Rain, again and again
Wales enjoys an oceanic climate, mild, wet and... rainy: 991 mm of precipitation per year for Cardiff, which decreases as you move away from the coast, east of the mountains. Summers are cool (averaging 15.6°C) and winters can be very cold, especially in the mountains, where heavy snowfalls are not uncommon. Late spring and summer are the most pleasant times to visit.
Welsh weather is extremely unpredictable: a rainy morning often turns into bright sunshine, and vice versa. So it's a good idea to take your windbreaker with you on long walks, even when the sun is shining.
Global warming
Climate change is having a noticeable impact on marine ecosystems in particular. According to a study by oceanographers of several nationalities, including some from Wales, "marine species are migrating more than 70 km to higher latitudes, and about 6 km on land." Breeding periods are also being shifted as a result of rising temperatures. On average, they take place four days earlier than in the 2000s. Climate has a direct influence on the ecosystem, and consequently on our lifestyles and consumption patterns. In terms of rising sea levels, the small village of Fairbourne is threatened with extinction in the coming decades, making its inhabitants the UK's first climate refugees.
The Hannah Storm and the Buried Kingdom
On April 27, 2019, the Welsh coast was hit by storm Hannah, with winds of over 130 km/hour. In addition to the wind damage, the storm revealed incredible remnants of a prehistoric forest over 4,500 years old: the Borth Forest. Part of it was revealed in 2004, but to a lesser extent.
On the beach, you could see the remains of oak, pine and birch trees dating back to the Bronze Age. But how could tree remains be preserved underwater? Apparently, thanks to the formation of a layer of highly alkaline peat, which prevented the survival of the animals responsible for decomposing the dead trees.
This place is obviously steeped in legend, and what other than that of the "Welsh Atlantis" could best illustrate it? The kingdom of Cantr'r Gwaelod is a sunken realm that lay between the islands of Ramsey and Bardsey, in Cardigan Bay. This land was extremely fertile, four times more so than any other. A dyke had been installed to protect the land. It had sluices that opened at low tide to drain the water and closed again when the tide came back in. But around the year 600, a violent storm hit the kingdom. The keeper, Seithennin, a great friend of the king, was at a party at the king's palace nearAberystwyth. Some say he fell asleep over the wine, or was too busy enjoying himself to notice the storm. So he didn't close the sea wall locks. With the sluices open, the sea flooded the kingdom and 16 villages. The king and some of his court managed to escape. Many villagers had to leave the lowlands to work in the hills and valleys of the country.
But there are many other versions of this story. Some say that Seithennin was in fact a visiting king and, at the time of the storm, deliberately distracted Mererid, a young woman in charge of the locks. It is said that some people can still hear the bells of the drowned church. And to hear them, you'd better be in Aberdyfi on a Sunday morning..
The legend has inspired many poems and songs. It was first mentioned in the Black Book of Carmarthen, written in 1250. In the 18th century, the song "The Bells of Aberdyfi" was popular in music halls and is still sung in pubs today.
But many geographical features are also linked to the legend. The Sarnau, for example, a ridge, is said to lie between the four river mouths to the north of the bay. And these ridges are said to be the remains of causeways built to provide access to the present-day mainland at high tide. Geologically, they are more the remains of glacial moraines (gravel, clay...) left behind by the melting glaciers of the last Ice Age.
The climatic origin of these legends
Many legends deal with sunken kingdoms, floods and rising waters. They refer to the radical changes in land formations after the last Ice Age. Between 17,000 and 7,000 years ago, the great ice caps of Northern Europe and North America melted, triggering floods and a sea-level rise of over 100 meters! 25 million km² were swallowed up by the waters.
As for the legend of the kingdom of Cantre'r Gwaelod, all versions are based on the loss of fertile land, but they differ on the exact cause. We can therefore assume that this is an indicator of changing social values. For example, in the first case, it's the abuse of wine that causes the disaster. The fable favors temperance. And in the second case, it's greed that causes the flood.
