Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Wales

Hay-on-Wye was first - between 1135 and 1147 - mentioned as "Haya" and in 1299 the name of "La Haye" was used. By the 16th century it was simply called "Hay" and the use of the river as a suffix is a later addition Hay-on-Wye is a small characterful market town at the border between Wales and England. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the town of books" and is the National Book Town of Wales. Many of the bookshops are selling specialist and second-hand books, although the number has declined sharply in recent years, many becoming general antique shops.

The Brecon Beacons National Park covers an area of 1.345 square kilometers in Mid Wales between the English border and Swansea. The national park has four mountain ranges with the Brecon Beacons in the north nearby Brecon. Most of the area consists of high plains with grassy slopes, interspersed with moorland. Welsh mountain sheep and ponies run through the entire park. The park was founded in 1957, but only opened to the public nine years later. Twyn y Gaer is a grassy and fern-covered mound north of the visitor center, locally known as the Mountain Centre. It has a height of 367 meters and is the highest point in the area. On the top of the hill some remnants of an Iron Age hillfort can still be found in the landscape. Because of its detached location Twyn y Gaer offers stunning views over the soft rolling hills of the national park and as well as a patchwork pattern of farmland stretching out towards the north.

Brecon Cathedral - or officially “Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist” - started life in 1093 as the Benedictine Priory of St John the Evangelist, built by the Normans on the site of an earlier Celtic church. At the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537 it became Brecon's Parish Church. It became a cathedral only in 1923 on the establishment of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. Adjacent to the cathedral lies the graveyard in one of the most charming, serene and peaceful settings I have ever seen for a graveyard. Old tombstones and Celtic crosses are scattered throughout the yard sometimes overgrown with plants or moss in a park-like area and during my visit with huge fields of wild cyclamen.

At first glance - certainly on a somewhat rainy gray day - the hard gray stone houses of Beddgelert do not look too inviting. But walking around and seeing all the blooming flowers the village became more and more picturesque. Beddgelert (meaning “the grave of Gelert”) is probably named after an early christian missionary and leader called Celert (or Cilert), who settled here early in the 8th century. The earliest record of Beddgelert appears on a document dated 1258 (the name recorded is "Bekelert"); eleven years later it is recorded as "Bedkelerd". Beddgelert lies in a valley at the confluence of the River Glaslyn and River Colwyn. Just above the confluence of the rivers, in the centre of the village, is the old stone bridge with two arches. It is hard to imagine, but the village once was a busy port, when the river was tidal and ships sailed all the way to the centre of Beddgelert.

Caernarfon Castle is probably the most impressive and famous of the many Welsh castles. The site of the castle wasn’t chosen by accident. It had previously been the location of a Norman motte and bailey castle and before that a Roman fort stood nearby. King Edward I started the construction of the castle in 1283, being part of city walls of medieval Caernarfon. It was not only a military stronghold, but also a seat of government and a royal palace. Standing at the mouth of the Seiont river, the fortress with its towers, battlements and colour banded masonry still dominates the walled town, also founded by Edward I. Edwards son was born in Caernarfon Castle. In 1301 he became the recreated title of Prince of Wales and it was the first time the eldest son of the King of England was invested as Prince of Wales. In 1969 the castle gained worldwide fame as the setting for the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales. In 1986, Caernarfon was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites as part of the "Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd

Borth-Y-Gest wit hits Victorian houses is built in a shallow bowl around a sheltered bay on the edge of the River Glaslyn with a horseshoe shaped promenade. The village is dominated by the harbour, where a number of small boats are moored. The village was a busy shipbuilding centre before Porthmadog was established. The so called ‘pilot houses’ were built at the mouth of the harbour, so pilots could keep a watch for ships needing them. In the past Bort-Y-Gest was starting point for the crossing over the dangerous Glaslyn estuary.

Portmeirion is a coastal resort on a peninsula in North Wales with hotels, cafe and tearoom, restaurants, shops and self catering cottages. Situated in the heart of Snowdonia it is overlooking the stunning coastal scenery of the estuary of the River Dwyryd. Portmeirion was created by the architect Clough Williams-Ellis from 1925 to 1976. He wanted to show how a naturally beautiful site could be developed without spoiling it. Clough Williams-Ellis had conceived of a tightly grouped coastal village on some romantic clifftop site, perhaps on an island or a remote estuary. This idea stayed with him for about 20 years until in 1925 he found the Aber Iâ estate on the Dwyryd estuary near his home. He did not feel Aber Iâ was appropriate as it could mean 'frozen river mouth', which was not ideal for a holiday resort. He changed the change the name to Portmeirion: ‘port’ to put it on the coast. and 'meirion' the correct spelling of Merioneth, the county in which it was located. The Italian-like village of Portmeirion was built in two stages, from 1925 to 1939 and then once post war building restrictions had been lifted, from 1954 to 1976. Today Portmeirion is owned by a charitable trust and can be visited on payment of an admission fee.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford between 1795 and 1805. The aqueduct over the valley of the River Dee has 18 pillars; the highest ones come 38 meters above the water. The Llangollen Canal runs over the aqueduct through a cast iron trough, which is more than 300 meters long, 3,7 meters wide and 1,6 meters deep; just enough for the narrow boats. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is the longest and highest in Great Britain. The aqueduct carries a water passage for a single canal narrow boat as well as a towpath for pedestrians. It connects the Welsh villages of Froncysyllte and Trevor. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the length of the Llangollen Canal from the Horseshoe Falls to Gledrid Bridge is now a World Heritage Site.