We recently spent three weeks in North Wales, and TBH, we left a big part of our hearts in Cymru. From the mystical borderlands to the rugged coastline and the top of Snowdon, Wales is thick with friendly sheep, genial locals, alluringly dark folklore, and natural-born storytellers.
A few bits and bobs about Wales: It’s symbolized by a ferocious red dragon (and the yellow daffodil). Its lakes, rivers, and mountains are home to the fair folk (the Tylwyth Teg). And it’s known as the Land of Castles (more than 600 of them on hilltops, overlooking the sea and millions of sheep).
Wales is the place for you if you want to ramble around outside under moody skies; it’s also the place for you if you prefer to be cozy — perhaps whilst drinking tea or whisky and feeding your mind with literary pursuits.
In this episode, we highlight the literary hijinks that abound in Wales: libraries, bookshops, legendary authors, and ancient tales. We learn about a Christmas tradition that’s equal parts silly and spooky — and a madcap endurance race with unusual participants. Then we recommend great books that took us there on the page, including a literary story on a rugged Welsh island, a gripping mystery in Cardiff, a travelogue stuffed with delicious food stories, a rock-n-roll memoir, and a modern retelling of Dracula set in a Welsh village.
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://strongsenseofplace.com/books/twenty_thousand_saints_dafydd">Twenty Thousand Saints by Fflur Dafydd</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://strongsenseofplace.com/books/my_family_and_other_rock_stars_murphy">My Family and Other Rock Stars by Tiffany Murray</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://strongsenseofplace.com/books/welsh_food_stories_graves">Welsh Food Stories by Carwyn Graves</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://strongsenseofplace.com/books/rubbernecker_bauer">Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://strongsenseofplace.com/books/the_madness_kurtagich">The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich</a></li>
</ul>

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, <a href="http://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2025-12-05-wales">visit show notes</a>.

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<a href="http://strongsenseofplace.com/transcriptions/74_wales_transcript">Transcript of Wales: Castle Ruins, Moody Skies, and Stories by the Fire</a>

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