St. David's Day Celebrates the Rich Culture of Wales

The people of Wales are filled with excitement in anticipation of the fast approaching Saint David's Day holiday. On March 1st each year in memory of the country's patron saint, Saint David, the people of Wales participate in festive celebrations of Welsh culture. Most of the country spends the day gathering in special church services, parades, choral recitals, Welsh literature readings and simply enjoying the rich and dynamic history of Wales. The country in which visitors can virtually discover the past alive and well in the present with its mixture of sleek new buildings and ancient ruins, carries an intriguing mystique. As highlighted in this recent review by Video Librarian, the Janson Media DVD Visit Wales with Rachel Hicks (1 x 60') offers a comprehensive tour that exploring everything the beautiful country has to offer.

In this beautifully filmed and informative travelogue visit to Wales—a part of the United Kingdom, but officially bilingual (Welsh and English)—former BBC presenter Rachel Hicks takes viewers on a guided tour of sites ranging from ancient dwellings to huge castles and modern marvels. While the Egyptians were building the pyramids, settlers in Wales were constructing burial monuments resembling Stonehenge, with multi-ton rocks intricately placed one atop another in a remarkable feat of engineering. The Welsh castles, of course, offer rugged reminders of how lords and kings relied on a show of might to keep the populace in order, yet today, some of these crumbling remains are used for tourists and residents to don wetsuits and take a plunge into the cold ocean waters. Remnants of the Industrial Age also live on, with steam-powered trains (perfectly restored and transporting passengers), museums dedicated to the early mining industry, and aqueducts still in operation. Wales is also known as the land of song, and for arguably its most famous son—writer and poet (and inspiration-to-Bob) Dylan Thomas. Here, viewers will see the boathouse in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire where Thomas wrote Under Milk Wood, a play chronicling a day in the life of an imaginary Welsh seaside village. A fine addition for travel collections, this is recommended.-Video Librarian

The one-hour travelogue Visit Wales with Rachel Hicks takes viewers on a journey around the country of Wales, exploring all the major tourist attractions as well as many lesser-known hidden gems. The program, filmed in High Definition, features former BBC presenter Rachel Hicks as she travels across Wales from Aberystwyth on the Irish Sea to Abergavenny in the east, and from Anglesey in the north to Tenby on the southern coast. Viewers will discover the delights of Port Meirion, ride a narrow gauge train on the Ffestiniog Railway and look around the St. Fagans National History Museum near Cardiff. Celtic burial chambers, castles, museums, mountains, lakes, leisure parks, the smallest city in Britain and even a whiskey distillery — they are all on this comprehensive tour of a fascinating country.