As a Welshman, there is nothing wrong with the English, nor anyone else for that matter. Just like most people, the only people we have an issue with are those who disrespect our culture or language. This is nothing special to Wales, but like you said there are issues that come with tourism, and by proximity the majority of our tourists happen to be English. This is for the most part an issue of correlation and causation, and just like anywhere else in the world, if you present yourself with a smile and take at least a small interest in the culture, nobody can fault you. This is why I love the mountains, because people from all over cross paths and share interests irrespective of origin. Much love Dan
@@tollie_rowlands09 I agree there's good and bad in all,but you did touch on disrespect our culture,this is exactly what I was getting at,some while ago there was a elderly welsh speaking man who lived on the pemb. a small village ,yes he enjoyed meeting all the people who came for holidays, unfortunately when winter came the village was practically empty,this resulted in him getting lonely,you say there's nothing wrong with the English,but they do have a habit of over running an area,be it Wales,Scotland,even the South west has its problems with people from the home counties having second homes,there gas been many a complaint from locals especially in St.Ives,Newquay,Devon.
So not acceptable to make fun of the language then? I have found a lot of English people, particularly women who have moved to Wales and learnt some welsh behave the most touchy about joking about the language.
@@maryhaddock9145I am a monoglot English speaking Welshman, making fun in a disrespectful manner is not acceptable. Joking about tongue twisters and difficulty of pronunciation is fine but ignorant comments about lack of vowels or the use of ‘English’ derived words really riles me. English uses many borrowed words and that helps make it such a great language. According to some linguists English is 46% old French, so people in glass houses….😊
"English doesn't borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over and goes through their pockets for loose grammar." : Terry Pratchett
I visit North Wales regularly and I've never experienced any problems at all. One one occasion I broke down in the middle of nowhere very late at night with my wife and kids in the car. I rang the AA but they wouldn't come out without a road name or postcode. There was a farmhouse and a couple of cottages close by. I went to the farm house to try and get a post code. After the farmer's initial suspicions had been allayed - (he'd seen me traipsing up and down the round and wondered what I was up to..) Once he realised I'd broken down all his nearby mates were woken up and together we all pushed the car off the road - it was in a particularly bad spot. He and his mates ( to no avail) tried to fix the car while we waited for the AA. meanwhile my Missus and kids were in the farmhouse have a jolly old chat with the farmer's wife and her mates while being fed tea and toast. Amazing experience. I'm grateful for their help and hospitality to this day.
Indeed I have had more than one experience like that, including on Christmas day when a helpful resident in Nant Gwynant changed a wheel for me because the AA wouldn't come out. On another occasion a farmer used his 4WD to tow me out of a flooded section of road after I had walked all the way to the nearest farm to ask for assistance.
Me and my mates broke down in a van in a sleepy north Wales village. A local came over with a jack to help us. Then refused to let us give him any money for the assistance. The Welsh are great. Some of the Scottish though 🙄 They still have pubs with signs that say No English.
Im from Liverpool and I’m 39. I’ve Been going to wales particularly North Wales for the best part of over 30 years in terms of caravans, cottages and more so in recent years snowdonia (eryri) hiking. Never ever once felt intimidated by any locals in any of the areas. Like you said it’s a trouble causing toxic newspaper that has a bit of a tendency to shit stir. As long as you respect the area and the local people they will return it back.
My best mate had his tib & fib smashed in bala whilst having a pint as soon as they heard his scouse accent, the Llyn Celyn reservoir still has a lot of anger for some people.
I'm Welsh, and I went in a pub in England where that woman is from, I'm sure they were all speaking Welsh before I went in, then as soon as I walked in they changed to English. It was exactly as real as that womans experience.
Haha. Actually, I have found welsh speakers to revert to english when there's an an english person with them so they can be included in the conversation.
@@maryhaddock9145 absolutely! I always think the "when we walked in, they started speaking in Welsh and they were talking about us" is just paranoid fantasy. I thought I'd write it reversed to show how mad it sounds, although I am actually Welsh, that bit is true, and I'm an ex-pat and live in northern England... been in plenty of pubs too hahahaha
I’m from North Wales & a Welsh speaker, Why would a Welsh speaker speak in english to Their Friends & then turn to Welsh when an english person walks in🤔 Makes no sense to Me.
@@markjones6564 English exceptional ism again. Rather than sit back and enjoy the different culture ambience the entitled think they are being slighted because nobody speaks English. Only Americans are as bad. They same mindset complain about the French speaking French and the Spanish speaking Spanish. We are here speak English.
I did the three peaks challenge with my wife in July, we finished with Snowdon and spent the night there and we had a great time. Hotel was great, dinner at a local restaurant was great, breakfast at a local cafe was great. Never once did we feel any sort of anti English sentiment
I've had reason to visit North Wales several times this year. I'm from South Wales. The people I've met have been the friendliest, warmest, most generous people I've ever met anywhere.
I lived in Wales from the age of 8 to 27. I was put in a welsh class. I can understand and speak Welsh. I’ve never had the experience of people changing to Welsh on hearing an English accent. People are more likely to have been speaking Welsh when one arrives and they just carry on. It also may well be their first language
Im English and I love Wales. I go often and have been since I was a child. Iv never had any issues with the locals. The vast majority have been lovely.
If you go to somewhere like Pwllheli or Abersoch you'll find tribalism. It's a sort of resentment behaviour and if they're a welsh speaker, they'll use it as a powerful way of getting one over on a wealthy English person.
I recently observed a visitor to Mid Wales claiming they were being subjected to anti-English prejudice! The gentleman concerned was not subject to anti-English abuse, he was being requested to keep his dogs off the seats and table in a café!
Visited Llanberis for the first time a couple of months ago and stayed for a week there - the anti-English sentiment was a back-of-the-mind worry going up, but completely forgotten once I was there. No experience of it whatsoever, and encountered many friendly locals who were only too happy to offer advice and directions.
I'm from a Welsh family and what you say is correct. The Welsh aren't anti-English, they're anti-bad behavior. They speak Welsh in eryri 'cos that's their language, just like they speak French in France !
@@SteveJohn-w9q The Welsh language is now the fastest growing language in the UK, according to Duolingo. The smartphone app firm said the number of new Welsh learners using its services has risen by 44% in 2020. It is ranked as the fastest growing UK language and outflanks the likes of Hindi, Japanese, Turkish and French.
Been to North Wales scrambling and climbing for years, never had any issues. Always found the Welsh really friendly and have gone out of their way to help.
Never had any bother in North Wales. Made sure I knew a few phrases of Welsh to show some respect. The only time I had half a problem was when I asked a bloke the way in English and he answered me in Welsh, politely but I think he was making point. I tried to tell him sorry, I didn't speak Welsh, in Welsh, and I got close enough that he understood me, but not close enough that he didn't laugh. Then he was absolutely fine with me, and gave me directions in English. Said thanks in Welsh, he said you're welcome, and things were great. Having said that, my son was wearing a t-shirt with "Cymru" on it, so he might just have used Welsh to tell me I could too. To be fair, I was literally outside his house, so if he wants to speak his language that's up to him. It's my job to adapt, not his.
I have been a visitor to North Wales both for pleasure and work for over 30 years mainly around the Llyn Peninsula - I have been in pubs were we have been talking english and welsh on the same table (most locals speak welsh because it is there first language) but someone will always turn round and tell me what they are talking about and then they will include you in the conversation - mainly about fishing! there was an old guy always spoke to me in a pub I used to go to and he always started speaking in english until we had drank a few too many pints then he would forget and he would have a conversation in welsh but I never liked to interrupt! My car once broke down just past pwllheli and a bus (with passengers on) actually stopped and asked if I needed any help! So I have always found them to be friendly helpful people.
I've been hiking North Wales for over 10 years and never had any issues with the locals. Always very accommodating and helpful. Most of my knowledge of the area is from talking to the locals.
Some people, especially in north Wales, do hate the English. They hate the southern Welsh also. I've experienced that myself. But you can find people like this in all countries and I don't think it's universal or even typical..
Lived here nearly 40 years. Never seen anything like that said said happened! Every time I've seen a football match in a pub the Welsh do always support the team that is not England but I just find that hilarious! My son is fluent in welsh but sounds very english and has never heard vitriol like the lady said either.
Been visiting the hills, mountains and rivers all over Wales for years. Never had an issue with locals. Always been welcomed. We’ve left many pubs feeling like seasoned locals. There is always the English Welsh banter, but we embrace that 😂. I think sometimes that can misinterpreted.
So here’s something; admittedly anecdotal but there we go. I know a woman who up until recently worked as an Eryri Nat Park warden. Really nice girl. She’s half Welsh and half English. I was doing some work for the Park and was dealing with her throughout the process. Anyway, in conversation she said she was dreading the following day as she was to be stationed in Pen Y Pass as it’s bedlam up there in peak season. She said she has had to move people on and stop them from parking at the side of the road up there all the time and had lost count of how many times she’d been called a ‘Welsh slag!’ Or a ‘Welsh c#*t!’ Or similar while people drove away. Of course there are many nationalities walking Yr Wyddfa and she said of all the people she’s had to move on its only one national group that has shown such belligerence. Any guesses who they might be?
I live in the absolutely majestically beautiful mid Wales countryside and have only had warmth and friendship from the Welsh and their humour and quick wit is a joy to be around .. I'm a Londoner by the way... 🤍
Likewise, though much further south and an origin from a little further north. Been here more than 30 years and no issues whatsoever. On the contrary, the people I've met (pretty much all of them) have been lovely, friendly, generous and helpful - far more so than where I grew up. As with many places, you carry the seeds of your reception with you. Be nice and all is well.
I recall, when on a two week camp in the army in 1955, after a strenuous walk up a mountain, knocking on a farmhouse door to ask if we could buy some refreshments. I was astounded when the old gentleman answered me in Welsh and called his daughter who spoke English. I was made very much aware that the Welsh are a distinct culture. There was no antagonism
I am half Welsh, on my Mother’s side and LOVE going to South Wales and seeing the road signs in Welsh and underneath in English - that is how it should be, I always get a thrill when crossing the Severn Bridge and seeing Welcome to Wales in Welsh, I have always found the Welsh so warm and friendly and of course LOVE visiting my lovely Welsh family. I have only been to North Wales once but found no problems and I think if you treat everyone with kindness and respect, be friendly and if you are polite and maybe learn a few words of Welsh, it shows you respect and admire the lovely Welsh people.
Arrogant, condescending, individual, with contempt for ordinary decent people. Must be a Guardian reader. Rather like this channel owner, with his continued childish "Daily Fail" comments.
I been to Wales every year for probably the last 7 years and never had a problem. We were even in the depths of north Wales and even the pub had England on during the Euros, no one really watching but it was still on. My son even said it's the only place he would love to live for the scenery and history.
I have NEVER in 25 years of living in Wales been treated badly by anybody because I grew up in England. Nobody who is a native Welsh speaker and is in their local speaks English to each other. They speak Welsh because it is their home language, most spoke it in school and when playing and it as natural for them to speak it socially as it is for the English people to speak English. To expect otherwise would be like telling an English person in a London pub to Speak Greek all the time because a Greek person might conceivably wander in and feel isolated. My experience is that people in North or West Wales tend to switch FROM Welsh and INTO English to accommodate me or any other English speaker. They are delighted and encouraging if you have learnt a a little Welsh. We live in Mid Wales, our grandson is taught entirely in Welsh and I am far from fluent but willing to be teased as I was here as a toddler and still speak Welsh like a three year old! I was in a pub one time where the landlord said to a few locals to speak in English because a lady who was there overnight and was English was coming to order a drink. She went balistic, accusing him of swearing at her. All he had done was to encourage his regulars to make her welcome. She was more than rude, but they kindly explained while she refused to believe, that Saesneg is not a rude word, it just means English. Sometimes I'm embarrassed to be English, but it isn't the Welsh who make me feel that way.
Some of the Welsh speakers are very rude to non Welsh speakers. I've had countless incidents where the shopkeeper looks at you like a piece of excrement when you speak English, they either blank you or just point and mumble. You don't need to speak a second language to feel the hatred. Fortunately they are a minority in Wales. This is coming from someone who is an English speaking Welsh person, born and raised in North Wales. My aunt worked in a University Kitchen , where everyone spoke Welsh all day long around her , they totally ignored her like she didn't exist. Even at lunch time, she sat on her own and the Welsh speakers say together. Then after about three days one of them approached my auntie, and asked where she was from. My auntie replied that she is from Conwy. The woman said to her " then why don't you speak Welsh?" My auntie replied that her family never taught it to her , and in her area the first language is English. The Welsh speaking woman said " well if you're from here , you should be speaking Welsh not English"...... My auntie quit the job. Keep in mind this is at a university. Sometimes I feel like it's apartheid in Wales. Fortunately these ignorant people are massively in the minority.
i,m a welsh born person, and i,m not anti english, my wife is english. what i hate is disrespect , by anyone who visits my country, they treat it like it some kind of theme park. then do what they like, make a mess and walk away. can people not understand, we are not english or part of it. we are proud of wales as much as they are of england, so please treat us as you would wish to be treated yourselves.
I’ve been going to North Wales for nearly sixty years, never had a ‘Daily Mail type’ bad experience. I recently spent a couple of years working there on and off and enjoyed every minute of it and made many Welsh friends along the way. I have however encountered some small minded vindictive morons there, but they were all English.
Never been to North Wales, but really want to go. I've lived in South Wales for a few years and love Welsh people. I'm also learning Cymraeg. I hope one day I can talk to Cymraeg speakers in Cymraeg. Not many opportunities in South Wales.
As a Welsh person who lives in a 'touristy' area, I can catagorically state that there is no such general animosity towards English people. The account here is a cocktail of cliches (and the usual BS) from Daily Mail reader comments, and to be fair, the The Bald Scramber made that absolutely clear. However, I will say this. Disrespectful behaviour and blatant self entitlement has seemingly rocketed among the tourist influx in recent years. The holiday seasoin is becoming an increasingly less pleasant experience for local people. It's a fact of life that rural, coastal Wales needs the tourist trade. It might also happen be the case that most of the badly behaved tourists just happen to be from England, but that's simply statistical - because most of the tourists in Wales are from England! People are people, mainly good, and a few bad eggs - anywhere on the planet. Simple as. But I do wonder - why have visitors become so much more self-entitled and openly disrepectful - and so rapidly? It is as if someone pressed a button - I'd say somewhere around post-covid, though the trait had been evident for quite some time. I suspect that just maybe Social Media is making people less respectful and more anti-'social'. I think the people of the West Country, The Lake District, the Highlands etc etc are all experiencing similar.
I'm English and have been going to Wales for over 50 years and have never had a bad word said to me. They have always been very helpful and friendly to me and my family.
That’s because you’ve most probably treated our country with respect and the people in it rather than coming here treating it like it’s something England owns.
I'm Welsh and live in South Wales. I've learnt some Welsh and have basic conversational skills. I do, however, sound southern English as I spent several of my formative years in Portsmouth. I did live and work in a Welsh speaking community in Eryri for 5 years in the 90s. I think it was the most welcoming and supportive place I've lived. There was a community pub in the village. The first time I went in as an apparent English southerner the main language was Welsh. At the bar the barman- also a teacher at the school - switched to English to include me. As did the others around. I moved south again for work some time ago but still have life long friends from that time.
I've recently heard of people from England saying they will never visit Wales again because of our 20mph speed limit policy (even though it appears to have cut RTC casualties by 25%). I live in Wales and so far I've not met one person who has received a fixed penalty notice for exceeding 20 mph and yet lives appear to be being saved.
And at every opportunity Tory MP’s including the last Tory Welsh Minister said there was a blanket 20mph speed limit, giving the impression every road in Wales was 20mph
I have been holidaying in N Wales for decades. I also used to go there for scrambling in the mountains Eryri (Snowdonia). Although I don't do scrambling anymore I still visit a few times a year with my touring caravan. I have NEVER in all those years met any anti-English sentiment. I do have some Welsh ancestry, coming as I do from the Welsh border country but sadly I speak very little of the Welsh language. However I always try to at least say please and thank you in Welsh in shops & pubs etc as it is respectful. I suspect there may be two sides to the lady's experience for her to react so badly to her visit! Unfortunately over the past few years many tourists to N Wales (whether from England or elsewhere) have shown disrespect towards local communities by their behaviour: appalling parking (as has been mentioned) and littering on the very mountains and landscapes they supposedly come to enjoy. If I lived there (I wish I did) I'm sure I would be annoyed sometimes, that doesn't mean it's an anti-English thing. People forget also that in N Wales especially the common language of many or most locals is Welsh - they don't start speaking in Welsh just because an English person enters the shop or pub!
You get good and bad everywhere I've never experienced what the Daily Mail has described. I've heard some rude English people and felt ashamed and some people people are touchy. Hearing Welsh in Wales is great wouldn't expect anything else.
We never had any issues when holidaying in North Wales during June, they were lovely & friendly, in fact we are looking forward to holidaying there again.
Not at all. I used to live in the north west of England and am now settled on the north coast of wales near Colwyn Bay. They’re extremely friendly - from neighbours to ordinary folk in town in pubs and cafes. Breath of fresh air here, literally.
I live in the English Midlands and have regularly visited Wales, kayaking, motorcycling, walking and as a Scout leader over many years. I have yet to meet any hostility. I always enjoy my visits and look foward to many more.
I've been to N. Wales loads of times and have never experienced anything like it. What I suspect is that there are quite a few English words that don't have an Welsh equivalent and what people hear is a mixture of English and Welsh and assume that the speaker is changing to Welsh. Most of it is probably confirmation bias.
I am English and live in N Wales. I have met many truly wonderful Welsh people. I can speak a little Welsh but not good at learning languages. MY husband and I first moved to Abersoch with his job. I made a friend with a Scottish lady, we used to take our babies to a swimming class in nearby Pwllheli. I would say hello to the other mums and get ignored, my Scottish friend would be greeted with "Hello, how are you". One week when I said hello a local Mum said to me " We talk to your friend because she is Scottish but we will never talk to you because you are English. I now live in North East N Wales and have made many lovely Welsh friends. One evening I was out for a meal with friends and a lady who I had not met before told me she hated English people, when we sat down for our meal she came and sat next to me, I told her I was surprised as she hated English people, she said I was one of the few that were OK.....I could give lots of other examples but the good examples far outnumber the bad.
Have had lots of holidays in North Wales and never had any problems. In fact three of us are going to Llangollen in two weeks time. Once you tell them lots of your family are nearby there's always a favourable response. Then you tell them they are up in the cemetery and you get a laugh. My Welsh grandfather was bilingual and his father couldn't speak English. My stepdaughters eldest went to university at Aberystwyth and vowed not to come back to England. She's now learnt Welsh.
I'm Welsh and very proud of the fact. The Welsh 🏴 are extremely patriotic, and when you visit you need to remember that we speak our own language Welsh, like the Spanish, the Portuguese, the French etc etc. I've heard English "visitors" asking why we speak and why are the road signs in WELSH. This my friend's is why this wonderful WALES may give you a wide berth. Just remember you are in a totally different country than your England.....
No, not experienced any antipathy whilst visiting North Wales. That said I have spoken to Welsh people from South Wales who have mentioned receiving aggressive treatment when visiting North Wales.
@@davidharris4062 same for all the industrial revolution sacrifices. My ancestors for example were basically forced from their ancestral villages to work in the cotton mill industry. If we hadn't had these sacrifices, we wouldn't have such comfortable lives now, such as clean running water for millions in the West Midlands. Tryweryn was absolutely tiny and was a collection of hovels which is incidentally what many welsh villages have become without any intervention at all.
@@maryhaddock9145 somehow I don’t think they were hovels, maybe by 21st century standards, but they were communities, there were chapels and schools there, my farther had a cousin who lived in the Forest of Dean, electricity and plumbing were installed in the mid 1960’s, he was a gamekeeper for an estate, no doubt he was living in a hovel. As is happening now, Wales is the whipping dog for the English Establishment, it has been proposed by the CEO of Thames Water that more Welsh valleys be flooded and the water transported to the south east of England, as according to him, people in the Thames Waters customers don’t want reservoirs built in their area
@@davidharris4062 I think they were hovels even by the standards of the day. Wales is full of hovels. Communities were uk wide that have since disappeared and there are semi abandoned forlorn villages all around Wales. Although many are being taken up by English, white flight.
If you go to France people speak French, if you go to Wales people speak Welsh, it’s not people being ignorant, just speaking their language of birth🤷♂️
Many years ago a group of nine of us young lads who were in North Wales climbing piled into a fairly remote local pub. It was a bit like a film; the whole place went silent and stared 😂 A few old guys at the ends of the bar were giving off extremely hostile vibes. But to be fair we were dressed like shit (dole climbers) and a group of nine muscled but grubby strangers walking into a country pub in England would have probably got the same reaction. And they did still serve us. But other than that one incident I've been going to North Wales climbing, hiking, biking and partying for 40 years and never had an issue with anyone....but I treat people how I like to be treated myself. If you go in with an attitude you'll get one back. I don't get the problem with people speaking Welsh - they are proud of their language, their country and their culture...and it sounds nice to my ears anyway. Nobody has ever refused to switch to English if I've had to ask a question. I know several people who've moved there, made the effort to learn Welsh and they've been accepted into the community just fine.
I've not had any bad experiences myself but I have heard a lot of people tell me of bad experiences in North Wales of anti-English hatred, and also a couple of separate cases of Welsh lads being badly beaten just for being in a different village. Let's not pretend that some of the north Welsh aren't a bit parochial. What i do find a bit sad is that so many North Welsh have a leave their homeland because there are so few opportunities there.
A girlfriend and I stayed in a holiday cottage in Dolwyddelan many years ago. Went for dinner in the hostelry a few doors down. Our reception was polite but distinctly cool. We had a lovely meal, wine, and a few G&Ts. On returning to the cottage, I checked my pockets and realised we had NOT been charged for a couple of drinks. I went straight back to the landlord and pointed out his mistake, after which we were treated like royalty. I should add that I used to go up to Snowdonia every winter for many years for the winter climbing and never had any hint of hostility.
Unfortunately yes I have had several bad experiences of anti English sentiment, all unprovoked, the most polite was when my wife and I wrnt into a pub for lunch, the landlord said we could have one drink then go, Wales were playing a rugby game. It was live on TV and it wouldn't be safe for Engish people to be in the pub. On another occasion in a village shop I visited upon me ssuing good morning, the lady behind the counter ignored me and started talking Welsh to another couple of ladies, I waited patiently for 15 minutes then asked "excuse me coild you serve me please", the replycwas ate you still here? theres the door. They were the most polite put outs, as a redult of these incidents, I actively withdrew my patronage of Wales, and over the next 30 years revelled in bringing business profits out of Wales and back to English sccounts. To this day I have not changed my mind about staying in Wales but have travellrf sll over thd UK and Ireland. where I have found their nationalists polite and happy to discuss any issue. As a footnote my grandfather originated from north Wales and up to going to infant school I spoke as much Welsh as English! So I was completely disgusted by the behaveour of the Welsh towards me and mine. I cannot forget or forgive all of the worse incidents. There was a comedy sketch back in the 1980's by 'Not the 9O'clock News' crosd refetencing a popular coal fire add with Welsh nationalist activities, it's strapline was "Come home to a real fire. Buy a cottage in Wales" Says it all really
When I visited North Wales as a young man I did notice this behaviour myself. Though last year I again visited North Wales and didn't experience any such problems. What i did notice though, was that Welsh seemed to be spoken more widely than it was in my previous visit, which I loved. In fact, my wife and I struck up a conversation with a Welsh speaker in the pub and asked him about his language and had a very good conversation about it. Ive also travelled widely and my opinion is that most people are friendly and not racist including in Wales.
I’ve been regularly for the past few years hiking and scrambling around Snowdonia. I’ve never felt unwelcome or disliked as an Englishman. Two experiences come to mind. 1. I was in the Tryfan in Bethesda having a post-scannable pint when a gent came in and spoke in Welsh to the barmaid. When he heard me and my mate speaking English he turned and spoke to us for a while. In English. Friendly and welcoming. 2. Also in Bethesda (love it) I met a bloke on the night of his last ever appearance for the local rugby team after 22yrs of hard yards in the first XV second row. Him and his mates were bloody great and we had a memorable, if hazy, night! I am still embarrassed at my pathetic attempts to correctly pronounce yaki da. 😉 So, I think the locals, like anywhere, just don’t like ar*e holes. And I don’t blame them one bit! The Daily Mail is perpetuating a myth.
"yaki da", no wonder it can't be pronounced correctly when spelt like that! Seems to be a common spelling, but must be an english spelling, it should be "Iechyd da" - "Good health".
@@BurtonTommyBoy No need to apologise, we don't expect you to get it correct, we have different alphabets with different characters and even the characters that look the same sound different, and even the word order is different, that was actually "Health Good", so your chances of getting it correct are about as good as me getting Chinese correct! Stick to English unless you want some entertainment. The Welsh can all speak English these days, even if we can't always spell it with its inconsistent rules!
I'm English and I've spent lots of time in both North and South Wales. Never had a problem. In fact my young kids, the first time I took them to Wales, when asked for their views on the trip, replied how friendly everyone had been to them. Having said that, we park the car sensibly, pick up litter on the hills, are respectful to all staff in pubs, restaurants, etc and always spend our hard-earned in B&Bs or pubs - no second home ownership for us. The only issue I've ever detected is that, compared with South Wales, I do find that some (a minority of) businesses in North Wales (not so much in the South) still think it's okay to charge 2024 prices for 1974 food or to stick with 1984 decor.... apart from that minor and very occasional hiccup, we love Wales and its people... can't wait to go again.
One of my staff from Wales in the 80s wrote me a letter of apology for mistaking me for being English (I’m Scottish but I don’t have a Scottish accent). True story. I feigned indignation that she had called me English. She honestly thought I’d taken huge offence 😂
I’ve been to North Wales a few times, both on holiday and for work as a surveyor (wearing a suit and tie, measuring up shops and industrial units), never had an unpleasant comment, most of time people have been polite and friendly, once I walked into a shop, said “Good morning” and the ladies at the counter switched to Welsh for their conversation, but were fine talking to me in English.
The bit about the Welsh in North Wales speaking English then switching to Welsh happened to my husband, years ago. He and his mate went into a pub to buy lunch and before they were in the pub those already there were speaking in English and as soon as they saw their army uniform they started speaking in Welsh after all it was in Wales. So my husband and his mate spoke in Gaelic! They were both Irish. As you can imagine there were a few sour faces. 😂. To be fair if people want to be rude and insult their own country by being rude that’s on them however, let’s be honest some tourists are a right pain in the rump and think they own the place.
I'm from Bristol and do alot of work in north and south Wales. All I can say is I LOVE Wales lol the people are lush. I worked there so much that I holiday there and hike there. Never had a issue with locals in cafes or pubs. But I'm great at accents so I'll just become a French person for a hour. Bone jaw and all that 😅
I'm a Cornish man and Private eye reader. I know plenty from Yns Mon and the rest of Wales no problems I don't read either Mail but it's no worse than the Grauniad. Private eye shows the Grauniad for what it is!
You made a spelling mistake there, it is Ynys Môn - you missed a 'y' and used a short 'o' instead of the long version 'ô'. If you can't read and write, and don't know the alphabet, then you almost certainly can't pronounce it either or hear that it is pronounced wrongly, so why not make it easy and pronounce it "Anglesey", then you will sound educated, and nobody is going to mind you using its correct Norse name pronounced correctly! I was there yesterday. Of course the word Ynys is also a Cornish word, but spelt Enys in Cornish, so a true Cornishman should be getting it right?
I'm not surprised my spelling has never been great. The thing is, it hasn't prevented me from being a self-made farmer, without any financial help from anyone or bringing up my 3 girls as i lost my wife aged 29. I had a teacher like you who said I'd never amount to anything she was very sarcastic about my spelling too! The funny thing is that I've done better in life than most in my class at Cape Cornwall school and far better than her 3 children. I have common sense, business acumen and will help anybody and own outright everything I own and owe nobody a penny in debt. So I might not be able to spell perfectly but it hasn't stopped me being successful and that will do for me.
@@stephenholmes1036 Spelling is easier in Welsh than English, the words are spelt as they are pronounced, so spelling mistakes are rather more obvious! We don't expect you to get it right though, we have a different alphabet, so you have no chance without learning it, although the long 'ô' is the same in Cornish, so maybe you should have got that.
Maybe boy but nobody died and losing my wife to cancer at 29 with 3 young girls, Makes you realise what really matters and spelling mistakes for me aren't particularly high up the list.
I grew up in Birmingham, and was moved to South Wales with my job, in the 1970s. I was immediately made welcome, getting on very well with the locals, whether or not they were Welsh speakers. Indeed, I got on so well that I married a local girl. We live in neutral territory, Scotland. There is a certain needle between the North and South Walians, there being an invisible line running through Aberystwyth, with "us" on one side, and the dreaded "Gogs" on the other. As a Brummie, I was definitely an "us".
As a south valiant in North Wales only the dog in the hotel was nice to us...some ofour Welsh wordsand accent is very different from the Gogs , who claim purity of the language is embodied in their culture, also a good bit different from the South. But there are pig ignorant souls world wide...don't be put off, test us out. The normal people are nothing like the Politicos and Nationalists.
..any I'm taffy and I don't hate inglish...North Wales different kettle of fish to south...they don't like south waleiens..but they dont realize they are scoucers 😂
Yes several years ago in Twywn mid Wales, myself and daughter heard 2 ladies working in a shop speaking perfect English until we walked in and they switched to Welsh. Went to Prestatyn in August and my partner was totally ignored at a bar so we took our custom elsewhere!
Being totally honest with you I'm from England, Wales is my favourite place in the whole world. I have been visiting for many years and have not noticed people being bad to me.
I work In and visit North Wales every month, and have never had a bad experience, everyone always seem nice. My ex however went to visit a friend for a weekend in South Wales and after only one night asked me to pick her back up, as she hated being there due to hostilities from the locals. You wouldn't expect that to happen to a girl but It did, she's never been to Wales ever since lol
Been to North Wales a lot of times. Never had any problems with anyone. It's what makes the experience so good. Won't stop me going back. Respect the people and the area. I have a few friends from North Wales I served in the Navy with. According to my DNA I have some Welsh blood in me. Good knows how,lol. It's good tbh. Roll on the next visit to the Llyn Peninsular.
Rarely have a problem in Wales.. Lived here over 30 years now.. Sometimes get a young radical but besides that.. Just be decent and it's usually reciprocated.
I’ve experienced all of this racism, I lived and work in Barry and Rhoose for 7 years before moving to Spain and get less racism living in a tiny Spanish village than I did in Rhoose. Engineering company I worked at was worse, but I gave as good as I got
I am English and been to many places in wales ,never had any trouble ,as long as you are respectful and polite,I have always found them friendly and helpful,personally I think they are the friendliest in the uk
I travelled all around the UK through work and stayed in Wales many times. I live close to the border and have Welsh friends. Mostly lovely people but had a few instances on Anglesey mostly in Llangefni. I was talking to a Welsh colleague and got jabbed in the ribs with an umbrella by an old woman who said ‘ahh bloody English piss off back there’. My colleague certainly gave her an earful in Welsh and then told me what she had said. She was lovely. No matter where you go there will always be one or two that are bigots.
Been there got the tea shirt on countless occasions. My Mum lived in the shadow of Snowden for many years and due to this I spent a fair amount of time and really struggled with all the issues this lovely lady complained about. The answer is simple, vote with your feet and don’t go. The weather is dreadful anyway. I can’t believe you haven’t experienced this??? Methinks you are not telling the complete story??!! Oh yes by the way if you don’t like what the Daily Mail prints don’t buy it!! That way you won’t get offended!!! Just an idea??
As I said on the article the problem is likely self inflicted, as an Englishman living in Wales for a fair few years the attitude you present is usually the reason for getting a bad attitude from people, having said that I have had the odd anti English attitude occasionally but then I have friends from mid and South Wales who have had exactly the same sort of thing happen to them, it is a small minority that make the most noise from both sides of the subject, as I said before your attitude in the first place is usually what elicits a negative response from locals
If you don't like Welsh people speaking Welsh perhaps you ought to tell other nations to stop speaking their native language. It is Wales and Welsh is our language.
As a Cardiff boy, I moved west when a child. Every day in school I had time to stand in the corner and reflect on my cardiffness, when I stood up for myself I was labelled as a trouble maker. At the agecof 7. As a welshmen I hate them for that. . But the ironic thing is it's now majority English. Aha. Brilliant.
Hi, ive lived in north Wales for seven years after my daughter stayed on after Bangor university, after living in the Midllands, i can assure you this is far more friendly, the people have been great, and if you respect their culture they return that respect in spades!!
I worked in North Wales for a few years. I certainly would never consider going back. My wife is Welsh, my Father in law is a Welsh speaker, and I'm English so yea I'm not Anti Welsh. The vast majority of people I met. I was doing deliveries in the area around Wrexham , were really nice. However there was an undercurrent of anti English racism in the work place, ironically most of the culprits spoke as much Welsh about as much as I do (virtually none). So think it doesn't exist, think again.
I have only ever met one Welshman I didn't like, but he just had little man syndrome so one has to make allowances. I have however, seen a tourist in a shop walk in front of an obviously local farmer to get served in a garage. I was standing behind the local and said out loud "Some folk just don't have manners", which he agreed with. You watch tourists driving round ruling the road and unable, in many cases, to reverse a short distance to a gateway. Where ever you go in the world, manners and respect cost nothing. Show these qualities and they are returned.
Been to North Wales many times. Experiences mostly OK but I did once experience the 'English to Welsh' phenomenon in a Holyhead pub. It was pretty horrible! On the other hand in South Wales the people have always been most hospitable and welcoming.
This is a strange one,I'm from South Wales,there is definitely a dislike for some English people,pembrokeshire has been over run with the English buying,second homes or just moving there,this has happened in other parts of England as well Cornwall,Devon come to mind,the local young people have had to move away from there home town because house prices have gone,I moved to Bristol when I was 11,and from day one I was made fun of my the school kids,yes I had many a scrap in the play ground,so yes it works both ways,I have said before that the English who have moved to especially pembrokeshire have spoilt what was a welsh speaking area ,everywhere they go they take over the towns and villages,so I think the welsh have a right to complain about the invasion, ,why can't they stay where they're from.
You could say the same thing about mass immigration in any part of Britain but it isn’t politically correct to blame that like it is to blame the English. Imagine trying to get on the housing market in London as a young working class person.
I'm a Welshman but you would think I was English from my northern English accent. I have never seen or experienced any anti-English sentiment whatsoever. Just be polite and you will have no problems. If people are speaking Welsh respect it! Don't resent it!
We stayed at the back of an old chapel right in the middle of Snowdonia. We met the local farmer on a walk and they invited us in to their house for tea and cake we felt very welcome. We went to church in the adjoining chapel and were welcomed there also It was all in Welsh which was a great experience. Some pubs can be quite cliquey anywhere in the UK just a local thing maybe We are English and had our three boys with us. It was twenty years ago though. Love Welsh people, hate the Daily Mail
I drove for a living in the 80s and 90s. As I was always in a new environment, I developed diplomatic skills, always friendly, always polite. Everywhere, I met nice people from London to Swansea to Newcastle to Inverness. But N Wales was somewhere i didnt like going. Not all N Welsh, but yes, it was just less helpful, more miserable. I live 15 miles from N Wales and I just dont go.
Ive lived in west wales for 25 years. There are some who are anti English. One friend has said I was the only English she was friends with. Many who are anti English do not speak Welsh. We have locals who have said everyone is welcome except the English. We had to call the police as a retired headmistress knocking on cottage doors screaming abuse at tourists. It happens. Im now part of the community now and have no real problems.
Ya all good Dan no one is being toxic on here because you are being decent and honest. I wouldn’t be put off going to north wales! I do agree the daily mail is no good but the worst is the guardian, stay away from that poison as well Dan 👍🏼🏴
Heartland of Cymru. This is where our language and culture still survives and thrives even in places like Wrexham which is only 5 miles away from the English border. We’re proud of who we are and that we’re different to the English.
I have been to Northern Wales and had no problems I used to live in South Wales when I was young I have always found the Welsh people to be friendly North And South.
As a Welshman, there is nothing wrong with the English, nor anyone else for that matter. Just like most people, the only people we have an issue with are those who disrespect our culture or language. This is nothing special to Wales, but like you said there are issues that come with tourism, and by proximity the majority of our tourists happen to be English. This is for the most part an issue of correlation and causation, and just like anywhere else in the world, if you present yourself with a smile and take at least a small interest in the culture, nobody can fault you. This is why I love the mountains, because people from all over cross paths and share interests irrespective of origin. Much love Dan
@@tollie_rowlands09 I agree there's good and bad in all,but you did touch on disrespect our culture,this is exactly what I was getting at,some while ago there was a elderly welsh speaking man who lived on the pemb. a small village ,yes he enjoyed meeting all the people who came for holidays, unfortunately when winter came the village was practically empty,this resulted in him getting lonely,you say there's nothing wrong with the English,but they do have a habit of over running an area,be it Wales,Scotland,even the South west has its problems with people from the home counties having second homes,there gas been many a complaint from locals especially in St.Ives,Newquay,Devon.
So not acceptable to make fun of the language then? I have found a lot of English people, particularly women who have moved to Wales and learnt some welsh behave the most touchy about joking about the language.
@@maryhaddock9145I am a monoglot English speaking Welshman, making fun in a disrespectful manner is not acceptable. Joking about tongue twisters and difficulty of pronunciation is fine but ignorant comments about lack of vowels or the use of ‘English’ derived words really riles me. English uses many borrowed words and that helps make it such a great language.
According to some linguists English is 46% old French, so people in glass houses….😊
"English doesn't borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over and goes through their pockets for loose grammar." : Terry Pratchett
@@Jez-Hunt 😂😂
I visit North Wales regularly and I've never experienced any problems at all. One one occasion I broke down in the middle of nowhere very late at night with my wife and kids in the car. I rang the AA but they wouldn't come out without a road name or postcode. There was a farmhouse and a couple of cottages close by. I went to the farm house to try and get a post code. After the farmer's initial suspicions had been allayed - (he'd seen me traipsing up and down the round and wondered what I was up to..) Once he realised I'd broken down all his nearby mates were woken up and together we all pushed the car off the road - it was in a particularly bad spot. He and his mates ( to no avail) tried to fix the car while we waited for the AA. meanwhile my Missus and kids were in the farmhouse have a jolly old chat with the farmer's wife and her mates while being fed tea and toast. Amazing experience. I'm grateful for their help and hospitality to this day.
Indeed I have had more than one experience like that, including on Christmas day when a helpful resident in Nant Gwynant changed a wheel for me because the AA wouldn't come out. On another occasion a farmer used his 4WD to tow me out of a flooded section of road after I had walked all the way to the nearest farm to ask for assistance.
Me and my mates broke down in a van in a sleepy north Wales village. A local came over with a jack to help us. Then refused to let us give him any money for the assistance. The Welsh are great. Some of the Scottish though 🙄 They still have pubs with signs that say No English.
Im from Liverpool and I’m 39. I’ve Been going to wales particularly North Wales for the best part of over 30 years in terms of caravans, cottages and more so in recent years snowdonia (eryri) hiking. Never ever once felt intimidated by any locals in any of the areas. Like you said it’s a trouble causing toxic newspaper that has a bit of a tendency to shit stir. As long as you respect the area and the local people they will return it back.
My best mate had his tib & fib smashed in bala whilst having a pint as soon as they heard his scouse accent, the Llyn Celyn reservoir still has a lot of anger for some people.
I'm Welsh, and I went in a pub in England where that woman is from, I'm sure they were all speaking Welsh before I went in, then as soon as I walked in they changed to English. It was exactly as real as that womans experience.
Haha. Actually, I have found welsh speakers to revert to english when there's an an english person with them so they can be included in the conversation.
@@maryhaddock9145 absolutely! I always think the "when we walked in, they started speaking in Welsh and they were talking about us" is just paranoid fantasy. I thought I'd write it reversed to show how mad it sounds, although I am actually Welsh, that bit is true, and I'm an ex-pat and live in northern England... been in plenty of pubs too hahahaha
I’m from North Wales & a Welsh speaker, Why would a Welsh speaker speak in english to Their Friends & then turn to Welsh when an english person walks in🤔 Makes no sense to Me.
@@markjones6564 English exceptional ism again. Rather than sit back and enjoy the different culture ambience the entitled think they are being slighted because nobody speaks English. Only Americans are as bad. They same mindset complain about the French speaking French and the Spanish speaking Spanish. We are here speak English.
I did the three peaks challenge with my wife in July, we finished with Snowdon and spent the night there and we had a great time. Hotel was great, dinner at a local restaurant was great, breakfast at a local cafe was great. Never once did we feel any sort of anti English sentiment
No we are not anti English as long as everyone respects each other, we are all good 👍
I've had reason to visit North Wales several times this year. I'm from South Wales. The people I've met have been the friendliest, warmest, most generous people I've ever met anywhere.
I lived in Wales from the age of 8 to 27. I was put in a welsh class. I can understand and speak Welsh. I’ve never had the experience of people changing to Welsh on hearing an English accent. People are more likely to have been speaking Welsh when one arrives and they just carry on. It also may well be their first language
Im English and I love Wales. I go often and have been since I was a child. Iv never had any issues with the locals. The vast majority have been lovely.
If you go to somewhere like Pwllheli or Abersoch you'll find tribalism. It's a sort of resentment behaviour and if they're a welsh speaker, they'll use it as a powerful way of getting one over on a wealthy English person.
I recently observed a visitor to Mid Wales claiming they were being subjected to anti-English prejudice! The gentleman concerned was not subject to anti-English abuse, he was being requested to keep his dogs off the seats and table in a café!
I'm a dog owner and it wouldn't be just a request to keep his dogs off the furniture
I'm English and lived in mid west Wales for 6 months now and found everyone very friendly and helpful, more so than my previous life in London.
Visited Llanberis for the first time a couple of months ago and stayed for a week there - the anti-English sentiment was a back-of-the-mind worry going up, but completely forgotten once I was there. No experience of it whatsoever, and encountered many friendly locals who were only too happy to offer advice and directions.
I am a fairly frequent visitor to Wales and have never experienced anything like that, people speak Welsh because that is their language.
I'm from a Welsh family and what you say is correct. The Welsh aren't anti-English, they're anti-bad behavior. They speak Welsh in eryri 'cos that's their language, just like they speak French in France !
@@KingBee24 I wish I could learn my home tongue, unfortunately living in Bristol,there aren't any classes.
Speak for yourself, the biggest migrant group in Wales are the English
Welsh is a dying language. Best learn another one. I know … English
@@SteveJohn-w9q The Welsh language is now the fastest growing language in the UK, according to Duolingo.
The smartphone app firm said the number of new Welsh learners using its services has risen by 44% in 2020.
It is ranked as the fastest growing UK language and outflanks the likes of Hindi, Japanese, Turkish and French.
@@SteveJohn-w9q .
The second-largest primary language spoken in London is Welsh.
Been to North Wales scrambling and climbing for years, never had any issues. Always found the Welsh really friendly and have gone out of their way to help.
Never had any bother in North Wales. Made sure I knew a few phrases of Welsh to show some respect. The only time I had half a problem was when I asked a bloke the way in English and he answered me in Welsh, politely but I think he was making point. I tried to tell him sorry, I didn't speak Welsh, in Welsh, and I got close enough that he understood me, but not close enough that he didn't laugh. Then he was absolutely fine with me, and gave me directions in English. Said thanks in Welsh, he said you're welcome, and things were great.
Having said that, my son was wearing a t-shirt with "Cymru" on it, so he might just have used Welsh to tell me I could too. To be fair, I was literally outside his house, so if he wants to speak his language that's up to him. It's my job to adapt, not his.
Dai iawn chi
@@maryhaddock9145 Diolch yn fawr :)
I have been a visitor to North Wales both for pleasure and work for over 30 years mainly around the Llyn Peninsula - I have been in pubs were we have been talking english and welsh on the same table (most locals speak welsh because it is there first language) but someone will always turn round and tell me what they are talking about and then they will include you in the conversation - mainly about fishing! there was an old guy always spoke to me in a pub I used to go to and he always started speaking in english until we had drank a few too many pints then he would forget and he would have a conversation in welsh but I never liked to interrupt! My car once broke down just past pwllheli and a bus (with passengers on) actually stopped and asked if I needed any help! So I have always found them to be friendly helpful people.
I've been hiking North Wales for over 10 years and never had any issues with the locals. Always very accommodating and helpful. Most of my knowledge of the area is from talking to the locals.
Some people, especially in north Wales, do hate the English. They hate the southern Welsh also. I've experienced that myself. But you can find people like this in all countries and I don't think it's universal or even typical..
Lived here nearly 40 years. Never seen anything like that said said happened! Every time I've seen a football match in a pub the Welsh do always support the team that is not England but I just find that hilarious! My son is fluent in welsh but sounds very english and has never heard vitriol like the lady said either.
Been visiting the hills, mountains and rivers all over Wales for years. Never had an issue with locals. Always been welcomed. We’ve left many pubs feeling like seasoned locals. There is always the English Welsh banter, but we embrace that 😂. I think sometimes that can misinterpreted.
So here’s something; admittedly anecdotal but there we go. I know a woman who up until recently worked as an Eryri Nat Park warden. Really nice girl. She’s half Welsh and half English. I was doing some work for the Park and was dealing with her throughout the process. Anyway, in conversation she said she was dreading the following day as she was to be stationed in Pen Y Pass as it’s bedlam up there in peak season. She said she has had to move people on and stop them from parking at the side of the road up there all the time and had lost count of how many times she’d been called a ‘Welsh slag!’ Or a ‘Welsh c#*t!’ Or similar while people drove away. Of course there are many nationalities walking Yr Wyddfa and she said of all the people she’s had to move on its only one national group that has shown such belligerence. Any guesses who they might be?
YES.THE WELSH
I live in the absolutely majestically beautiful mid Wales countryside and have only had warmth and friendship from the Welsh and their humour and quick wit is a joy to be around .. I'm a Londoner by the way... 🤍
Likewise, though much further south and an origin from a little further north. Been here more than 30 years and no issues whatsoever. On the contrary, the people I've met (pretty much all of them) have been lovely, friendly, generous and helpful - far more so than where I grew up. As with many places, you carry the seeds of your reception with you. Be nice and all is well.
I recall, when on a two week camp in the army in 1955, after a strenuous walk up a mountain, knocking on a farmhouse door to ask if we could buy some refreshments. I was astounded when the old gentleman answered me in Welsh and called his daughter who spoke English. I was made very much aware that the Welsh are a distinct culture. There was no antagonism
Remember there's more roads in north Wales that leads to England than leads to south Wales.
@@NeilJackson-kn6mmthat’s because the English built them to get out resources
I am half Welsh, on my Mother’s side and LOVE going to South Wales and seeing the road signs in Welsh and underneath in English - that is how it should be, I always get a thrill when crossing the Severn Bridge and seeing Welcome to Wales in Welsh, I have always found the Welsh so warm and friendly and of course LOVE visiting my lovely Welsh family. I have only been to North Wales once but found no problems and I think if you treat everyone with kindness and respect, be friendly and if you are polite and maybe learn a few words of Welsh, it shows you respect and admire the lovely Welsh people.
Now if they had said "don't serve them they're Daily Mail readers" they would have got nothing but praise and congratulations - from me, anyway.
Arrogant, condescending, individual, with contempt for ordinary decent people. Must be a Guardian reader. Rather like this channel owner, with his continued childish "Daily Fail" comments.
I been to Wales every year for probably the last 7 years and never had a problem. We were even in the depths of north Wales and even the pub had England on during the Euros, no one really watching but it was still on. My son even said it's the only place he would love to live for the scenery and history.
I have NEVER in 25 years of living in Wales been treated badly by anybody because I grew up in England. Nobody who is a native Welsh speaker and is in their local speaks English to each other. They speak Welsh because it is their home language, most spoke it in school and when playing and it as natural for them to speak it socially as it is for the English people to speak English. To expect otherwise would be like telling an English person in a London pub to Speak Greek all the time because a Greek person might conceivably wander in and feel isolated.
My experience is that people in North or West Wales tend to switch FROM Welsh and INTO English to accommodate me or any other English speaker. They are delighted and encouraging if you have learnt a a little Welsh.
We live in Mid Wales, our grandson is taught entirely in Welsh and I am far from fluent but willing to be teased as I was here as a toddler and still speak Welsh like a three year old!
I was in a pub one time where the landlord said to a few locals to speak in English because a lady who was there overnight and was English was coming to order a drink. She went balistic, accusing him of swearing at her. All he had done was to encourage his regulars to make her welcome. She was more than rude, but they kindly explained while she refused to believe, that Saesneg is not a rude word, it just means English.
Sometimes I'm embarrassed to be English, but it isn't the Welsh who make me feel that way.
Where in Mid Wales? because hardy anyone speaks Welsh first here.
I live in mid Wales too and rarely hear Welsh spoken here .....I'm English .
I'm an English man living in wales for 26 years the Welsh people are the kindest and most honorable people I have ever met
Some of the Welsh speakers are very rude to non Welsh speakers. I've had countless incidents where the shopkeeper looks at you like a piece of excrement when you speak English, they either blank you or just point and mumble. You don't need to speak a second language to feel the hatred.
Fortunately they are a minority in Wales. This is coming from someone who is an English speaking Welsh person, born and raised in North Wales.
My aunt worked in a University Kitchen , where everyone spoke Welsh all day long around her , they totally ignored her like she didn't exist. Even at lunch time, she sat on her own and the Welsh speakers say together. Then after about three days one of them approached my auntie, and asked where she was from. My auntie replied that she is from Conwy. The woman said to her " then why don't you speak Welsh?" My auntie replied that her family never taught it to her , and in her area the first language is English. The Welsh speaking woman said " well if you're from here , you should be speaking Welsh not English"......
My auntie quit the job. Keep in mind this is at a university. Sometimes I feel like it's apartheid in Wales. Fortunately these ignorant people are massively in the minority.
i,m a welsh born person, and i,m not anti english, my wife is english. what i hate is disrespect , by anyone who visits my country, they treat it like it some kind of theme park. then do what they like, make a mess and walk away. can people not understand, we are not english or part of it. we are proud of wales as much as they are of england, so please treat us as you would wish to be treated yourselves.
Me pasa con los estadounidenses que se creen "América" cuando no lo son y tratan LATAM como basura
I’ve been going to North Wales for nearly sixty years, never had a ‘Daily Mail type’ bad experience. I recently spent a couple of years working there on and off and enjoyed every minute of it and made many Welsh friends along the way. I have however encountered some small minded vindictive morons there, but they were all English.
Never been to North Wales, but really want to go. I've lived in South Wales for a few years and love Welsh people.
I'm also learning Cymraeg. I hope one day I can talk to Cymraeg speakers in Cymraeg. Not many opportunities in South Wales.
As a Welsh person who lives in a 'touristy' area, I can catagorically state that there is no such general animosity towards English people. The account here is a cocktail of cliches (and the usual BS) from Daily Mail reader comments, and to be fair, the The Bald Scramber made that absolutely clear.
However, I will say this. Disrespectful behaviour and blatant self entitlement has seemingly rocketed among the tourist influx in recent years. The holiday seasoin is becoming an increasingly less pleasant experience for local people.
It's a fact of life that rural, coastal Wales needs the tourist trade. It might also happen be the case that most of the badly behaved tourists just happen to be from England, but that's simply statistical - because most of the tourists in Wales are from England! People are people, mainly good, and a few bad eggs - anywhere on the planet. Simple as.
But I do wonder - why have visitors become so much more self-entitled and openly disrepectful - and so rapidly? It is as if someone pressed a button - I'd say somewhere around post-covid, though the trait had been evident for quite some time.
I suspect that just maybe Social Media is making people less respectful and more anti-'social'. I think the people of the West Country, The Lake District, the Highlands etc etc are all experiencing similar.
I'm English and have been going to Wales for over 50 years and have never had a bad word said to me.
They have always been very helpful and friendly to me and my family.
That’s because you’ve most probably treated our country with respect and the people in it rather than coming here treating it like it’s something England owns.
Recently spent some time in Bangor and Conwy, had no problems, the people were very friendly and sociable.
I'm Welsh and live in South Wales. I've learnt some Welsh and have basic conversational skills. I do, however, sound southern English as I spent several of my formative years in Portsmouth. I did live and work in a Welsh speaking community in Eryri for 5 years in the 90s. I think it was the most welcoming and supportive place I've lived. There was a community pub in the village. The first time I went in as an apparent English southerner the main language was Welsh. At the bar the barman- also a teacher at the school - switched to English to include me. As did the others around. I moved south again for work some time ago but still have life long friends from that time.
I've recently heard of people from England saying they will never visit Wales again because of our 20mph speed limit policy (even though it appears to have cut RTC casualties by 25%). I live in Wales and so far I've not met one person who has received a fixed penalty notice for exceeding 20 mph and yet lives appear to be being saved.
There are 20mph zones in England too, and they've been there a long time, but nobody says anything about that!
And at every opportunity Tory MP’s including the last Tory Welsh Minister said there was a blanket 20mph speed limit, giving the impression every road in Wales was 20mph
I have been holidaying in N Wales for decades. I also used to go there for scrambling in the mountains Eryri (Snowdonia). Although I don't do scrambling anymore I still visit a few times a year with my touring caravan. I have NEVER in all those years met any anti-English sentiment. I do have some Welsh ancestry, coming as I do from the Welsh border country but sadly I speak very little of the Welsh language. However I always try to at least say please and thank you in Welsh in shops & pubs etc as it is respectful. I suspect there may be two sides to the lady's experience for her to react so badly to her visit!
Unfortunately over the past few years many tourists to N Wales (whether from England or elsewhere) have shown disrespect towards local communities by their behaviour: appalling parking (as has been mentioned) and littering on the very mountains and landscapes they supposedly come to enjoy. If I lived there (I wish I did) I'm sure I would be annoyed sometimes, that doesn't mean it's an anti-English thing. People forget also that in N Wales especially the common language of many or most locals is Welsh - they don't start speaking in Welsh just because an English person enters the shop or pub!
I've personally been subject to the same treatment as you describe and I'm a placid, respectful person wherever I go. I won't go back there now.
You get good and bad everywhere I've never experienced what the Daily Mail has described. I've heard some rude English people and felt ashamed and some people people are touchy. Hearing Welsh in Wales is great wouldn't expect anything else.
Mae pawb isio siarad Cymraeg! I'm from England and I love Wales. Cymru is a beautiful country.
Your first error was mistaking the daily mail for a news outlet,your second error was believing anything it prints!😂😂😂
I regularly hike/scramble in north wales and have always been treated well. Thanks for the vids Dan
We never had any issues when holidaying in North Wales during June, they were lovely & friendly, in fact we are looking forward to holidaying there again.
Not at all. I used to live in the north west of England and am now settled on the north coast of wales near Colwyn Bay. They’re extremely friendly - from neighbours to ordinary folk in town in pubs and cafes. Breath of fresh air here, literally.
I live in the English Midlands and have regularly visited Wales, kayaking, motorcycling, walking and as a Scout leader over many years. I have yet to meet any hostility. I always enjoy my visits and look foward to many more.
If you are kind and friendly then people tend to be kind and friendly back.
I've been to N. Wales loads of times and have never experienced anything like it. What I suspect is that there are quite a few English words that don't have an Welsh equivalent and what people hear is a mixture of English and Welsh and assume that the speaker is changing to Welsh. Most of it is probably confirmation bias.
I am English and live in N Wales. I have met many truly wonderful Welsh people. I can speak a little Welsh but not good at learning languages. MY husband and I first moved to Abersoch with his job. I made a friend with a Scottish lady, we used to take our babies to a swimming class in nearby Pwllheli. I would say hello to the other mums and get ignored, my Scottish friend would be greeted with "Hello, how are you". One week when I said hello a local Mum said to me " We talk to your friend because she is Scottish but we will never talk to you because you are English. I now live in North East N Wales and have made many lovely Welsh friends. One evening I was out for a meal with friends and a lady who I had not met before told me she hated English people, when we sat down for our meal she came and sat next to me, I told her I was surprised as she hated English people, she said I was one of the few that were OK.....I could give lots of other examples but the good examples far outnumber the bad.
Have had lots of holidays in North Wales and never had any problems. In fact three of us are going to Llangollen in two weeks time. Once you tell them lots of your family are nearby there's always a favourable response. Then you tell them they are up in the cemetery and you get a laugh. My Welsh grandfather was bilingual and his father couldn't speak English. My stepdaughters eldest went to university at Aberystwyth and vowed not to come back to England. She's now learnt Welsh.
I'm Welsh and very proud of the fact.
The Welsh 🏴 are extremely patriotic, and when you visit you need to remember that we speak our own language Welsh, like the Spanish, the Portuguese, the French etc etc.
I've heard English "visitors" asking why we speak and why are the road signs in WELSH.
This my friend's is why this wonderful WALES may give you a wide berth. Just remember you are in a totally different country than your England.....
No, not experienced any antipathy whilst visiting North Wales. That said I have spoken to Welsh people from South Wales who have mentioned receiving aggressive treatment when visiting North Wales.
If you are from the West Midlands The Welsh are serving us Water every day fresh from The Elan valleys .
I don't think people in wales specifically paid for the reservoirs to be built or own the land.
@@maryhaddock9145they were evicted from the farms they worked for generations
@@davidharris4062 same for all the industrial revolution sacrifices. My ancestors for example were basically forced from their ancestral villages to work in the cotton mill industry. If we hadn't had these sacrifices, we wouldn't have such comfortable lives now, such as clean running water for millions in the West Midlands. Tryweryn was absolutely tiny and was a collection of hovels which is incidentally what many welsh villages have become without any intervention at all.
@@maryhaddock9145 somehow I don’t think they were hovels, maybe by 21st century standards, but they were communities, there were chapels and schools there, my farther had a cousin who lived in the Forest of Dean, electricity and plumbing were installed in the mid 1960’s, he was a gamekeeper for an estate, no doubt he was living in a hovel. As is happening now, Wales is the whipping dog for the English Establishment, it has been proposed by the CEO of Thames Water that more Welsh valleys be flooded and the water transported to the south east of England, as according to him, people in the Thames Waters customers don’t want reservoirs built in their area
@@davidharris4062 I think they were hovels even by the standards of the day. Wales is full of hovels. Communities were uk wide that have since disappeared and there are semi abandoned forlorn villages all around Wales. Although many are being taken up by English, white flight.
If you go to France people speak French, if you go to Wales people speak Welsh, it’s not people being ignorant, just speaking their language of birth🤷♂️
Many years ago a group of nine of us young lads who were in North Wales climbing piled into a fairly remote local pub. It was a bit like a film; the whole place went silent and stared 😂 A few old guys at the ends of the bar were giving off extremely hostile vibes. But to be fair we were dressed like shit (dole climbers) and a group of nine muscled but grubby strangers walking into a country pub in England would have probably got the same reaction. And they did still serve us.
But other than that one incident I've been going to North Wales climbing, hiking, biking and partying for 40 years and never had an issue with anyone....but I treat people how I like to be treated myself. If you go in with an attitude you'll get one back.
I don't get the problem with people speaking Welsh - they are proud of their language, their country and their culture...and it sounds nice to my ears anyway. Nobody has ever refused to switch to English if I've had to ask a question. I know several people who've moved there, made the effort to learn Welsh and they've been accepted into the community just fine.
I've not had any bad experiences myself but I have heard a lot of people tell me of bad experiences in North Wales of anti-English hatred, and also a couple of separate cases of Welsh lads being badly beaten just for being in a different village. Let's not pretend that some of the north Welsh aren't a bit parochial.
What i do find a bit sad is that so many North Welsh have a leave their homeland because there are so few opportunities there.
in some pubs in Wales, they have one price for the Welsh and another for the English yes higher
How do they know they’re English?
@@alynwillams4297 they are locale pubs for local people they know everyone in their village
@@markthespark8004 how do they know they’re English tho? Why not Irish, Scottish or German?
If you didn't like the Welsh, don't come back. I'm Welsh and I don't care either way.
A girlfriend and I stayed in a holiday cottage in Dolwyddelan many years ago. Went for dinner in the hostelry a few doors down. Our reception was polite but distinctly cool. We had a lovely meal, wine, and a few G&Ts. On returning to the cottage, I checked my pockets and realised we had NOT been charged for a couple of drinks. I went straight back to the landlord and pointed out his mistake, after which we were treated like royalty. I should add that I used to go up to Snowdonia every winter for many years for the winter climbing and never had any hint of hostility.
Unfortunately yes I have had several bad experiences of anti English sentiment, all unprovoked, the most polite was when my wife and I wrnt into a pub for lunch, the landlord said we could have one drink then go, Wales were playing a rugby game. It was live on TV and it wouldn't be safe for Engish people to be in the pub.
On another occasion in a village shop I visited upon me ssuing good morning, the lady behind the counter ignored me and started talking Welsh to another couple of ladies, I waited patiently for 15 minutes then asked "excuse me coild you serve me please", the replycwas ate you still here? theres the door.
They were the most polite put outs, as a redult of these incidents, I actively withdrew my patronage of Wales, and over the next 30 years revelled in bringing business profits out of Wales and back to English sccounts.
To this day I have not changed my mind about staying in Wales but have travellrf sll over thd UK and Ireland. where I have found their nationalists polite and happy to discuss any issue.
As a footnote my grandfather originated from north Wales and up to going to infant school I spoke as much Welsh as English!
So I was completely disgusted by the behaveour of the Welsh towards me and mine.
I cannot forget or forgive all of the worse incidents.
There was a comedy sketch back in the 1980's by 'Not the 9O'clock News' crosd refetencing a popular coal fire add with Welsh nationalist activities, it's strapline was "Come home to a real fire. Buy a cottage in Wales"
Says it all really
When I visited North Wales as a young man I did notice this behaviour myself. Though last year I again visited North Wales and didn't experience any such problems. What i did notice though, was that Welsh seemed to be spoken more widely than it was in my previous visit, which I loved. In fact, my wife and I struck up a conversation with a Welsh speaker in the pub and asked him about his language and had a very good conversation about it.
Ive also travelled widely and my opinion is that most people are friendly and not racist including in Wales.
I’ve been regularly for the past few years hiking and scrambling around Snowdonia. I’ve never felt unwelcome or disliked as an Englishman. Two experiences come to mind. 1. I was in the Tryfan in Bethesda having a post-scannable pint when a gent came in and spoke in Welsh to the barmaid. When he heard me and my mate speaking English he turned and spoke to us for a while. In English. Friendly and welcoming. 2. Also in Bethesda (love it) I met a bloke on the night of his last ever appearance for the local rugby team after 22yrs of hard yards in the first XV second row. Him and his mates were bloody great and we had a memorable, if hazy, night! I am still embarrassed at my pathetic attempts to correctly pronounce yaki da. 😉
So, I think the locals, like anywhere, just don’t like ar*e holes. And I don’t blame them one bit! The Daily Mail is perpetuating a myth.
"yaki da", no wonder it can't be pronounced correctly when spelt like that! Seems to be a common spelling, but must be an english spelling, it should be "Iechyd da" - "Good health".
@@nigels.6051 Apologies - google and more importantly a lack of specs in the bath let me down! 🤦🏼♀️
@@BurtonTommyBoy No need to apologise, we don't expect you to get it correct, we have different alphabets with different characters and even the characters that look the same sound different, and even the word order is different, that was actually "Health Good", so your chances of getting it correct are about as good as me getting Chinese correct! Stick to English unless you want some entertainment. The Welsh can all speak English these days, even if we can't always spell it with its inconsistent rules!
I'm English and I've spent lots of time in both North and South Wales. Never had a problem. In fact my young kids, the first time I took them to Wales, when asked for their views on the trip, replied how friendly everyone had been to them. Having said that, we park the car sensibly, pick up litter on the hills, are respectful to all staff in pubs, restaurants, etc and always spend our hard-earned in B&Bs or pubs - no second home ownership for us. The only issue I've ever detected is that, compared with South Wales, I do find that some (a minority of) businesses in North Wales (not so much in the South) still think it's okay to charge 2024 prices for 1974 food or to stick with 1984 decor.... apart from that minor and very occasional hiccup, we love Wales and its people... can't wait to go again.
One of my staff from Wales in the 80s wrote me a letter of apology for mistaking me for being English (I’m Scottish but I don’t have a Scottish accent). True story. I feigned indignation that she had called me English. She honestly thought I’d taken huge offence 😂
I’ve been to North Wales a few times, both on holiday and for work as a surveyor (wearing a suit and tie, measuring up shops and industrial units), never had an unpleasant comment, most of time people have been polite and friendly, once I walked into a shop, said “Good morning” and the ladies at the counter switched to Welsh for their conversation, but were fine talking to me in English.
The bit about the Welsh in North Wales speaking English then switching to Welsh happened to my husband, years ago. He and his mate went into a pub to buy lunch and before they were in the pub those already there were speaking in English and as soon as they saw their army uniform they started speaking in Welsh after all it was in Wales. So my husband and his mate spoke in Gaelic! They were both Irish. As you can imagine there were a few sour faces. 😂. To be fair if people want to be rude and insult their own country by being rude that’s on them however, let’s be honest some tourists are a right pain in the rump and think they own the place.
Why would they be sour? Gaelic is completely different to Welsh as English is. End of the day if they want to speak Welsh they can.
I walked in to a pub in Stafford once,and the bastards all started talking English 😫😫😫
I'm from Bristol and do alot of work in north and south Wales. All I can say is I LOVE Wales lol the people are lush. I worked there so much that I holiday there and hike there. Never had a issue with locals in cafes or pubs. But I'm great at accents so I'll just become a French person for a hour. Bone jaw and all that 😅
I'm a Cornish man and Private eye reader. I know plenty from Yns Mon and the rest of Wales no problems
I don't read either Mail but it's no worse than the Grauniad. Private eye shows the Grauniad for what it is!
You made a spelling mistake there, it is Ynys Môn - you missed a 'y' and used a short 'o' instead of the long version 'ô'. If you can't read and write, and don't know the alphabet, then you almost certainly can't pronounce it either or hear that it is pronounced wrongly, so why not make it easy and pronounce it "Anglesey", then you will sound educated, and nobody is going to mind you using its correct Norse name pronounced correctly! I was there yesterday.
Of course the word Ynys is also a Cornish word, but spelt Enys in Cornish, so a true Cornishman should be getting it right?
I'm not surprised my spelling has never been great. The thing is, it hasn't prevented me from being a self-made farmer, without any financial help from anyone or bringing up my 3 girls as i lost my wife aged 29.
I had a teacher like you who said I'd never amount to anything she was very sarcastic about my spelling too!
The funny thing is that I've done better in life than most in my class at Cape Cornwall school and far better than her 3 children. I have common sense, business acumen and will help anybody and own outright everything I own and owe nobody a penny in debt.
So I might not be able to spell perfectly but it hasn't stopped me being successful and that will do for me.
@@stephenholmes1036 Spelling is easier in Welsh than English, the words are spelt as they are pronounced, so spelling mistakes are rather more obvious! We don't expect you to get it right though, we have a different alphabet, so you have no chance without learning it, although the long 'ô' is the same in Cornish, so maybe you should have got that.
Maybe boy but nobody died and losing my wife to cancer at 29 with 3 young girls, Makes you realise what really matters and spelling mistakes for me aren't particularly high up the list.
I've been in a pub in Wales and a woman was very rude to me, then I realised she was rude to everyone and somewhat unpopular in her village! 😂
I grew up in Birmingham, and was moved to South Wales with my job, in the 1970s. I was immediately made welcome, getting on very well with the locals, whether or not they were Welsh speakers. Indeed, I got on so well that I married a local girl. We live in neutral territory, Scotland. There is a certain needle between the North and South Walians, there being an invisible line running through Aberystwyth, with "us" on one side, and the dreaded "Gogs" on the other. As a Brummie, I was definitely an "us".
I'm not a dreaded Gog🤣🤣, get on alright with any one👍
As a south valiant in North Wales only the dog in the hotel was nice to us...some ofour Welsh wordsand accent is very different from the Gogs , who claim purity of the language is embodied in their culture, also a good bit different from the South. But there are pig ignorant souls world wide...don't be put off, test us out. The normal people are nothing like the Politicos and Nationalists.
..any I'm taffy and I don't hate inglish...North Wales different kettle of fish to south...they don't like south waleiens..but they dont realize they are scoucers 😂
Beautiful North Wales, never had a problem ❤❤❤
Yes several years ago in Twywn mid Wales, myself and daughter heard 2 ladies working in a shop speaking perfect English until we walked in and they switched to Welsh. Went to Prestatyn in August and my partner was totally ignored at a bar so we took our custom elsewhere!
Being totally honest with you I'm from England, Wales is my favourite place in the whole world. I have been visiting for many years and have not noticed people being bad to me.
It's bloomin' wet.
I work In and visit North Wales every month, and have never had a bad experience, everyone always seem nice. My ex however went to visit a friend for a weekend in South Wales and after only one night asked me to pick her back up, as she hated being there due to hostilities from the locals. You wouldn't expect that to happen to a girl but It did, she's never been to Wales ever since lol
Been to North Wales a lot of times. Never had any problems with anyone. It's what makes the experience so good. Won't stop me going back. Respect the people and the area. I have a few friends from North Wales I served in the Navy with. According to my DNA I have some Welsh blood in me. Good knows how,lol. It's good tbh. Roll on the next visit to the Llyn Peninsular.
Rarely have a problem in Wales.. Lived here over 30 years now.. Sometimes get a young radical but besides that.. Just be decent and it's usually reciprocated.
I’ve experienced all of this racism, I lived and work in Barry and Rhoose for 7 years before moving to Spain and get less racism living in a tiny Spanish village than I did in Rhoose. Engineering company I worked at was worse, but I gave as good as I got
I am English and been to many places in wales ,never had any trouble ,as long as you are respectful and polite,I have always found them friendly and helpful,personally I think they are the friendliest in the uk
I travelled all around the UK through work and stayed in Wales many times. I live close to the border and have Welsh friends. Mostly lovely people but had a few instances on Anglesey mostly in Llangefni. I was talking to a Welsh colleague and got jabbed in the ribs with an umbrella by an old woman who said ‘ahh bloody English piss off back there’. My colleague certainly gave her an earful in Welsh and then told me what she had said. She was lovely.
No matter where you go there will always be one or two that are bigots.
Been there got the tea shirt on countless occasions. My Mum lived in the shadow of Snowden for many years and due to this I spent a fair amount of time and really struggled with all the issues this lovely lady complained about. The answer is simple, vote with your feet and don’t go. The weather is dreadful anyway. I can’t believe you haven’t experienced this??? Methinks you are not telling the complete story??!! Oh yes by the way if you don’t like what the Daily Mail prints don’t buy it!! That way you won’t get offended!!! Just an idea??
We had 14 nights on Angelsey last year, never felt any animosity.
As I said on the article the problem is likely self inflicted, as an Englishman living in Wales for a fair few years the attitude you present is usually the reason for getting a bad attitude from people, having said that I have had the odd anti English attitude occasionally but then I have friends from mid and South Wales who have had exactly the same sort of thing happen to them, it is a small minority that make the most noise from both sides of the subject, as I said before your attitude in the first place is usually what elicits a negative response from locals
If you don't like Welsh people speaking Welsh perhaps you ought to tell other nations to stop speaking their native language. It is Wales and Welsh is our language.
As a Cardiff boy, I moved west when a child. Every day in school I had time to stand in the corner and reflect on my cardiffness, when I stood up for myself I was labelled as a trouble maker. At the agecof 7. As a welshmen I hate them for that. . But the ironic thing is it's now majority English. Aha. Brilliant.
Hi, ive lived in north Wales for seven years after my daughter stayed on after Bangor university, after living in the Midllands, i can assure you this is far more friendly, the people have been great, and if you respect their culture they return that respect in spades!!
I worked in North Wales for a few years. I certainly would never consider going back. My wife is Welsh, my Father in law is a Welsh speaker, and I'm English so yea I'm not Anti Welsh. The vast majority of people I met. I was doing deliveries in the area around Wrexham , were really nice. However there was an undercurrent of anti English racism in the work place, ironically most of the culprits spoke as much Welsh about as much as I do (virtually none). So think it doesn't exist, think again.
I have only visited North Wales twice, once in 1970 and once in 1982. Rude both times, I won’t be going back.
I nearly got beaten up in 1984. Maybe they've calmed down since then as every other comment here says they are nice.
Coming from Wales where the border disects town I can honestly say there’s nothing between us but a gulf between us and Northern Welsh.
I have only ever met one Welshman I didn't like, but he just had little man syndrome so one has to make allowances. I have however, seen a tourist in a shop walk in front of an obviously local farmer to get served in a garage. I was standing behind the local and said out loud "Some folk just don't have manners", which he agreed with. You watch tourists driving round ruling the road and unable, in many cases, to reverse a short distance to a gateway. Where ever you go in the world, manners and respect cost nothing. Show these qualities and they are returned.
Been to North Wales many times. Experiences mostly OK but I did once experience the 'English to Welsh' phenomenon in a Holyhead pub. It was pretty horrible! On the other hand in South Wales the people have always been most hospitable and welcoming.
This is a strange one,I'm from South Wales,there is definitely a dislike for some English people,pembrokeshire has been over run with the English buying,second homes or just moving there,this has happened in other parts of England as well Cornwall,Devon come to mind,the local young people have had to move away from there home town because house prices have gone,I moved to Bristol when I was 11,and from day one I was made fun of my the school kids,yes I had many a scrap in the play ground,so yes it works both ways,I have said before that the English who have moved to especially pembrokeshire have spoilt what was a welsh speaking area ,everywhere they go they take over the towns and villages,so I think the welsh have a right to complain about the invasion, ,why can't they stay where they're from.
You could say the same thing about mass immigration in any part of Britain but it isn’t politically correct to blame that like it is to blame the English. Imagine trying to get on the housing market in London as a young working class person.
I'm a Welshman but you would think I was English from my northern English accent. I have never seen or experienced any anti-English sentiment whatsoever. Just be polite and you will have no problems. If people are speaking Welsh respect it! Don't resent it!
I am Welsh, brought up in the sixties and yet was never taught in Welsh. I now tell people that I am fluent in a foreign language...English!
We stayed at the back of an old chapel right in the middle of Snowdonia. We met the local farmer on a walk and they invited us in to their house for tea and cake we felt very welcome. We went to church in the adjoining chapel and were welcomed there also It was all in Welsh which was a great experience. Some pubs can be quite cliquey anywhere in the UK just a local thing maybe
We are English and had our three boys with us. It was twenty years ago though.
Love Welsh people, hate the Daily Mail
Try Llandudno, never heard a Welsh accent there, mainly English. 🤔
Pembrokeshire is actually called "Little England" like most places below the "Landsker Line".
I drove for a living in the 80s and 90s. As I was always in a new environment, I developed diplomatic skills, always friendly, always polite.
Everywhere, I met nice people from London to Swansea to Newcastle to Inverness. But N Wales was somewhere i didnt like going. Not all N Welsh, but yes, it was just less helpful, more miserable. I live 15 miles from N Wales and I just dont go.
Ive lived in west wales for 25 years. There are some who are anti English. One friend has said I was the only English she was friends with. Many who are anti English do not speak Welsh. We have locals who have said everyone is welcome except the English. We had to call the police as a retired headmistress knocking on cottage doors screaming abuse at tourists. It happens. Im now part of the community now and have no real problems.
Ya all good Dan no one is being toxic on here because you are being decent and honest. I wouldn’t be put off going to north wales!
I do agree the daily mail is no good but the worst is the guardian, stay away from that poison as well Dan 👍🏼🏴
Here in South Wales people are generally very friendly.
I can't say the same for North Wales. My experiences there suggest a lot resent outsiders.
Heartland of Cymru. This is where our language and culture still survives and thrives even in places like Wrexham which is only 5 miles away from the English border. We’re proud of who we are and that we’re different to the English.
I have been to Northern Wales and had no problems I used to live in South Wales when I was young I have always found the Welsh people to be friendly North And South.