It’s Saint David’s Day, or Dydd Gwyl Dewi if you prefer. The day when across the country, we get all patriotic and don our leeks and daffodils with pride. Children dress up as miners, sheep, rugby players or any other stereotype you can think of and we all eat bara brith, cawl and welsh cakes all day.
Ok, maybe I’ve gone a little too far, but we do love our St David’s celebrations so on our special day, here are ten fascinating facts about Wales that you never knew…
Wales is widely believed to have more castles per square mile than any country in the world. Come and see for yourself!
There are four times as many sheep as people living in Wales. That is an awful lot of sheep!
Marconi’s first radio transmission in 1897 was between two points in Wales
Major Walter Clopton Wingfield is generally credited with inventing lawn tennis when in 1873 he designed and patented a similar game for his guests to play on his estate of Nantclwyd in Llanelidan Wales.
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch , meaning St Mary’s church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool of Llantysilio of the red cave is the second longest place name in the world!
Robert Recorde of Pembrokeshire invented the “equal to” sign.
The world’s largest Welsh cake was cooked up for St David’s Day 2014 in Bala, north Wales. It was an incredible 5ft wide and was cut into 200 pieces to share.
Cardiff’s Coal Exchange (completed in 1886) was once where the price of the world’s coal was determined. In 1907 the globe’s first £1m deal was struck there.
The Mumbles, near Swansea, gets its name from the French word ‘mamelles’, meaning breasts, referring to two little islands located offshore.
The Principality Stadium in Cardiff has the largest retractable roof of any sports arena in the World!
ON TOP OF THE WORLD
Where better to celebrate 20 years of attracting the greatest international sporting and music events to Cardiff than up on the @principalitysta's notorious, infamous, irrepressible, magnificent, iconic retractable roof?
🗞️https://t.co/9FTkUi5pTG
🏉🎶⚽️🎸🏍️👨🎤 pic.twitter.com/jTChVFb6BI— Principality Stadium (@principalitysta) June 27, 2019