Wales Crossword Puzzle for Kids

Wales ([ˈkəm.rɨ]) is one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom. It is west of England, and east of the Irish Sea and Ireland.

Wales is one of the Celtic areas of Britain. The native people of Wales, the Welsh, have their own culture and traditions. They have their own Celtic language, Welsh. Not all Welsh people can speak Welsh, and it is primarily spoken in North Wales. It is mandatory for all children until the age of 16 to learn Welsh in schools. Virtually all Welsh people can speak English. Most speak only English. The Welsh language is an official language alongside English, and has equal official status.

Three million people live in Wales. Most of them live in the southern and southeastern parts of the country. In this area is the capital and largest city of Wales, Cardiff, and the next largest city, Swansea. Wales has an ageing population and falling birth rates. The economy is suffering because there are not enough people of working age. Gross value added per head in Wales — a measure of how much money is generated through goods produced and services delivered — is 74% of the UK average.

History

People have lived in Wales for at least 29,000 years. The first of these people were named cavemen. These people were cold. This was because the last ice age was around this time. The Romans first entered Wales in 43 CE, and took it around 77 CE.

The English words Wales and Welsh come from the old Germanic word Walh (plural: Walha). Walh itself came from a Celtic tribe, called the Volcae by the Romans. That was eventually used for the name of all Celts and later to all people who lived in the Roman empire. The Anglo-Saxons who lived in England and who spoke Old English called the people living in Wales Wælisc and the land itself Wēalas. Other names that come from these origins Wallonia, Wallachia, and Vlachs.

In the past, the words Wales and Welsh were used to mean anything that the Anglo-Saxons associated with the Celtic Britons. That included Cornwall, Walworth, and Walton, as well as things associated with non-Germanic Europeans like walnuts.

The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru which is the Welsh name for Wales. These words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning "fellow-countrymen"

After Llywelyn ap Gruffudd died in 1282, Edward I of England finished his conquest of Wales, which made it a part of England. Owain Glyndŵr was a Welsh leader who fought against English rule in the early 15th century. However, after he was defeated by the English, the whole of Wales was taken over by England, with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542.

Geography

Wales has a coastline which is 1680 mi long. The country itself is 20779 km2 large.

The highest mountains in Wales are in Gwynedd, in the north-west. They include Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), which is the highest peak in Wales at 1085 m.

There are three national parks in Wales. They are Snowdonia, Brecon Beacons, and Pembrokeshire Coast.

Politics

Wales is divided into 22 council areas. These areas are responsible for local government services, such as education, social work, environment and roads services.

The list to the right of the map shows counties, unless they are marked *, meaning they are cities, or † for County Boroughs. Welsh-language forms are given in parentheses.

Welsh identity

Welsh people are very proud of their country. The first people in Wales to call themselves 'Welsh' were the Celts. The Celts lived in Wales after the Romans left in the 5th century. The national emblems of Wales are leeks and daffodils.

Although Wales is very close to the rest of Great Britain, and despite most people speaking English, the country has always had a distinct culture. It is officially bilingual in English and Welsh. Over 560,000 people in Wales speak the Welsh language. In some parts of the north and west of the country, particularly in small, rural communities, the majority of people speak Welsh.

From the late 19th century, Wales became famous as the "land of song", and for its Eisteddfod culture festival. At many international sport events, for example the FIFA World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, and the Commonwealth Games, Wales competes on its own, as a separate country. However, at most international events, such at the Olympics, Wales competes with the rest of the Great Britain, and sometimes as the United Kingdom with Northern Ireland included. Rugby Union is strongly associated with Wales as a national sport.

Wales in pop culture

Jo Walton, Welsh-Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet

Transport

The main road on the coast of South Wales is the M4 motorway. It links Wales to southern England, and London. It also connects the Welsh cities of Newport, Cardiff and Swansea. The A55 road is the main road along the north Wales coast, and connects Holyhead and Bangor with Wrexham and Flintshire. It also links to north-west England, including Chester. The main road between North and South Wales is the A470 road, which goes from the capital Cardiff to Llandudno.

Cardiff International Airport is the only large airport in Wales. It has flights to Europe, Africa and North America. It is about 12 mi southwest of Cardiff, in the Vale of Glamorgan. Flights between places in Wales run between Anglesey (Valley) and Cardiff, and are operated by the Isle of Man airline called Manx2 Other internal flights operate to northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Cardiff Central is Wales' busiest railway station. The area around Cardiff also has its own rail network. Trains from north to south Wales go through the English towns of Chester and Shrewsbury on the Welsh Marches Line. Most trains in Wales are powered by diesel. However, the South Wales Main Line which is used by trains going from London Paddington to Cardiff and Swansea, is electric.

Wales has four ferry ports. Regular ferries to Ireland go from Holyhead, Pembroke and Fishguard. The Swansea to Cork ferry which was stopped in 2006, but then opened again in March 2010, and closed again in 2012.

Text adapted from the Simple English Wikipedia article “Wales” (revision 10892795, 2026-06-19), authors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.