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'Wilderness' in Wales

SneakyMonkey said:
Been there, done that llantwit!!! Had heard all the stories about boozers being full of local Welsh speaking English until the southerner walks in, then it's Welsh all of a sudden - I though, what a load of bollocks. Until I went up there to work and it happened to me :D (in Bangor)
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Thought you'd been given a slightly unfair reception at the start of the thread, but the ignorance shines through now :mad:

Why can't people (usally English, but not exclusivley) get it that we speak to each other in Welsh all the time, it's not something we save up for when a foreign looking blokes walk into pubs.
 
Ben Bore said:
Why can't people (usally English, but not exclusivley) get it that we speak to each other in Welsh all the time, it's not something we save up for when a foreign looking blokes walk into pubs.
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To borrow from an old riddle....

"If a tree falls in a forest with no one to hear it, then does it make a sound?"

Or...

"When Welsh people meet in a pub, do they still speak Welsh without an Englishman to hear it?"

We will never know....

Of course the English approach to this eternal riddle, was to stamp out any language other than their own, so that the riddle ceased to exist.

*I really must learn at least some basic welsh as part of my preparation for my planned move to Wales*
 
Ben Bore said:
Thought you'd been given a slightly unfair reception at the start of the thread, but the ignorance shines through now :mad:

Why can't people (usally English, but not exclusivley) get it that we speak to each other in Welsh all the time, it's not something we save up for when a foreign looking blokes walk into pubs.
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Nope - not how it happened, and I assure you my memory of the event is correct. And I have visited north Wales (which I assume, perhaps mistakenly, is roughly where you live?) enough to know that most people there do indeed speak Welsh to each other. We're talking about a single event I witnessed (which I'm not hung up about) so as I'm not applying sweeping generalisations, why are you?? :confused:
 
SneakyMonkey said:
Brockway said:
"Playground Wales". Yuk. :rolleyes:

Only in so much as it's a really nice place to enjoy the scenery and hike around. Gavin, I'm not trying to say in a roundabout way that I want to get up to some sort of nefarious anti-countryside deeds.

When I mention stuff that people (like rangers) might object to, I mean just camping wherever is great and not necessarily at an established campsite - I have an impression (perhaps misinformed) that this isn't generally approved. However, I'm a great believer in leaving the minimum footprint when doing this sort of thing and not messing the area up.

So nothing dodgy, the general plan is to spend 3 days travelling through some great terrain on foot, with real basic camping and enjoying the surroundings. Thanks for the tips though.
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Wild camping is legal in Scotland but not in Wales or England. However, it is still possible to wild camp in Wales if you respect certain rules. You will not be prosecuted if you keep to yourself, camp away from view etc. Your best bet is in the Cambrian mountains from Mid Wales upwards.

This is a good guide how to do it correctly, covering Wales too:
http://v-g.me.uk/WildCamp/WildCamp.htm
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Thanks Lewislewis! That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for when I made the OP - I will check out the link & take heed :)

PS Ben - I'm not (exclusively) English, or a bloke :p
 
Ben Bore said:
Thought you'd been given a slightly unfair reception at the start of the thread, but the ignorance shines through now :mad:

Why can't people (usally English, but not exclusivley) get it that we speak to each other in Welsh all the time, it's not something we save up for when a foreign looking blokes walk into pubs.
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My experience of Bangor is pretty much the same. I asked directions from a lad there who refused to speak English, even after I politely pointed out that I couldn't speak Welsh.

Haven't met that many, but the ones I have were rude cunts.
 
SneakyMonkey said:
Been there, done that llantwit!!! Had heard all the stories about boozers being full of local Welsh speaking English until the southerner walks in, then it's Welsh all of a sudden - I though, what a load of bollocks. Until I went up there to work and it happened to me :D (in Bangor)

I must say though that I found my 3 yrs in Swansea to be top - very friendly people that generally didn't want to give me a kicking for a) being a student and b) being English. Nice people!!
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raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa :mad: i fucking HATE this.
how the FUCK do you KNOW which language they were speaking before you went in the pub??? ffs! :rolleyes:
 
Oh I hate it as well - what started out as a perfectly polite/ friendly request for some wild camping info on Wales 'from the horse's mouth' so to speak has degenerated into this stupid cliched argument. But to respond in a different way, how would the occupants of the pub I visited have known someone 'English' was about to enter in advance and therefore start speaking a different language?

The answer is they didn't, and I heard speech in Welsh (which I'm quite accustomed to recognising) as I opened the door. However I'd like to make clear that I'm not having a go, pissed off about it or any of that other stuff. As I made clear above, I'm really not hung up about it and have only related my experience :rolleyes:

I only wanted to get some decent info on where to explore/ camp in Wales :)
 
Some of the emptiest areas on the map IMHO are the Black Mountain east of Llandovery and then, as LewisLewis mentioned, the Cambrian Mountains due North of Llandovery. That being said, as other posters have mentioned, you'll always find people at some point or other. There's no 'true' wilderness left in the UK really.

As for the pub comment; you do have to understand that we've heard it all before on this forum, as well as before we ever started frequenting it. It is one of the commonest, and therefore annoying, myths about Wales. I am an Anglophone Taff, who has traveled extensively in the Welsh speaking areas of this country and can assure you that I have NEVER come across anything even remotely like what you are describing. I would suggest that you haven't either, and that the 'reaction' you most firmly believe to have been a switching of tongues to make you feel unwelcome/intimidated was simply a figment of an imagination that had already fixed 'unwelcoming' and 'intimidating' in its mind's eye the minute you found yourself surrounded by people speaking an unfamiliar tongue.

I'm sure you're very nice and all that, but if you do go round bandying tired old national stereotypes on a forum dedicated to the country those stereotypes are about, you're bound to get a reaction. :)
 
Thank you for the additional info re potential areas to explore in Wales, Bendeus - appreciate it and will add this to the other kind tips that posters have suggested. I also respect your suggestion regarding the fact that I might have misconstrued the situation I experienced in Bangor.

I however am pretty sure I didn't, but would like to leave this alone now - not to bottle it, but am a bit sad that this thread has descended into this old chestnut of an area, and have no wish to perpetuate it. Fully take responsibility for unintentionally contributing to that spiral by describing the situation which has inflamed opinion amongst posters!!

To you all - big up your Wales massive! No offence intended, and certainly didn't intend to wind anyone up with my comments :)

PS Thanks for all the helpful comments
 
SneakyMonkey said:
To you all - big up your Wales massive! No offence intended, and certainly didn't intend to wind anyone up with my comments :)

PS Thanks for all the helpful comments
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Diolch. Enjoy it when you come! :)
 
SneakyMonkey said:
Oh I hate it as well - what started out as a perfectly polite/ friendly request for some wild camping info on Wales 'from the horse's mouth'
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You saying we're all horses now?!?!?!?!
Fucking english and their equine slurs. :mad: :mad:
Actually, I started it, and I was only on the gentle wind-up. The Wales forum is getting slightly bad-tempered recently - sorry if you felt unwelcome. As you know from your time in Swansea - Wales is a luvverly place with nice welcoming people, and no mistake.:)
 
Horses are loads better than sheep and no-one has mentioned them yet, and I only mentioned them tangentially. :p

I always think that from a distance a hillside covered in sheep, makes them look a little like hill fleas. :D

(whatever hillside they're on in whatever country they're in).
 
But Welsh people are better than horses, sheep and Englishmen all put together, for taking centuries of exploitation and oppression in angry, yet very good, jest. ;)
 
Thanks all!! I must admit that I initially thought I had wandered into a place where I shouldn't hang about :eek: as some responses were a little less friendly than I was expecting. However, must admit that I unintentionally fanned some flames there - oops ;)

But I look forward to a wander back to your fine country soon, and a warm welcome. That was always my experience while living in the south, and I was genuinely sad to leave when my time was up.

Cheers :)
 
Camp in my garden.It's a wilderness.;)
Pembrokeshire?Been there once.It's nice but I'm not sure how much of a widerness it is.
Anyway , have fun!:)
 
waterloowelshy said:
dont worry about the hostile welcome Sneaky Monkey. Ddraig is a cock and cant help it!
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is that all you've come back for you sadcase? :confused:
and why u not having a pop at brockway or someone else?
e2a - nothing on topic then ww? and this is only my 2nd post in this bloody thread, you tit!
 
Cheers teqniq; I've got lots of places to check out now - spoiled for choice!! Errr, after getting my fingers burned earlier on in this thread, I'm staying well clear of any forum politics you guys have got going on...

In any case waterloowelshy, I feel free of hostility now! (I really hope I'm not tempting fate here...) Just a misunderstanding and possible bit of insensitivity on my part there :o

If I'm allowed, I think I'd like to come back and visit you lot on a more regular basis :D :cool:
 
SneakyMonkey said:
Thanks Lewislewis! That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for when I made the OP - I will check out the link & take heed :)

PS Ben - I'm not (exclusively) English, or a bloke :p
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No problem, just don't buy a holiday home.
 
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