldest date from 1138 By 1066 the whole of England had been divided into counties, the first counties, Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire, were established in the 1240s. In 1284 the Principality of Gwynedd was divided into three counties, Anglesey, Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire and this can be regarded as an arrangement imposed on Wales by the English during the last years of Prince Llywelyn II. Before the end of the century, Flintshire had also become a county, the formation of counties was completed under the Act of Union 1536, which created Pembrokeshire, Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire, Radnorshire, Glamorganshire, Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire. These 13 counties were the main subdivisions of Wales from 1889 until the implementation in 1974 of the Local Government Act 1972. At the lowest level of subdivision in Wales are the communities. They may have elected community councils which perform a number of roles, such as providing local facilities, community councils are the equivalent of English parish councils
2.
Flag of Pembrokeshire
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The flag of Pembrokeshire is the flag of the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire. The flag was designed by Councillors Peter Stock, Dewi Pritchard, Jim Brock and it was registered by the Flag Institute in 1988. A statement by Peter Stock, The flag was dedicated as the flag of Pembrokeshire. The ceremony was recorded for posterity, joffre Swales, founder and conductor of the Haverfordwest Town Band wrote a march entitled The Pembrokeshire Flag for the band to perform on marches around the county. The Pembrokeshire Flag is based on the flag of St David, the blue is also considered to be reminiscent of the sea, and the yellow of summer sunshine. The central rose represents the red Tudor Rose, a used by King Henry VII, who founded the Tudor dynasty. The green pentagon around the rose symbolises the green fields and cliff-tops of Pembrokeshire, the pantone colours for the flag are, Blue 300 Yellow 109 Green 354 Red 485 White
3.
Haverfordwest
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Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and serves as the countys principal commercial and administrative centre. The 2011 census quoted a population of 12,042 only living within the confines of the parish and this agreed with the total population of all 5 wards involved. The town includes the suburbs of Prendergast and Albert Town and the residential and industrial area of Withybush. Merlins Bridge, a village and community, adjoins to the south. The strategic position at the lowest fordable point of the Western Cleddau led to importance from the Roman era to the present. The majority of the town, comprising the old parishes of St. Mary, St. Martin and St. Thomas, on the left bank are the suburbs of Prendergast and Cartlett. At this point, a pair of ridges extending east-west and separated by a deep. This leaves two high spurs on the west side of the river, on the northern spur, the castle and its surrounding settlement form the core of St Martins parish. On the southern spur, the High Street ascends steeply from the river, from the foot of each spur, ancient bridges cross the river to Prendergast, St Martins Bridge and St Marys Bridge. St Thomass parish occupies the south side of the southern spur, from these core areas, the town has spread, mainly along the ridges. In addition to the four ancient parish churches, the remains of an Augustinian priory are visible at the edge of the town. The name of the town means ford used by heifers, from Old English hæfar=heifer, in local dialect, it is pronounced Harford. The Welsh language name is said by B. G, Charles to be merely a corruption of the English name, and as such has no meaning in Welsh. Another claim is that Tudor monarchs called it Hereford or Hertford in the West, the veracity of these competing explanations of the name origin continues to be a matter of debate amongst scholars and linguistic experts. It seems likely that such a strategic location would have been settled in some way from an early date. Some have asserted there is no documentary or archaeological evidence of a settlement on the site before the 12th century. However archaeological discoveries in Pembrokeshire suggest otherwise, Edward Llwyds note to Camdens Britannia refers to a valuable find of silver coins at Llanboidy, the latest coin being one of Domitian struck in AD91. In the 1920s Sir Mortimer Wheeler partially excavated a Roman dwelling or villa at Wolfscastle, the Roman legionary headquarters at Caerleon were roofed with slates from the lower slopes of the Preseli Hills
4.
Pembrokeshire County Council
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Pembrokeshire County Council is the governing body for Pembrokeshire, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. It received criticism for having leased a Porsche sports car for its chief executive. Elections take place four years. The last elections were on 3 May 2012, the county is divided into 60 electoral divisions, each returning one councillor. Some of these divisions are coterminous with communities of the same name, most communities have their own elected council. There are ten town councils and 52 community councils in the county, the following table lists council divisions, communities, and associated geographical areas
5.
MPs elected in the UK general election, 2015
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The fifty-sixth Parliament of the United Kingdom is the legislature of the United Kingdom following the 2015 general election of Members of Parliament to the House of Commons. Parliament, which consists of the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons, was convened on 27 May 2015 at the Palace of Westminster by Queen Elizabeth II, the election saw each of Parliaments 650 constituencies return one MP to the House of Commons. It resulted in a Conservative majority, a loss of seats for the Liberal Democrats. UKIP won its first seat at a general election, alliance and Respect each had their representation from the last Parliament wiped out. The UUP won representation after none in the previous Parliament, below is a graphical representation of the House of Commons showing a comparison of party strengths as it was directly after the 2015 general election. This table shows the number of MPs in each party, Notes See here for a full list of changes during the fifty-sixth Parliament. In addition to the parties listed in the table above, the Co-operative Party is also represented in the House of Commons by Labour MPs sitting with the Labour Co-operative designation, the number of these MPs was twenty-four after the general election, and is currently twenty-six. The actual government majority is calculated as Conservative MPs less all other parties and this calculation excludes the Speaker, Deputy Speakers and Sinn Féin. The following table is a list of MPs elected, ordered by constituency, names of incumbents are listed where they stood for re-election, for details of defeated new candidates and the incumbent who stood down in those cases see individual constituency articles. Notes After the general election, changes can occur in the composition of the House of Commons and this happens as a result of the election of Deputy Speakers, by-elections, defections, suspensions or removal of whip. After the swearing in of MPs and the elections of the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers, the current government majority is sixteen. The net outcome of all changes over the course of the Parliament has resulted in two fewer Labour MPs, two fewer SNP MPs, one more Liberal Democrat MP and three more independent MPs. Directly after the 2015 State Opening of Parliament, the Speaker nominated Sir Roger Gale, the election of Deputy Speakers took place on 3 June 2015. Although Deputy Speakers do not resign from their parties, they cease to vote, by-elections are held for seats that become vacant. In some situations, the label under which MPs sit in the House of Commons can change, when this happens, MPs often become independents. Michelle Thomson Thomson withdrew from the SNP whip on 29 September 2015 after her business became the subject of an investigation into alleged irregularities regarding property deals. As a result, she now sits as an independent, in line with party rules, upon withdrawing from the whip, her SNP membership was suspended. As a result, she now sits as an independent, in line with party rules, upon withdrawing from the whip, her SNP membership was suspended
6.
Simon Hart
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Hart was born in Wolverhampton, grew up in the Cotswolds, and attended Radley College before the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester. He worked as a Chartered Surveyor in Carmarthen and Haverfordwest and served with the Territorial Army for five years in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars, Hart was Master of the South Pembrokeshire Hunt for 10 years from 1988 to the end of the 1997/8 season. Hart was Chief Executive of the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance, 2003-2010 and he is currently in receipt of £30,000 per annum for 8 hours work per week from them. Hart lives in Llanmill near Narberth in Pembrokeshire with his wife Abigail, Hart has been the MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire since 2010. Hart is a supporter of hunting and the badger cull. He actively campaigns to overturn the 2004 Hunting Bill and assist the National Farmers Union of England, upon stepping down as Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, Hart received a one off severance payment equivalent to 6 months salary. In January,2013, Hart said the RSPCAs legal role needs more oversight given its political and commercial activities and he said that the RSPCA a duty to spend its members money wisely. He remarked that gulf between the very good activity of inspectors on the ground whose principal concern is animal welfare, Hart was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum
7.
Conservative Party (UK)
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The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. It is currently the party, having won a majority of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election. The partys leader, Theresa May, is serving as Prime Minister. It is the largest party in government with 8,702 councillors. The Conservative Party is one of the two major political parties in the United Kingdom, the other being its modern rival. The Conservative Partys platform involves support for market capitalism, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, a strong national defence, deregulation. In the 1920s, the Liberal vote greatly diminished and the Labour Party became the Conservatives main rivals, Conservative Prime Ministers led governments for 57 years of the twentieth century, including Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. Thatchers tenure led to wide-ranging economic liberalisation, the Conservative Partys domination of British politics throughout the twentieth century has led to them being referred to as one of the most successful political parties in the Western world. The Conservatives are the joint-second largest British party in the European Parliament, with twenty MEPs, the party is a member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe Europarty and the International Democrat Union. The party is the second-largest in the Scottish Parliament and the second-largest in the Welsh Assembly, the party is also organised in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The Conservative Party traces its origins to a faction, rooted in the 18th century Whig Party and they were known as Independent Whigs, Friends of Mr Pitt, or Pittites. After Pitts death the term Tory came into use and this was an allusion to the Tories, a political grouping that had existed from 1678, but which had no organisational continuity with the Pittite party. From about 1812 on the name Tory was commonly used for the newer party, the term Conservative was suggested as a title for the party by a magazine article by J. Wilson Croker in the Quarterly Review in 1830. The name immediately caught on and was adopted under the aegis of Sir Robert Peel around 1834. Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the Tamworth Manifesto, the term Conservative Party rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845. In 1912, the Liberal Unionists merged with the Conservative Party, in Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance had been formed in 1891 which merged anti-Home Rule Unionists into one political movement. Its MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster, and in essence formed the Irish wing of the party until 1922. The Conservatives served with the Liberals in an all-party coalition government during World War I, keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914, especially on the issue of Irish Unionism and the experience of three consecutive election losses
8.
Stephen Crabb
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Stephen Crabb PC MP is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Preseli Pembrokeshire since the 2005 general election and was Secretary of State for Work and he has previously been a government whip, a junior minister for Wales and the Secretary of State for Wales. Although born in Inverness to a Scottish mother, Crabbs upbringing was mostly in Haverfordwest and his father began claiming long-term sickness benefit – known then as Invalidity Benefit – the year before Crabb was born. His mother separated from his father when Crabb was eight years old and she raised him and his two brothers on a council estate, living on benefits and receiving help from family, friends and the Baptist church. His father continued to live in Pembrokeshire, but the two rarely spoke and he also said, I was brought up in a home where a huge amount of emphasis was put on work. so work and education as routes out of poverty were drummed into us. Crabb was educated at primary schools. He has said the education there was second to none. I tasted very best of what a state education can provide, Crabb went on to study politics at the University of Bristol and graduated in 1995. Later, he gained an MBA at the London Business School, on leaving university, Crabb took an unpaid post as a Christian Action Research and Education parliamentary intern. In 1996, he became the Parliamentary Affairs Officer for the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, in 1998, he served as an election monitor in Bosnia and Herzegovina and started work as a policy manager at the London Chamber of Commerce. In 2002 he became a marketing consultant, Crabb joined the Conservative Party upon leaving university. In 1998, while living in London, Crabb was elected as the chairman of the Southwark North and Bermondsey Conservative Association, in 2001, Crabb stood for Parliament in the seat where he grew up – Preseli Pembrokeshire. He came second, but in 2005 he took the seat from Labour with a majority of 607 votes – one of three Welsh Conservative MPs who ended the Tory free zone that had existed in Wales since 1997, Crabb was the youngest member of the 2005 Conservative intake. He made his speech on 25 May 2005. In 2010, Crabb retained his seat with a majority of 4,605 and 42. 79% of the vote, in the general election on 7 May 2015, Crabb retained his seat with a majority of 4,969 and 40. 4% of the vote. In 2010, Crabb chaired the cross-party group for Democracy in Burma and was patron of the Burma Campaign UK, the Conservative Party website describes Crabb as someone who takes a strong interest in international development and believes firmly in the importance of UK aid. From 2010 to 2012, he led the Conservative Partys Project Umubano, Crabb has served on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, the International Development Select Committee and the Treasury Select Committee. He was appointed to the Conservative front bench in 2009 as Junior Whip, during the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal, it was reported that Crabb had claimed £8,049 for refurbishments to his flat in London that were carried out from July 2006. Crabb said in response, I haven’t claimed for things like plasma TVs and my claims were always within the letter and the spirit of the rules
9.
Members of the National Assembly for Wales
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The National Assembly for Wales is composed of 60 members known as AMs or Assembly Members. Forty are chosen to represent each individual constituency, and 20 are chosen to represent the five regions of Wales, each person in Wales is represented by five AMs – one AM for their constituency, and another four AMs covering their region. Wales five regions are, Mid and West Wales, North Wales, South Wales Central, South Wales East and this additional member system produces a form of proportional representation for each region. All AMs positions become vacant for elections held on a four-year cycle. A constituency vacancy may be filled by a by-election, an additional-member vacancy may be filled by the next available candidate on the relevant party list
10.
Angela Burns
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Angela Burns is a British businesswoman and politician who was elected as Conservative member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire to the National Assembly for Wales in May 2007. Burns was from an English family and brought up in foreign countries. She went into business after leaving school, working for such as Waitrose, Thorn EMI and Asda. She later moved to Pembrokeshire with her husband and became active in politics, in recent times she has become involved with local issues in south Pembrokeshire, particularly the proposed downgrading of the two District Hospitals of Glangwili and Withybush. She defeated the sitting Labour Party member Christine Gwyther by only 98 votes and she was the Shadow Minister for Finance and Public Sector Delivery from 11 July 2007 to 16 June 2008, and became the Shadow Minister for Transport and Regeneration on 22 October 2008. Media related to Angela Burns at Wikimedia Commons Member Profile at the National Assembly for Wales Personal website
11.
Paul Davies (Welsh politician)
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Paul Windsor Davies is a Welsh Conservative politician. He was elected in May 2007 to the National Assembly for Wales representing the constituency of Preseli Pembrokeshire and he was re-elected in May 2011, and again in May 2016. He attended Tregroes Primary School and Llandysul Grammar School, obtaining A levels at Newcastle Emlyn Comprehensive School, Davies now lives in Blaenffos, north Pembrokeshire. Davies worked for Lloyds TSB as a Business Manager based in Haverfordwest from 1987 until his election to the National Assembly. In February 2000, Davies was adopted as the Conservative Party candidate in the Ceredigion by-election and he then fought the seat in the 2001 general election. In the Welsh Assembly election of 2003, he fought Preseli Pembrokeshire where he increased the share of the vote from 23% to 30%, Davies has also held office within the Conservative Party including chairman of Ceredigion Conservative Association and Deputy Chairman of Mid and West Wales Conservatives. He was first elected to the Assembly in 2007, until March 2009 he served as Shadow Minister for Culture, the Welsh Language and Sport. From March 2009 until the Assembly Election in 2011, Davies held the role of Shadow Minister for Education, paul Davies AM, own website Member Profile, National Assembly for Wales website Welsh Conservatives website
12.
Member of the European Parliament
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A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament was first established, MEPs were directly appointed by the governments of states from among those already sitting in their own national parliaments. Since 1979, however, MEPs have been elected by universal suffrage. Each member state establishes its own method for electing MEPs – and in some states this has changed over time –, in some member states the MEPs are elected to represent a single national constituency, in others they are elected from sub-national regions. For a list of current MEPs, see Members of the European Parliament 2014–2019, from 1 January 2007, when Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, there were 785 MEPs, but their number was reduced to 736 at the elections in 2009. With effect from the elections held in May 2014 the number has risen again and now stands at 751, with member state having at least six. Elections are held every five years, on the basis of universal adult suffrage. The electoral area may be subdivided if this will not generally affect the nature of the voting system. Any election threshold on the level must not exceed five percent. As the number of MEPs granted to each state has arisen from treaty negotiations. No change in this configuration can occur without the consent of all national governments. The most recent elections to the European Parliament were the European elections of 2014 and they were the largest simultaneous transnational elections ever held anywhere in the world, since nearly 500 million citizens were eligible to vote. The European Parliament has a turnover of members compared to some national parliaments. For instance, after the 2004 elections, the majority of elected members had not been members in the parliamentary session. Only one has served continuously since the first elections in 1979, MEPs are organised into seven different cross-nationality political groups, except the 15 non-attached members known as non-inscrits. The two largest groups are the European Peoples Party and the Socialists & Democrats and these two groups have dominated the Parliament for much of its life, continuously holding between 50 and 70 percent of the seats together. No single group has held a majority in Parliament. Although, the European groups, between 2004 and 2009, were more cohesive than their US counterparts
13.
European Parliament Election, 2004 (UK)
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The United Kingdoms part of this election was held on Thursday 10 June 2004. The election also coincided with the 2004 local elections and the London Assembly, in total,78 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom using proportional representation. The Conservative Party and the Labour Party both polled poorly, the Conservatives experienced their lowest vote share in a national election since 1832, and Labour their lowest since 1918. In Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin beat the SDLP in the polls, the United Kingdom elected 78 Members of the European Parliament using proportional representation. The United Kingdom was divided into twelve multi-member constituencies, the eleven of these regions which form Great Britain used a closed-list party list system method of proportional representation, calculated using the DHondt method. Northern Ireland used the Single Transferable Vote, as a consequence of the 2004 enlargement of the European Union, the number of seats allocated to the United Kingdom was fewer than in 1999. It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using postal-only voting in four areas, the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and East Midlands regions. Changes in regional seat allocations 1 Includes Gibraltar, the only British overseas territory which is part of the EU, turnout for all the regions was 37. 6% on an electorate of 45,309,760. The Conservatives and Labour both polled poorly, the Conservatives, although getting a vote share 4. 1% greater than Labour, experienced their lowest vote share in a national election since 1832. Labours vote share was its lowest since 1918, labours decline in votes was regarded as being largely due to widespread public dissatisfaction about the Iraq War and, as with the Conservatives, the increased popularity of UKIP. UKIP saw an increase in support, increasing its number of MEPs from 3 to 12, drawing level with the Liberal Democrats. UKIP polled higher than the Liberal Democrats and pushing them into fourth place, turnout was lowest in Scotland, which did not hold local elections on the same day. In Scotland, Labour topped the poll, followed by the SNP, the Conservative Partys share of the vote declined by 2 percent, making it the region with the smallest swing against them. Wales was the region were Labour increased its share of the vote compared to 1999. The Conservatives managed to make gains pushing Plaid Cymru into third, similarly UKIP narrowly beat the Liberal Democrats into fourth place. Wales was the region were the Green Party polled their lowest share of the vote, summary of the election results for Great Britain All parties with over 10,000 votes listed. Gibraltar participated in the United Kingdoms election for the first time in 2004 as part of the South West England constituency, Gibraltar is a British overseas territory and therefore is under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom but does not form part of it. Gibraltar is however part of the EU, the only BOT to be so, none of the main Gibraltar political parties contested the election, so voters chose from United Kingdom party lists
14.
Welsh language
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Welsh is a member of the Brittonic branch of the Celtic languages. It is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, historically it has also been known in English as the British tongue, Cambrian, Cambric and Cymric. The United Kingdom Census 2011 counted 3.1 million residents of Wales, 27% of whom had been born outside Wales, and 73% of whom reported having no Welsh language skills. Of residents of Wales aged three and over, 19% reported being able to speak Welsh, and 77% of these were able to speak, read and this can be compared with the 2001 Census, in which 20. 8% of the population reported being able to speak Welsh. 787,854 of residents in Wales aged three and over had one or more skills in Welsh, in surveys carried out between 2004 and 2006, 57% of Welsh speakers described themselves as fluent in the written language. An estimated 110,000 to 150,000 people speak Welsh in England, Welsh emerged in the 6th century from Common Brittonic, the common ancestor of Welsh, Breton, Cornish and the extinct language known as Cumbric. The Middle Welsh period is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, the name Welsh originated as an exonym given to its speakers by the Anglo-Saxons, meaning foreign speech. The native term for the language is Cymraeg, and for the name of the country of Wales it is Cymru, Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic, the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons. Classified as Insular Celtic, the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth. During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, evolving into Welsh and it is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Kenneth H. Jackson suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around 550, Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or Early Poets – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was composed in the Hen Ogledd, raising further questions about the dating of the material. An 8th century inscription in Tywyn shows the language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns, the next main period, somewhat better attested, is Old Welsh, poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of the language. Both the works of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin were in this era, Middle Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts, Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible, albeit with some work, to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The famous cleric Gerald of Wales tells, in his Descriptio Cambriae, during one of the Kings many raids in the 12th century, Henry asked an old man of Pencader, Carmarthenshire whether the Welsh people could resist his army
15.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
16.
Carmarthenshire
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Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south-west of Wales and is the largest of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford, Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre of Carmarthenshire, but the most populous settlement is Llanelli. Carmarthenshire has been inhabited since prehistoric times, the town of Carmarthen was founded by the Romans, and the region was part of the Principality of Deheubarth during the High Middle Ages. It saw turbulent times during the invasion by the Normans in the 12th and 13h centuries before it was subjugated, along other parts of Wales. There was further unrest in the early 15th century when the Welsh rebelled under Owain Glyndŵr, Carmarthenshire is mainly an agricultural county, apart from the southeastern part which at one time was heavily industrialised with coal mining, steel-making and tin-plating. In the north of the county the woollen industry was important in the 18th century. Nowadays the economy of the county depends on agriculture, forestry, fishing, with the decline in its industrial base and the low profitability of the livestock sector, Carmarthenshire is economically one of the worst-performing regions in the United Kingdom. Although Carmarthenshire is less frequented as a tourist destination than some other counties in Wales, further west are the sandy beaches at Llansteffan and Pendine, and Dylan Thomas boathouse at Laugharne. Further inland there are a number of castles, hillforts. Humans have been living in Carmarthenshire since at least 40,000 years ago as evidenced by stone tools found in Coygan Cave, near Laugharne. The Romans established two forts in South Wales, one at Caerwent to control the southeast of the country, the fort at Carmarthen dates from around 75 AD, and there is a Roman amphitheatre nearby, so this probably makes Carmarthen the oldest continually occupied town in Wales. Carmarthenshire has its roots in the region formerly known as Ystrad Tywi and part of the Principality of Deheubarth during the High Middle Ages. After the Normans had subjugated England they tried to subdue Wales, Carmarthenshire was disputed between the Normans and the Welsh lords and many of the castles built around this time, first of wood and then stone, changed hands several times. Following the Conquest of Wales by Edward I, the region was reorganized by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 into Carmarthenshire. Edward I made Carmarthen the capital of new county, establishing his courts of chancery and his exchequer there. The Normans transformed Carmarthen into a trading port, the only staple port in Wales. Merchants imported food and French wines and exported wool, pelts, leather, lead, Carmarthen was particularly susceptible to plague as it was brought in by flea-infested rats on board ships from southern France. In 1405, Owain Glyndŵr captured Carmarthen Castle and several other strongholds in the neighbourhood, however, when his support dwindled, the principal men of the county returned their allegiance to King Henry V
17.
Ceredigion
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Ceredigion is a county in Mid Wales. In the Middle Ages, it was a minor kingdom also known for a time as Seisyllwg, following its Norman conquest, the name was anglicised to Cardigan and then Cardiganshire and it began to be administered as a county in 1282. The county had a population of 75,900 at the 2011 UK census and its largest town, Aberystwyth, is one of the two administrative centres, the other being Aberaeron. Aberystwyth houses Aberystwyth University, Bronglais Hospital and the National Library of Wales, the inland town of Lampeter houses part of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Ceredigion is considered to be a centre of Welsh culture and more than half the population speaks Welsh, the county is mainly rural with over 50 miles of coastline and a mountainous hinterland. The numerous sandy beaches, together with the long-distance Ceredigion Coast Path provide excellent views of Cardigan Bay, the economy became highly dependent on dairy farming and the rearing of livestock for the English market. Ceredigion has been inhabited since prehistoric times,170 hill forts and enclosures have been identified across the county, around the time of the Roman invasion of Britain, the area was between the realms of the Demetae and Ordovices. The Sarn Helen road ran through the territory, with forts at Bremia, following the Roman withdrawal, Irish raids and invasions were repulsed, supposedly by the forces under a northerner named Cunedda. The 9th-century History of the Britons attributed to Nennius records that Cuneddas son Ceredig settled the area around the Teifi in the 5th century. The territory supposedly remained a kingdom under his dynasty until its extinction upon the drowning of Gwgon ap Meurig c. 871, after which it was administered by Rhodri Mawr of Gwynedd before passing to his son Cadell. Many pilgrims passed through Cardiganshire on their way to St Davids, some came by sea and made use of the churches at Mwnt and Penbryn, while others came by land seeking hospitality at such places as Strata Florida Abbey. Both the abbey and Llanbadarn Fawr were important monastic sites of scholarship, place names including ysbyty denote their association with pilgrims. In 1282, Edward I of England conquered the principality of Wales, one of thirteen traditional counties in Wales, Cardiganshire was also a vice-county. Cardiganshire was split into the five hundreds of Genaur-Glyn, Ilar, Moyddyn, Penarth, every community built its own chapel or meeting house, and Cardiganshire became one of the centres of Methodism in Wales with the Aeron Valley being at the centre of the revival. Cardigan was one of the ports of southern Wales, but its harbour silted in the mid-19th century. In the uplands, wheeled vehicles were rare in the 18th century, on the coast, trade in herrings and corn took place across the Irish Sea. In the 19th century, many of the rural poor emigrated to the New World from Cardigan, Aberystwyth became the main centre for the export of lead and Aberaeron and Newquay did brisk coastal trade. The building of the railway from Shrewsbury in the 1860s encouraged visitors and this area of the county of Dyfed became a district of Wales under the name Ceredigion in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and since 1996, has formed the county of Ceredigion
18.
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
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Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the one in the United Kingdom to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline. It is one of three National Parks in Wales, the others being the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia, the National Park has a varied landscape of rugged cliffs, sandy beaches, wooded estuaries and wild inland hills, covering a total area of 629 km2. It falls into four distinct sections, however, not all of the park is coastal, and there are even forests and marshes on the edges of the park. A stack of note is Stack Rocks, two large detached pillars of limestone. In the west, the National Park is dominated by the sweep of St Brides Bay, bounded at its northern end by Ramsey Island, near St Davids peninsula. In 2011 National Geographic magazine voted Pembrokeshire the second best coastal destination in the world, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path is a designated National Trail. It was established in 1970, and is 186 miles long, mostly at cliff-top level, the southern end of the path is at Amroth. Here the path links with the Ceredigion Coast Path, which continues northwards, the Park is managed by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, which has around 130 staff and a committee of 18 members. The Authoritys purposes are to conserve the National Park, encourage the public to enjoy and understand it and its offices are in Pembroke Dock. The Authority also manages the entire length of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, over the years Pembrokeshires beaches, all of which lie in the National Park, have been awarded many International Blue Flag Awards,47 Green Coast Awards and 106 Seaside Awards. In 2011 it also had 39 beaches recommended by the Marine Conservation Society, beaches in the park include, Electric bicycles were introduced in 2005 by the National park authority for use by its employees. UK coastline Castlemartin Training Area Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority
19.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
20.
Snowdonia National Park
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Snowdonia is a mountainous region in north Wales and a national park of 823 square miles in area. It was the first to be designated of the three parks in Wales, in 1951. The English name for the area derives from Snowdon, which is the highest mountain in Wales at 3,560 ft, in Welsh, the area is named Eryri. The term ‘Eryri’ first appeared in a manuscript in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, in the Middle Ages the title Prince of Wales and Lord of Snowdonia was used by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, his grandfather Llywelyn Fawr used the title Prince of north Wales and Lord of Snowdonia. This is apparent in books published prior to 1951, such as the classic travelogue Wild Wales by George Borrow, F. J. North, as editor of the book Snowdonia, states When the Committee delineated provisional boundaries, they included areas some distance beyond Snowdonia proper. The traditional Snowdonia thus includes the ranges of Snowdon and its satellites, the Glyderau, the Carneddau and it does not include the hills to the south of Maentwrog. As Eryri, this area has a place in Welsh history, tradition. Snowdonia National Park was established in 1951 as the national park in Britain, following the Peak District. It covers 827 square miles, and has 37 miles of coastline, the park is governed by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, which is made up of local government and Welsh representatives, and its main offices are at Penrhyndeudraeth. Unlike national parks in countries, Snowdonia are made up of both public and private lands under central planning authority. The makeup of land ownership at Snowdonia is as follows, More than 26,000 people live within the park,58. 6% of the population could speak Welsh in 2011. While most of the land is open or mountainous land. Since the local government re-organisation of 1998, the park partly in the county of Gwynedd. Unusually, Snowdonia National Park has a hole in the middle, around the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog and this was deliberately excluded from the park when it was set up to allow the development of new light industry to replace the reduced slate industry. The Snowdonia Society is a charity formed in 1967. It is a group of people with an interest in the area. Amory Lovins led the successful 1970s opposition to stop Rio Tinto digging up the area for a massive mine. Research indicates that there were 3.67 million visitors to Snowdonia National Park in 2013, total tourist expenditure was £433.6 million in 2013
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Brecon Beacons National Park
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The Brecon Beacons National Park is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain in the west, Fforest Fawr and the Brecon Beacons in the centre, the Brecon Beacons National Park was established in 1957, the third of the three Welsh parks after Snowdonia in 1951 and the Pembrokeshire Coast in 1952. The western half gained European and Global status in 2005 as Fforest Fawr Geopark and this includes the Black Mountain, the historic extent of Fforest Fawr, and much of the Brecon Beacons and surrounding lowlands. The entire National Park achieved the status of being an International Dark Sky Reserve in February 2013, most of the National Park is bare, grassy moorland grazed by Welsh mountain ponies and Welsh mountain sheep, with scattered forestry plantations, and pasture in the valleys. It is known for its reservoirs, waterfalls including the 90-foot Henrhyd Waterfall and the falls at Ystradfellte. The Brecon Beacons Mountain Centre was opened in 1966 to help visitors understand, due to the relative remoteness and harsh weather of some of its uplands, the Park is used for military training. UK Special Forces, including the SAS and SBS hold demanding selection training exercises here, the infantry regiments of the British Army train at Sennybridge, where NCO selection also takes place. In 2006 and 2007, controversy surrounded the government decision to build the South Wales Gas Pipeline through the Park, the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority is a special purpose local authority which exercises planning functions across the designated area of the park. The park extends across the part of Powys, the northwestern part of Monmouthshire. The 100-mile route, called the Beacons Way, runs from Abergavenny via Ysgyryd Fawr in the east, a railway with narrow gauge trains run by the Brecon Mountain Railway
22.
Blue Flag Award
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The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education that a beach, marina or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its stringent standards. FEEs Blue Flag criteria include standards for quality, safety, environmental education and information. The Blue Flag is sought for beaches, marinas and sustainable boating tourism operators as an indication of their high environmental, certificates, which FEE refers to as awards, are issued on an annual basis to beaches and marinas of FEE member countries. In the European Union, the quality standards are incorporated in the EC Water Framework Directive. As a result of the 2015 awards, a total of 4,154 Blue Flags are waving around the world, the table below lists the Blue Flags awarded and in force in 2015. The table can be sorted to show the number of Blue Flags per country and also the number of Blue Flags per population. Note, Wales, Scotland, England and Ireland have always treated as individual countries e. g. in 2013 Ireland had 73 Blue Flag beaches and marinas, England had 55 Wales had 38. 1987 was the European Year of the Environment and the European Commission was responsible for developing the European Community activities of that year. The French concept of the Blue Flag was developed on European level to other areas of environmental management, such as waste management and coastal planning. Besides beaches marinas also became eligible for the Blue Flag, in 1987,244 beaches and 208 marinas from 10 countries were awarded the Blue Flag. There have been increases in the numbers of Blue Flags awarded each year, the criteria have during these years been changed to more strict criteria. Several organisations and authorities outside the European Union have joined FEE, FEE has been cooperating with UNEP and UN WTO on extending the Programme to areas outside Europe. South Africa, Canada, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, FEE standards allow for regional variations in beach criteria to reflect specific environmental conditions of a region. As of 2006 an international set of criteria is being used with some variations, in 2016, Blue Flag extended its programme boat-based tourism activities like nature watching, recreational fishing, diving and crewed charter tours. Certified tour operators have to comply with criteria regarding the operation of their boats. In 2015 over 4,154 beaches and marinas globally were awarded the Blue Flag, code of environmental conduct is posted in the marina. Information about the Blue Flag Marina Programme and/or the Blue Flag Marina Criteria are posted in the marina, production of an environmental policy and plan at the marina. The plan should include references to water, waste and energy consumption, health and safety issues, adequate and properly identified and segregated containers for the storage of hazardous wastes
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Green Coast Award
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Keep Wales Tidy is a Welsh national voluntary environmental charity which works towards achieving a clean, safe and tidy Wales. It works in partnership with Local Authorities, schools and community groups, Keep Wales Tidy started as a campaign in 1972, funded by the Welsh Office. At this time it was an offshoot of the charity Keep Britain Tidy, in 2000 Keep Wales Tidy established itself as a separate company, beginning the process of separation from the parent group, and this was completed in 2005. Today there are no ties between the two groups, although they often collaborate on common issues. In 2008 the organisation adopted a Fair Trade policy, sourcing items like coffee, tea, larger items such as staff T-shirts are also Fair Trade sourced. Keep Wales Tidy runs a number of projects, including, This project works to improve the environment in Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government has given all Welsh local authorities a Tidy Towns grant, and each one now has a Tidy Towns Officer. Much of their work in area is on general litter issues. This project works with children and young people in the school environment, sustainability issues are a part of the scheme, and 3 awards can be earned - Bronze, Silver, and Green Flag. The full criteria for Green Flag Award status can be found here, Keep Wales Tidy administers 3 different awards related to beaches, namely the Blue Flag Award, the Green Coast Award and the Seaside Award. All 3 categories have the management of the beach as a central factor, be this by the local authority. The awards are made annually, but may be withdrawn during the season if the criteria are not fulfilled, Welsh Water / Dŵr Cymru plays an important role in this work, through its Green Sea Partnership. The Blue Flag Award, introduced in 1999, is given where strict criteria are met, relating to quality, cleanliness, management. A total of 41 beaches and 5 marinas were awarded Blue Flags in 2011, the Green Coast Award is unique in that it recognises Guideline water quality. 47 beaches were awarded the Green Coast Award in 2011, the Seaside Award is given annually to beaches which can attain a minimum standard in water quality, cleanliness, safety, and management. Given the variation in types of beaches, two categories of beach are considered - resort and rural, the number of beaches awarded Seaside Awards in 2011 was 104. The full criteria for Resort Beach status can be found here, the full criteria for Rural Beach status can be found here. Keep Wales Tidy promoted its I Will for Wales / Fe Wnaf dros Gymru campaign at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham in 2011
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Seaside Award
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Keep Wales Tidy is a Welsh national voluntary environmental charity which works towards achieving a clean, safe and tidy Wales. It works in partnership with Local Authorities, schools and community groups, Keep Wales Tidy started as a campaign in 1972, funded by the Welsh Office. At this time it was an offshoot of the charity Keep Britain Tidy, in 2000 Keep Wales Tidy established itself as a separate company, beginning the process of separation from the parent group, and this was completed in 2005. Today there are no ties between the two groups, although they often collaborate on common issues. In 2008 the organisation adopted a Fair Trade policy, sourcing items like coffee, tea, larger items such as staff T-shirts are also Fair Trade sourced. Keep Wales Tidy runs a number of projects, including, This project works to improve the environment in Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government has given all Welsh local authorities a Tidy Towns grant, and each one now has a Tidy Towns Officer. Much of their work in area is on general litter issues. This project works with children and young people in the school environment, sustainability issues are a part of the scheme, and 3 awards can be earned - Bronze, Silver, and Green Flag. The full criteria for Green Flag Award status can be found here, Keep Wales Tidy administers 3 different awards related to beaches, namely the Blue Flag Award, the Green Coast Award and the Seaside Award. All 3 categories have the management of the beach as a central factor, be this by the local authority. The awards are made annually, but may be withdrawn during the season if the criteria are not fulfilled, Welsh Water / Dŵr Cymru plays an important role in this work, through its Green Sea Partnership. The Blue Flag Award, introduced in 1999, is given where strict criteria are met, relating to quality, cleanliness, management. A total of 41 beaches and 5 marinas were awarded Blue Flags in 2011, the Green Coast Award is unique in that it recognises Guideline water quality. 47 beaches were awarded the Green Coast Award in 2011, the Seaside Award is given annually to beaches which can attain a minimum standard in water quality, cleanliness, safety, and management. Given the variation in types of beaches, two categories of beach are considered - resort and rural, the number of beaches awarded Seaside Awards in 2011 was 104. The full criteria for Resort Beach status can be found here, the full criteria for Rural Beach status can be found here. Keep Wales Tidy promoted its I Will for Wales / Fe Wnaf dros Gymru campaign at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham in 2011
25.
Broad Haven South
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The beach is popular with tourists and locals all year round. There is a site near the beach at Trevallen Farm and the nearby village of Bosherston has a traditional country pub. The beach is inside the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and is owned by the National Trust which charge for car parking at the beach between March and October and it is free to park after 5. 30pm. Facilities at the beach include toilets, emergency telephone and during the summer an ice-cream van is parked on the cliff top, broad Haven South is known for Church Rock which protrudes from the water around 150 yards from the shore. It is also a location for surfers and bodyboarding. Http, //www. pembrokeshirebeaches. co. uk/beaches/broad-haven-south. php Visit Pembrokeshire National Trust Page
26.
Pembroke, Pembrokeshire
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Pembroke is a historic settlement and former county town of Pembrokeshire in West Wales. The town features a number of buildings and complexes and is one of the major population centres in the county. It was the birthplace of Henry Tudor, later Henry VII of England, Pembroke Castle, the remains of a stone mediæval castle was the birthplace of King Henry VII of England. Gerald de Windsor was Constable of Pembroke, Pembroke town and castle and its surroundings are linked with the early Christian church. Later this was the site of the Knights of St John in the UK, Monkton Priory has very early foundations and was renovated by the Knights in the last century. The first stone building was a tower, now known as the Medieval Chapel, 69a Main Street. There are the remains of a hall to the north. The building was used as an early church, the layout is the same as St. Govans Chapel and it was used by John Wesley from 1764 to preach Methodism. In 1866 it became the brewery for the York Tavern which was Oliver Cromwells headquarters at the Siege of Pembroke during the English Civil War, on both banks of the Pembroke River to the west of the castle are many remains of early activities. There is an early complete graving dock in what was Hancocks Yard. The bridge which crosses and constrains the millpond was constructed to house a tide mill, at Pennar Flats there was an early submarine base used for experiments in submarine warfare. Three of the houses on the foreshore, part of the shipyard before the Admiralty Dock Yard was built, are still standing but are heavily altered. The ferry port of Pembroke Dock is a town, which was established in 1814. It lies three miles to the north of Pembroke, the town and county derive their names from the cantref of Penfro, Pen = head or end, and bro = region, country, land, which has been interpreted to mean either Lands End or headland. Pembroke is on the south Pembrokeshire peninsula, by the estuary of the River Cleddau, Pembroke town is at the bottom of a small valley, flanked on all sides by woodland and arable farmland. The town is 8 miles south of the county town of Haverfordwest, the town is centred on Main Street, which is the only street that is inside the original town walls. Outside of the walls, residential estates have been built to the north towards Pembroke Dock, to the east towards the village of Lamphey, to the west of the town lies the village of Monkton, which is included as part of the community of Pembroke. At the 2001 census, the community had a population of 7,214, the conurbation of Pembroke Dock and Pembroke has a combined population of 15,890 and as such is one of the major population centres of West Wales
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Pembroke Dock
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Pembroke Dock is a community and a town in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, lying north of Pembroke on the River Cleddau. Originally a small fishing village known as Paterchurch, the town was expanded from 1814 onwards following the construction of a Royal Naval Dockyard. It is the third largest town in Pembrokeshire after Haverfordwest and Milford Haven, from the 790s until the Norman Invasion in 1066, the Milford Haven estuary was used occasionally by Vikings looking for shelter. During one visit, the Viking chieftain Hubba wintered in the haven with 23 ships, in 1172, three years after the Norman Invasion of Ireland, having prepared his fleet and army in the mouth of the Pembroke River, Henry II of England sailed there from the haven. Prior to 1814, the site of modern Pembroke Dock and its settlements were mostly farmland. The first recorded mention of Paterchurch was in 1289, in the area a medieval tower was built and, like nearby 18th century and 19th century fortifications, it may have served as a lookout post. By the 17th century, additional domestic and farm buildings close to the tower. The ruin of the tower now lies within the walls of the dockyard, Paterchurch Tower was the centre of an estate said to stretch from Pennar Point to Cosheston. This changed hands in 1422 when Ellen de Paterchurch married a John Adams, prior to the building of the town and before the dockyard was thought of, various sales and exchanges took place between the principal local landowners – the Adams, Owen and Meyrick families. These exchanges left the Meyricks in control of most of the land on which the dockyard, by 1802 the Paterchurch buildings were mostly ruins. The origins of naval shipbuilding on Milford Haven were in the shipyard of Jacobs on the north side of the Haven at Milford. In November 1757, the Admiralty sent a delegation to the haven. It should be noted that no place as Milford existed at this time. Secondly, the report showed early signs of lobbying existing, with the scale of the local infrastructure and ship building activity exaggerated. In partnership with the administrator, his nephew and heir the Hon. Charles Grenville. They began by building a shipyard, and leased it to a Messrs, in December 1796, in an unusual arrangement, the Admiralty directed the Navy Board to contract Jacobs shipyard to build a frigate and later a 74-gun ship-of-the-line. However, due to a lack of local standing oak, access to supplies of timber from the Baltic, and local skills in volume. The Navy took over the lease, and employed royalist French naval architect M. Rennie Barallier and his son as Builder
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Milford Haven
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Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the side of the Milford Haven Waterway. The town was founded in 1790 on the side of the Waterway. It then became a dock, with the focus moving in the 1960s, after the construction of an oil refinery built by the Esso Company, to logistics for fuel oil. Milford is the second largest settlement in Pembrokeshire, with a population of 12,830, as a Welsh local government community, Milford takes in the town of Milford itself and its suburbs, including Hakin, Hubberston, Liddeston, and Steynton. The total population of the 6 electoral wards in question was 13,907 at the 2011 census, the natural harbour of the Haven was known as a safe port and was exploited for several historical military operations throughout the second millennium. In 1485, Henry VII landed at the Milford Haven Waterway before marching on to England and it was known as a safe port and is mentioned in Shakespeares Cymbeline as blessed Milford. Sir William Hamilton, the founder, had acquired the land from his wife. Seven royal vessels were launched from the dockyard, including HMS Surprise. The town was built on a pattern, thought to have been to the design of Jean-Louis Barrallier. By 1849, the district of Hakin was described as a centre of boat building, and by 1906, Milford had become the sixth largest fishing port in the UK. The Pembrokeshire Herald claimed in 1912 that the trade is Milfords sole industry. the population of the town has doubled by means of it. In 1863, the network came to Milford, linking it to the Haverfordwest line. In 1866, work was completed on an extension which provided access to the docks. Between 1875 and 1886 The Great Eastern was a permanent fixture at Milford Docks and her arrival into the docks was heralded as an example of the scale of vessel which the town could expect to attract. In the late 1850s, work began on a network of forts on both sides of the Milford Haven estuary, as a result of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom. They were designed with the intention of defending the United Kingdom against French invasion, notable examples in the town were Fort Hubberstone in Gelliswick and Scoveston Fort to the north east of the town. By 1901, the population had reached 5,102
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Fishguard
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Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, with a population of 3,419 recorded in the 2011 Census. The community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,043 in 2001 and 5,407 in 2011, the town is divided into two parts, the main town of Fishguard and Lower Fishguard. Lower Fishguard is believed to be the site of the hamlet from which modern Fishguard has grown. It is situated in a valley where the River Gwaun meets the sea. It is a fishing village with a short tidal quay. The settlement stretches along the slope of the valley. The western part of the town, facing Goodwick, grew up in the first decade of the 20th century with the development of Fishguard Harbour, Fishguard and Goodwick are now Twin Towns with a joint Town Council. Fishguard is within the historic Welsh cantref of Cemais, and part of the Welsh province of Dyfed, the town name Fishguard derives from old Norse fiskigarðr meaning fish catching enclosure, indicating that there may have been a Scandinavian trading post, although no evidence has been found. The Norman settlement lay along what is now High Street between the church at its end and the remains of a Norman motte at its south end. Lower Fishguard developed as a fishery and port, trading with Ireland. In the late 18th century it had 50 coasting vessels, and exported oats, in 1779, the port was raided by the privateer Black Prince, which bombarded the town when the payment of a £1,000 ransom was refused. As a result, Fishguard Fort was completed in 1781, overlooking Lower Fishguard, the port declined in the latter half of the 19th century. The story is told in the Fishguard Tapestry created for the 200th anniversary to emulate the Bayeux Tapestry, a 19th-century vicar of Fishguard, the Rev. Samuel Fenton MA, wrote the book The History of Pembrokeshire. The ancient Parliamentary Borough of Fishguard was contributory to the Borough of Haverfordwest, in 1907, it was created an urban district, which included Goodwick from 1934 until it was abolished in 1974. During the Second World War, the Fishguard Bay Hotel was Station IXc of Special Operations Executive where submersibles were tested in Fishguard Bay, Fishguard & Goodwick Golf Club was founded in 1921 and closed in the 1960s. It has a mild climate due to its coastal position. The winds coming from the west or south-west have an influence on temperature. There is an islet in Fishguard Bay, Needle Rock which reaches 131 feet, wildlife around Fishguard is rich with a wide variety of colourful wild flowers and sea mammals including the grey seal, porpoises and dolphins
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Tenby, Pembrokeshire
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Tenby is a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and the name for the local government community of Tenby. Boats sail from Tenbys harbour to the offshore monastic Caldey Island, the town is served by Tenby railway station. With its strategic position on the far west coast of the British Isles, the earliest reference to a settlement at Tenby is in Etmic Dinbych, a poem probably from the 9th century, preserved in the 14th century Book of Taliesin. At this point the settlement was probably a hill fort, the nature of the settlement possibly developing under Hiberno-Norse influence. Tenby was taken by the Normans, when they invaded West Wales in the early 12th century, the towns first stone-wall fortification was on Castle Hill. Tenbys mercantile trade grew as it developed as a seaport in Norman controlled Little England beyond Wales. However, the need for additional defences became paramount after the settlement and castle were attacked and sacked by Welsh forces of Maredudd ap Gruffydd. Sacking of the town was repeated in 1187 and again by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1260, after the final attack, William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke ordered the construction of the towns large outer walls in the late 13th century. The stone curtain wall, towers and gates enclosed a large part of the settlement, with the construction of the town walls, Tenby Castle was made obsolete and had been abandoned by the end of the 14th century. Work included heightening the wall to include a second tier of higher arrow slits behind a new parapet walk, additional turret towers were added to the ends of the walls where they abutted the cliff edges, and the dry ditch outside walls was widened to 30 feet. Consequently, in the Late Middle Ages, Tenby was awarded grants to finance the maintenance and improvement of its defences. Traders sailed along the coast to Bristol and Ireland and further afield to France, Spain, exports included wool, skins, canvas, coal, iron and oil, while in 1566 Portuguese seamen landed the first oranges in Wales. It was during this period that the town was so busy and important, during the Wars of the Roses Henry Tudor, the future King Henry VII of England, sheltered at Tenby before sailing into exile in 1471. In the mid 16th century, the large D-shaped tower known as the Five Arches was built following fears of a second Spanish Armada, two key events caused the town rapid and permanent decline in importance. First, Tenby declared for Parliament in the English Civil War, after resisting two attempts by the Royalists forces of Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, it was finally taken in 1648. Ten weeks later the town was surrendered to Colonel Thomas Horton. Second, a plague outbreak killed half of the remaining population in 1650. With limited infrastructure, resources and people, the economy fell into decline
31.
Narberth, Pembrokeshire
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Narberth is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. It was founded around a Welsh court, but later became a Norman stronghold on the Landsker Line and it became the headquarters of the hundred of Narberth. It was once a marcher borough, george Owen described it in 1603 as one of nine Pembrokeshire boroughs in decay. The town, which is close to the A40 trunk road, holds a number of events throughout the year and is twinned with Ludlow, Narberth was founded around a Welsh court, but later became a Norman stronghold on the Landsker Line. It became the headquarters of the hundred of Narberth and it was once a marcher borough. George Owen described it in 1603 as one of nine Pembrokeshire boroughs in decay. The town plays a role in Welsh mythology, where it is the chief palace of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed. A drama specially adapted for children based on the story of Culhwch, Narberth is a mile south of the A40 trunk road and Narberth railway station is on the main line between Swansea and Pembroke. The population was 2,150, of which a third are Welsh-speaking, sir Thomas Foley was born in Llawhaden, near Narberth. A contemporary of Lord Nelson, he was a naval officer at the battles of the Nile. Other attractions near to Narberth include Blackpool Mill, at the highest tidal reach of the River Cleddau, the towns cultural and arts centre, the Queens Hall, has recently played host to live bands such as Therapy. The Blockheads, The Automatic, Sonic Boom Six, Skindred, Send More Paramedics, Pendulum, concerts, plays and many classes, such as Kung Fu, yoga and line dancing are held there and it has a contemporary art gallery and a restaurant. The Bloomfield House Community Centre, a Community association and a charity is located in Narberth. Narberth was named one of the best places to live in Wales in 2017, Narberth is twinned with the English town of Ludlow, and both towns celebrate an annual food festival. Narberth is home to several sporting teams, including Narberth Rugby Football Club who currently play in the Welsh Championship, Narberth Football Club, Narberth Food Festival takes place on the fourth weekend of September every year. It is a not for profit event run by volunteers, on Friday 100 local primary school children are invited to an education day where they take part in food-related activities. On the Saturday and Sunday there are selling food, drinks and cookware as well as talks, entertainment. Narberth Civic Week is held during the last full week of July and includes a parade through the town to one of the churches, in 2008, the Civic Service was held in the grounds of Narberth Castle for the first time
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Neyland
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Neyland is a community and a town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Cleddau and the upstream end of the Milford Haven estuary. The nearby Cleddau Bridge crosses the river, linking Neyland to Pembroke Dock and it was selected instead of the other possible location Abermawr. The town then grew rapidly to serve the port, an earlier plan to build the terminal at Goodwick was revived in 1899, and the more substantial port there was opened in 1906. Many people relocated from Neyland to Goodwick and Fishguard at that time, Neyland was partially reprieved because silting of Goodwick harbour restricted its use, and for a little over one hundred years, Neyland was a busy rail and sea port. But in 1964 the Neyland terminal ceased operation, in the 1980s redevelopment saw the creation of a new marina and rehabilitation of the old railway yard. Some of the original Brunel iron wide gauge railway tracks can be today in use as safety barriers around the quay. The Rail Terminus used to connect to a ferry ran across the Cleddau to Hobbs Point from where there was a bus service to Pembroke Dock. This was stopped when the Cleddau Bridge was completed in the seventies, in August 2010, an 8 ft bronze statue of Brunel was stolen from its site in the towns marina, presumably for its metallurgic value. Neyland has a sporting history and is home to many sporting groups. These include Neyland Cricket Club established in 1889, Neyland RFC, watersports such as sailing are also popular in the area and the town has its own yacht club, situated on the northern bank of the river. Attractions in the include the neighbouring Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Bill Morgan and Bette Meyrick, Behind the Steam, KRB Publications, autobiography of a GWR driver from Neyland with much background about the town. Council website Photos of Neyland and surrounding area on geograph. org. uk Neyland Cricket Club Website Neyland Rugby Football Club Website Neyland Athletic Football Club Website
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Newport, Pembrokeshire
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Newport is a community, town and ancient port on the Pembrokeshire coast in south-west Wales, at the mouth of the River Nevern in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. A popular tourist destination, Newport town straddles the A487 Fishguard to Cardigan road, while the old port area hosts many beach, Newport is twinned with the village of Plouguin in Finistère, Brittany and Annapolis, Maryland, USA. The town was founded by the Norman William FitzMartin in about 1197 and he was a son-in-law of the Lord Rhys, who nevertheless expelled him from his former base at nearby Nevern, which had been established by his father Robert fitz Martin. William founded Newport as the new capital of the Marcher Lordship of Cemais, despite seizure from the native Welsh, it remained within the FitzMartin family until the death of William, the 2nd Lord Martin, who died without male heir in 1326. George Owen of Henllys, in 1603, described it as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve and it retains some of the borough customs such as electing a mayor, who beats the bounds on horseback every August. The castle built by FitzMartin is situated on a spur of Carn Ingli which overlooks Newport and much of the surrounding countryside. In the 1880s the castle was associated with John Brett, who rented it for his family while he spent summers cruising the south. He moored his 210-ton schooner, Viking at Parrog, a lifeboat station was operated from a beach known as The Cwm to the west of Parrog in the early 20th century. The old port area much of historic interest, including some of the old quay walls. As well as other activities there are moorings for small craft and it is possible, with caution, to cross the river on foot at low tide. Parrog has two beaches, a course, a windsurfing and dinghy sailing club, pubs, hotels. The church of St Marys, situated below the castle though within the town, dates from the FitzMartin era, the church was the subject of a 1860 photograph by notable early Welsh photographer John Thomas. Other religious buildings include Bethlehem Chapel and the Tabernacle Chapel, the towns hostelries include Llwyngwair Arms in the centre of town and Cnapan Hotel, a Georgian hotel and restaurant. Newport Sailing Club is housed in an old warehouse, as well as facilities for members, it has a non-members bar. Newport is situated on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, part of the Wales Coast Path, has a hostel and is popular for walks in the Preseli Hills. Carn Ingli hill, an Iron Age hillfort with Bronze Age hut circles, lies just outside the town, nearby are the Carreg Coetan Arthur burial chamber and the West Wales Eco Centre. A little to the north of Newport lie Newport Cliffs, a Site of Special Scientific Interest managed by Natural Resources Wales, james Bevan Bowen, of Llwyngwair, Newport, was High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire in 1862 William Edward Cheverton, Saloon Steward on the Titanic. John Grono, settler, sailor, ship builder, ship captain, sealer, whaler and farmer, born in Newport, Robert FitzMartin, Norman knight and first Lord of Cemais, founded the Newport Castle
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St David's
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St Davids or St Davids is a city, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. St Davids was given city status in the 16th century due to the presence of St Davids Cathedral, City status was restored in 1994 at the request of Queen Elizabeth II. Tradition states that David was born to Saint Non at what is now St Nons, just to the south of the city and it is said that he was baptised at Porthclais, now the citys port, and was brought up by his mother at Llanon. St David may also have been educated at Ty Gwyn, Whitesands, in the 6th century, David founded a monastery and church at Glyn Rhosyn on the banks of the River Alun. The area was known in the Welsh language as Mynyw. They also fed and clothed the poor and needy, the settlement that grew up around the monastery was called Tyddewi meaning Davids house. In 519 the archbishopric of Caerleon in the county of Monmouth was transferred to Mynyw, the original cathedral built on the site was often plundered by the Vikings and was finally burnt and destroyed in 1087. The present cathedral was built by the Normans and contained many relics and it was visited by many pilgrims, many of whom were nobles and kings, including William the Conqueror in 1077, Henry II in 1171, and Edward I and Queen Eleanor in 1284. Pope Calixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome, because of this, a vast income was raised from visiting pilgrims in the Middle Ages. Pilgrimages later fell out of due to practices such as the selling of indulgences. Since then, better transport and the advent of tourism have helped the city prosper again, the letters patent conferring city status were formally presented by the Queen in a ceremony at St Davids Cathedral on 1 June 1995. St Davids City Council is a community composed of twelve councillors. The City Council employs one City Clerk and one Financial Officer, the currently elected presiding officer is The Rt Wp The Mayor of St Davids Cllr John George. Sir David Jones of Fachelich was recently presented with the key to the city, next to the cathedral, the 13th-century Bishops Palace is a ruin maintained by Cadw and open to visitors. St Davids was once a marcher borough, within which lay the hundred of Dewisland, in 1603 the antiquarian George Owen described it as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve. Saint Nons Well overlooks the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and St Brides Bay, in addition to the cathedral, notable features of the city include the 14th-century Tower Gate, the Celtic Old Cross and a number of art galleries. St Davids is also a base for walking and water sports and it has several hotels, a pharmacy, shops and galleries, and a youth hostel, and a number of pubs. The entire coastline around St Davids forms part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, St Davids lifeboat, located at St Justinian, has saved an estimated 360 people since the first lifeboat was located there in 1869, and four lifeboatmen have died while saving others
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City status in the United Kingdom
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The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a city. Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, the status does not apply automatically on the basis of any particular criteria, although in England and Wales it was traditionally given to towns with diocesan cathedrals. City status in Ireland was granted to far fewer communities than in England and Wales, in Scotland, city status did not explicitly receive any recognition by the state until the 19th century. At that time, a revival of grants of city status took place, first in England, where the grants were accompanied by the establishment of new cathedrals, and later in Scotland and Ireland. The abolition of corporate bodies as part of successive local government reforms. However, letters patent have been issued for most of the cities to ensure the continuation or restoration of their status. At present, Rochester and Elgin are the former cities in the United Kingdom. The name City does not, in itself, denote city status, a number of large towns in the UK are bigger than some small cities, but cannot legitimately call themselves a city without the royal designation. The initial cities of Britain were the fortified settlements organised by the Romans as the capitals of the Celtic tribes under Roman rule, the British clerics of the early Middle Ages later preserved a traditional list of the 28 Cities which was mentioned by Gildas and listed by Nennius. In the 16th century, a town was recognised as a city by the English Crown if it had a diocesan cathedral within its limits. This association between having a cathedral and being called a city was established when Henry VIII founded dioceses in six English towns, a long-awaited resumption of creating dioceses began in 1836 with Ripon. Ripon Town Council assumed that this had elevated the town to the rank of a city, the next diocese formed was Manchester and its Borough Council began informally to use the title city. When Queen Victoria visited Manchester in 1851, widespread doubts surrounding its status were raised, the pretension was ended when the borough petitioned for city status, which was granted by letters patent in 1853. This eventually forced Ripon to regularise its position, its city status was recognised by Act of Parliament in 1865, from this year Ripon bore city status whilst the rapidly expanding conurbation of Leeds – in the Ripon diocese – did not. The Manchester case established a precedent that any municipal borough in which an Anglican see was established was entitled to petition for city status, accordingly, Truro, St Albans, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne and Wakefield were all officially designated as cities between 1877 and 1888. This was not without opposition from the Home Office, which dismissed St Albans as a fourth or fifth rate market town and objected to Wakefields elevation on grounds of population. In one new diocese, Southwell, a city was not created, because it was a village without a borough corporation and therefore could not petition the Queen. The diocese covered the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and the boroughs of Derby, the link with Anglican dioceses was broken in 1889 when Birmingham successfully petitioned for city status on the grounds of its large population and history of good local government
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Seabird
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Seabirds are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene, in general, seabirds live longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they invest a great deal of time in their young. Most species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few birds to millions. Many species are famous for undertaking long annual migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the Earth in some cases and they feed both at the oceans surface and below it, and even feed on each other. Seabirds can be highly pelagic, coastal, or in some cases spend a part of the year away from the sea entirely, Seabirds and humans have a long history together, they have provided food to hunters, guided fishermen to fishing stocks and led sailors to land. Many species are threatened by human activities, and conservation efforts are under way. There exists no single definition of which groups, families and species are seabirds, and most definitions are in some way arbitrary. In the words of two scientists, The one common characteristic that all seabirds share is that they feed in saltwater. However, by all of the Sphenisciformes and Procellariiformes, all of the Pelecaniformes except the darters. The phalaropes are usually included as well, since although they are waders, loons and grebes, which nest on lakes but winter at sea, are usually categorized as water birds, not seabirds. Although there are a number of sea ducks in the family Anatidae that are truly marine in the winter, many waders and herons are also highly marine, living on the seas edge, but are also not treated as seabirds. Seabirds, by virtue of living in a depositional environment, are well represented in the fossil record. In the Paleogene the seas were dominated by early Procellariidae, giant penguins, modern genera began their wide radiation in the Miocene, although the genus Puffinus might date back to the Oligocene. The highest diversity of seabirds apparently existed during the Late Miocene, Seabirds have made numerous adaptations to living on and feeding in the sea. Wing morphology has been shaped by the niche an individual species or family has evolved, so that looking at a wings shape, longer wings and low wing loading are typical of more pelagic species, while diving species have shorter wings. Seabirds also almost always have webbed feet, to aid movement on the surface as well as assisting diving in some species. The Procellariiformes are unusual among birds in having a sense of smell, which is used to find widely distributed food in a vast ocean. Salt glands are used by seabirds to deal with the salt they ingest by drinking and feeding, the excretions from these glands are almost pure sodium chloride
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Pembrokeshire Coast Path
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The Pembrokeshire Coast Path, also often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. It was established in 1970, and is 186 miles long, mostly at cliff-top level, with a total of 35,000 feet of ascent and descent. At its highest point – Pen yr afr, on Cemaes Head – it reaches a height of 574 feet, whilst most of the coastline faces west, it offers – at varying points – coastal views in every direction of the compass. The southern end of the path is at Amroth, Pembrokeshire, here the path links with the Ceredigion Coast Path, which continues northwards. Following the establishment of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in 1952, Welsh naturalist, although there were villages and settlements on the coast, communication between these was largely by boats, and access in the region was generally poor. Lockleys report for the Countryside Commission in 1953 was welcomed and broadly adopted, some sections of the walk were existing rights-of-way, but the majority were in private hands, necessitating negotiation. Most landowners were in favour, and many benefitted from the erection of new fencing, even today, however, the path in places detours from the obvious line where landowners were unwilling to accept a new right-of-way across their land. Completion of the path took 17 years, and this included the erection of more than 100 footbridges and 479 stiles. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path lies almost entirely within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park — Britains only coastal national park, the path passes 58 beaches and 14 harbours. It does not include any of the coast inland of the Cleddau Bridge, the walking is not strenuous, but there are constant undulations and narrow sections, including many stiles. In its entirety the Coast Path represents a physical challenge — its 35,000 feet of ascent and descent is said to be equivalent to climbing Everest. There are two crossings, at Dale and Sandy Haven, which require lengthy detours if not timed suitably. Along the path are seaside towns and coastal villages, such as Tenby, St Davids, Solva, for backpackers attempting longer parts of the trail there are shops and campsites along the way, but food and water may need to be carried on some sections. There are small hotels and guest houses en route, and cottages for hire, for the vast majority of walkers, the coastal path is walked in shorter sections, and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park lists some 130 shorter circular walks on its website. Access to the path is possible in many locations. Since the construction of the Cleddau Bridge across Milford Haven Waterway it is possible to walk the route of the trail without a break. The path, however, is not continuous in that it is not designated through built-up areas in the section, such as Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock, Tenby. Listed from north to south, There are a number of smaller trails very near the Coast Path, which often take users inland on shorter routes and this is a medium-length walk of 4.2 miles lasting around 3 hours
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Milford Haven (harbour)
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Milford Haven Waterway is a natural harbour in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The Haven is a ria or drowned valley flooded at the end of the last Ice Age formed by the Pembroke River and the Daugleddau estuary, and winds west to the sea. As one of the deepest natural harbours in the world, it is a shipping channel, trafficked by ferries from Pembroke Dock to Ireland, oil tankers. Admiral Horatio Nelson, visiting the harbour with the Hamiltons, described it as the next best natural harbour to Trincomalee in Sri Lanka, from the 790s until the Norman Invasion in 1066, the waterway was used occasionally by Vikings looking for shelter. During one visit in 854, the Viking Chieftain Hubba wintered in the Haven with 23 ships, evidence of metal working in the area was recently excavated, suggesting a level of industrialisation in the period 750 –1100. A Benedictine priory was established at the head of Hubberston Pill in 1170, built on virgin land, it stood alongside the priory on Caldey Island as part of the Tironian Order in West Wales, and was dedicated to St Budoc. Founded by Adam de Rupe, it stood until the Dissolution under Henry VIII, in 1171 Henry II designated the area the rendezvous for his Irish expedition. St Thomas a Becket chapel was dedicated in 1180, a structure which looked out over the Haven from the shore of the town. In later years it was used as a beacon for sailors in foul weather, the area however was a source of anxiety for the Tudor monarchy. Due to its location, it was exposed to attacks from Ireland and it was here that Henry Tudor landed with his uncle, Jasper Tudor, in 1485 before his march towards Lincolnshire, ending in the Battle of Bosworth. In April 1603, Martin Pring used the Haven as his departure point for his voyage to Virginia. The land comprising the site of Milford, the Manor of Hubberston and it acquired an additional strategic importance in the 17th century as a Royalist military base. Charles I ordered a fort to be built at Pill which could prevent re-enforcement of the Parliamentarian garrison of Pembroke Castle, on 23 February 1644, a Parliamentarian force led by Rowland Laugharne crossed the Haven and landed at Castle Pill. The fort was gunned from both land and water, and a garrison was placed in Steynton church to prevent a Royalist attack from the garrison at Haverfordwest, the fort was eventually surrendered, and quickly taken, along with St Thomas a Becket chapel. Just five years later in 1649 Milford Haven was again the site of Parliamentarian interest when it was chosen as the site for Oliver Cromwells Invasion of Ireland. Cromwell arrived in the Haven on 4 August, meeting George Monck, before Cromwell, a ferry service to Ireland operated from Hakin around the start of the 19th century, although this ceased in the early 19th century. Although surrounding settlements at Steynton, Thornton, Priory, Liddeston and Hubberston/Hakin were established, the only man-made structures on the future site of Milford were the medieval chapel, and Summer Hill Farm, and its accompanying cottages. Parts of the Haven are within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, the northern side is within the Preseli Environmentally Sensitive Area
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