Take a spellbinding journey around Wales to discover the tales buried deep in the country"s history. Packed full of legends, firsts, birthplaces, inventions, and adventures, I Never Knew That About Wales visits the 13 traditional Welsh counties and unearths the hidden gems that they each hold. Discover where history and legends happened; where people, ideas, and inventions began; where dreams took flight; where famous figures were born and now rest. A glittering pantheon of writers and artists, thinkers and inventors, heroes and villains have lived and toiled in this small country. Remarkable events, noble (and dastardly) deeds and exciting adventures have all taken place with Wales as their backdrop. This book seeks out their heritage, their monuments, their memories, and their secrets. You"ll be able to visit Britain’s smallest city, St. David’s with its glorious 12th-century cathedral slumbering in a sleepy hollow near the sea. Explore Britain’s greatest collection of castles from the first stone fortress at Chepstow to Britain’s finest concentric castle at Beaumaris and the magnificent Caernarvon, birthplace of the first Prince of Wales. Browse through the secondhand book capital of the world, Hay-on-Wye, and wander the glorious Gower peninsula, Britain’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Take a trip to Fishguard, where the last invasion of Britain took place in 1797. Marvel at Thomas Telford’s Menai Bridge, the world’s first iron suspension bridge, or Pontcysyllte, the longest bridged aqueduct in Britain. This irresistible compendium of facts and stories will give you a captivating insight into the people, ideas, and events that have shaped the individual identity of every place you visit, and will have you exclaiming again and again: "Well, I never knew that!"