North Wales

The area is home to three of the four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Wales. These are Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal,[11] the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales and, collectively, the Edwardian castles and town walls of the region[12] which comprise those at Caernarfon, Beaumaris,[13] Conwy and Harlech. It also shares with Powys and Ceredigion the distinction of hosting the only UNESCO Biosphere (from Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme to promote sustainable development) reserve in Wales, namely, Biosffer Dyfi Biosphere. London has only one more site than North Wales.

North Wales may also be spelled as 'north Wales' with a lower case 'n' for north, coined as the "to cap or not to cap" debate. It is argued that using a lower case 'n' is to be only used to signify "north" as merely a geographic identifier, and a capital 'N' to distinctly separate the region for cultural, organisational, or statistical purposes from the rest of Wales. Such usage may follow ideological lines, with North Wales used to confer the region as a distinctly separate entity from the rest of Wales, whilst north Wales as merely the northern bit of Wales. Organisations, where the region is administered the same as with the rest of Wales, may prefer to use a lower case for north. Whilst organisations only operating in the region or separate from any others in the rest of Wales may use a capitalised N. Local newspapers, such as the Daily Post describe themselves to be a "capper" capitalising the 'N', whereas other organisations such as BBC News may use a lower case. The Welsh Government's style guide uses lowercase,[14] whereas Visit Wales uses capitalised.[15] David Williams, chairman of the North Wales Business Club, announced his support for capping the term "North", stating that North Wales should be a "very recognisable region in our own right".[16]

For local administration, the region is most commonly made up of the following six principal areas, consisting of counties, and county boroughs, they are: the Isle of Anglesey, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, and Wrexham County Borough.

These principal areas are commonly divided into two groups, used for local news (e.g. BBC), regional tourism boards, town and country planning, and were the proposed replacements to the existing 6 principal areas before proposals were scrapped in 2019. They are: North East Wales (Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham), and North West Wales (Anglesey, Conwy, Gwynedd) being the two most popular groupings, although a North Central Wales (Conwy and Denbighshire) grouping has been occasionally used, specifically for health administration.

The population, density and areas are estimates for mid-2019 est. from the Office for National Statistics.[17]

In addition to the six principal areas, North Wales is also divided into the following preserved counties for various ceremonial purposes: Clwyd (comprising Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham), and Gwynedd (comprising Gwynedd and Isle of Anglesey) The preserved counties are based on the counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 and were used for local government purposes (with county councils) between 1974 and 1996. During this period up to the present, Montgomeryshire remained a part of Powys.

Prior to the preserved counties, there were counties, now referred to as historic counties. These are the oldest of the counties of North Wales, used for centuries. North Wales contained 6 historic counties during these times, the counties were; Anglesey, Caernarfonshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Merionethshire, and Montgomeryshire. The most notable difference between these six counties and the present six (seven with Montgomeryshire) is that Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire were combined into one principal area, initially called 'Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire' until a day after its formation where it took the name Gwynedd instead, and the formation of two county boroughs, Conwy carved out of Caernarfonshire and Denbighshire, and Wrexham carved out of Denbighshire and Flintshire.

The north of Wales was traditionally divided into three regions during the middle ages: Upper Gwynedd (or Gwynedd above the Conwy), defined as the area north of the River Dyfi and west of the River Conwy; Lower Gwynedd (or Gwynedd below the Conwy), also known as the Perfeddwlad ("the middle country") and defined as the region east of the River Conwy and west of the River Dee; and Ynys Môn (or Anglesey), a large island off the north coast. English Maelor, currently part of Wrexham County Borough, located east of the River Dee, as the name suggests, was part of England during a significant part of this period.

North Wales is electorally divided into constituencies and electoral wards to elect local representatives to multiple layers of government.

There are eleven constituencies used for both the UK Parliament and the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh: Senedd Cymru): Aberconwy (UK / SN), Alyn and Deeside (UK / SN), Arfon (UK / SN), Clwyd South (UK / SN), Clwyd West (UK / SN), Delyn (UK / SN), Dwyfor Meironnydd (UK / SN), Montgomeryshire (UK / SN, if considered North Wales), Vale of Clwyd (UK / SN), Wrexham (UK / SN), and Ynys Môn (Anglesey, UK / SN).

An electoral region for the Senedd, shares the name "North Wales", yet does not cover all of North Wales, only the northern coast, Anglesey, and northeast of Wales (specifically the entire area of the former pre-1996 county of Clwyd); the rest of North Wales (mainly Meirionnydd) is covered by the Mid and West Wales Senedd electoral region. All constituencies aside Dwyfor Meironnydd, and Montgomeryshire are in the North Wales Senedd electoral region.

Between 1979 and 1994, all of North Wales (including Montgomery) was a single European Parliament constituency (EPC), the North Wales European Parliament Constituency. In 1994, minor border changes put parts of Montgomeryshire in the neighbouring Mid and West Wales constituency. In 1999, both of the constituencies ceased, when it was absorbed into the larger Wales constituency until 2020 when it was subsequently abolished following the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020.

The division with the rest of Wales is arbitrary and depends on the particular use being made. For example, the boundary of North Wales Police differs from the boundary of the North Wales area of the Natural Resources Wales and the North Wales Regional Transport Consortium (Taith). The historic boundary follows the pre-1996 county boundaries of Merionethshire and Denbighshire which in turn closely follow the geographic features of the River Dyfi to Aran Fawddwy, then crossing the high moorlands following the watershed until reaching Cadair Berwyn and then following the River Rhaeadr and River Tanat to the Shropshire border. The most common definition is that North Wales ends at the peripheries of the northern 6 principal areas, therefore the border is between Wrexham - Powys, Denbighshire - Powys, Gwynedd - Powys, and Gwynedd - Ceredigion (over the River Dyfi).

Map of the roads and sea routes in North Wales

North Wales does not have any motorways, with the only motorways in Wales being present in South Wales, and nearest motorways (M53 and M56) being on the other side of the Wales-England border. There have been proposals to upgrade the A55 into a motorway or have more motorway-like features. Trunk roads in the region are maintained by the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent (NMWTRA).

The main roads spanning across North Wales, mostly span east to west, especially along the North Wales coast. This is mainly due to the mountainous terrain in the middle of Wales, leading most north-south connections to be slower, leading to diversions onto north-south roads in England. The emphasis on east-west roadways has led to North Wales having closer connections with North West England (centred on Liverpool and Manchester) rather than with South Wales.

The busiest road in North Wales is the A55, the "North Wales Expressway", a dual carriageway primary road connecting Chester to Holyhead, along the North Wales coast and passing Deeside, Llandudno Junction, Conwy, and Bangor. It is described as the economic lifeline for North Wales, and the second most important road in all of Wales, only to the M4 in South Wales.[21] The road connects all the way to the Port of Holyhead following an extension in 2001, which provides ferry connections to the Republic of Ireland. The majority of the road is part of the E-road network as E22 (until Ewloe, where it goes along the A494 into England), and is a dual carriageway, grade-separated, for its entire 88-mile length.

A historically important road in the region is the A5, a major road that was the primary link between the region and London (as the "London-Holyhead Trunk Road"). The road crosses the Menai Suspension Bridge and is regarded as a more scenic route, with its historical importance as a connection between London and the Port of Holyhead, superseded by the A55. Other roads transiting North Wales, from east to west include the A458 from Halesowen to Mallwyd, and the A494 from Dolgellau to Saughall (originally to Birkenhead).

The busiest north-south road travelling through the region is the A483 from Chester (originally from Manchester) through Wrexham and into England near Oswestry, before re-entering Montgomeryshire and passing Welshpool and Newtown, before continuing onto Swansea. Other major north-south roads include the single-carriageways of the A470 from Llandudno to Cardiff via the Conwy valley, and the A487 from Bangor to Haverfordwest via Caernarfon and Snowdonia.

The Port of Holyhead, on the isle of Anglesey, is the main commercial and ferry port in North Wales. The port had the third-largest volume of freight traffic, in Wales, in 2018 (5.2 million tonnes), after Milford Haven and Port Talbot, and it is the main port for freight and sea passenger transport with the Republic of Ireland, handling more than 2 million passengers each year. 81% of freight traffic going through Welsh ports to the Republic of Ireland, and 75.5% of sea passenger traffic between Wales and the Republic of Ireland went through Holyhead in 2018. Historically, there were two routes between Holyhead and the Irish ports of Dublin and Dun Laoghaire. The route to Dun Laoghaire was the most popular in 1998 with over 1.7 million passengers ferried, however following a consistent decline in passenger traffic, it was removed in 2015. The other route to Dublin saw an overall increase in passenger numbers from just over 1 million in 1998 to just over 1.9 million in 2018, an increase of 82%.

A Mostyn-Dublin ferry service once existed, on the now Liverpool-Dublin route, attracting a peak of 48,000 passengers in 2003, before being discontinued in 2004.[22]

Map of rail lines in North Wales

The public rail network of the region is largely split into two sections. These sections are centred around the two main west-east railway lines transversing the region, as there are currently no north-south railway lines wholly in the region. This is largely due to the mountainous regions of Snowdonia resting between the two lines, and low passenger numbers of north-south lines leading to their closure. The public rail network is managed and maintained by Network Rail. Historically, the region had a more extensive rail network with more interconnectivity of the current lines and more connections to the south. However, due to falling passenger numbers, the emergence of automobiles and other factors, the region's railways came under review, resulting in the Beeching cuts to the network. Many former rail corridors of the once more extensive network were superseded by road infrastructure. The numerous heritage railways scattered across the region serve as a reminder of the former railways across the region.

The majority of lines operated in Wales are part of the Wales & Borders franchise, the current operator is Transport for Wales Rail, a Welsh-Government owned company, although some services (from Holyhead and Wrexham) are operated by the West Coast Partnership operator, Avanti West Coast on services using the West Coast Main Line to London Euston.[23]

According to StatsWales, the number of rail journeys across the 6 principal areas of North Wales, made in 2017-18 was 1.4 million, an increase of 20,525 from 2007-8. The largest share of these rail journeys, at 38.4%, was within the boundaries of Gwynedd. Conwy was the principal area which saw the greatest increase in rail journeys as a percentage of journeys over the ten-year period, at 22.5%. The least amount of rail journeys in 2018-19 was in Anglesey.

As of 2020, there as 66 rail stations within the boundaries of the 6 northern principal areas, of which 2 are among the 20 busiest stations in Wales, Rhyl, and Bangor.[24] 41 of the rail stations are stations of the North Wales lines, whereas the remaining 25 are stations of the Mid Wales lines, specifically the Cambrian Line. There is a total of 5 rail routes in North Wales: the North Wales Coast Line, the Shrewsbury—Chester Line, the Conwy Valley Line, the Borderlands Line (all part of the North Wales lines) and the Cambrian Line. All 5 routes together in 2018-19 had approximately 5,295,602 entries and exits through the 66 stations.[25][26]

The North Wales Coast Line, the main rail line serving the north Wales coast, and connecting with Irish Ferries and Stena Line ferry services to Dublin Port in the Republic of Ireland. The Conwy Valley Line branches off at Llandudno Junction, heading north to Llandudno and south to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The Shrewsbury—Chester line, connects Chester and Shrewsbury via Wrexham, providing the main north Wales and south Wales connection. A former open-access operator Wrexham & Shropshire, used to provide a Wrexham General—London Marylebone service until 2011. The Borderlands Line, intersects the Shrewsbury—Chester line at Wrexham General, branching south to Wrexham Central (where it terminates), and north to Bidston (Birkenhead), and the North Wales Coast Line at Shotton. Bidston connects to the Wirral line, providing Merseyrail services, west to West Kirby, and east to Liverpool Central. The Cambrian Line forms the other west-east line in the region (as the Mid-Wales line), it connects Shrewsbury, westwards with Mid Wales and towns along Cardigan Bay. The line is commonly split into two sections, the section from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth is sometimes referred to as the Cambrian Main Line, with the Cambrian Coast Line, splitting off from this line at Dovey Junction, heading northwest to Pwllheli. The Welsh Marches Line connects Crewe to Newport, via Shrewsbury, with services from Holyhead usually continuing to Cardiff Central. It forms part of the North Wales South Wales service, along with the Shrewsbury—Chester, North Wales Coast Line, and South Wales Main Line. These lines form the main rail connection between North Wales and South Wales.

Chester provides the main travel connections for the North Wales Coast, as a major transport hub. As part of the North Wales Metro, from Chester (and Wrexham General at limited times), via the Halton Curve, direct trains run to Liverpool Lime Street, linking to the Merseyrail. Services to Manchester Piccadilly from Chester, via the Chester—Manchester line for Transport for Wales services, and the Mid—Cheshire line for Northern services, in addition to the Northern service to Leeds, provide North Wales' connections to Northern England. Shrewsbury provides the main travel connections for passengers from the Cambrian line (and those commuting south from other North Wales stations), providing services, in addition to those to South Wales, through England to Crewe, Birmingham International, and Birmingham New Street, and via the Heart of Wales line, services to Llanelli.

There are numerous heritage railways in the region. Most of them are narrow-gauge. Several run on sections of historically longer lines. Heritage railways employ more than 300 people and generate over £50 million per year for the North Wales economy.[27]

The heritage railways in the region are:

Several of these lines connect to the Cambrian line. Stations where the heritage railway uses the same station as Network Rail. At Fairbourne, the Fairbourne Railway connects to Barmouth Ferry and the Ffestiniog Railway connects at Minffordd. The Talyllyn Railway's Tywyn Wharf station is a short walk from Tywyn station on the Cambrian line, while Welshpool on the Cambrian line is across town from Raven Square on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway.

Many rail and bus lines of the region are part of an improvement project called the North Wales Metro or North East Wales Metro, which proposes improvements to the existing lines (specifically the Borderlands lines), improved connectivity between rail and other modes of transport, and more connections to North West England.

For the Gobowen to Oswestry line, Cambrian Heritage Railways, the line's operator, is working on reopening the line (multiple sections of line), and the Anglesey Central Railway is also proposed to be restored.

In Llandudno, the Great Orme Tramway links to the Great Orme. It is the only remaining cable-operated street tramway in Great Britain, and one of only a few surviving in the world.

According to Statistics for Wales (StatsWales),[1] the North Wales region, consists of the 6 northern principal areas, and statistics provided by StatsWales only include these 6 areas. In 2018, the estimated population of the region was 698,400 people. North Wales exhibits the evenest distribution of population across the local authorities of any of the 4 statistical regions of Wales, with 4 of the 6 authorities home to over 100,000 residents, Flintshire, Wrexham, Gwynedd and Conwy. Flintshire is the most populated principal area of North Wales, home to an estimated 155,600 people, with the Isle of Anglesey being the least populated with an estimated 70,000 people.[1]

In 2018, North Wales has an estimated population density of 113.6 persons per square kilometre. Flintshire is the most densely populated of the 6 areas, at 355.6 persons per km², with Gwynedd being the least dense principal area at 49.0 persons per km². Between 2008, and 2018, the population density of North Wales grew by 2.3%, the third-highest rate of population density growth of the 4 statistical regions of Wales. Gwynedd, with 3.7% growth, had the highest population density growth rate in North Wales, whereas the Isle of Anglesey had the lowest population density growth rate at 0.1% from 2008 to 2018.[1]

The population growth for the region between 1998 and 2018 was 6.3%, however, the rate was lower between 2008 and 2018, than in 1998 and 2008. Conwy was the area with the highest population growth rate for the two decades at 8%, with Isle of Anglesey having the smallest growth rate at just over 3%.

Population settlements

North Wales' largest settlement (locality) is Wrexham, with 65,692 people in the 2011 census. Data from the census details that North Wales has a lower number and proportion of residents living in settlements of 25,000 or more, than South East and South West Wales, but higher than Mid Wales. StatsWales attributes this to North Wales' lack of a settlement of a population higher than 100,000 people.[1]

Age

North Wales has an ageing population, as the proportion of residents over 65 has increased from 18.5% to 23.0%, and the proportion of the population under 15 has decreased from 19.8% to 17.8%.[1]

Dialect

North Wales has a distinct regional identity.[29] Its dialect of the Welsh language differs from that of other regions, such as South Wales, in some ways: for example llefrith is used in most of the North instead of llaeth for "milk"; a simple sentence such as go upstairs now might be Dos i fyny'r grisiau rŵan in North Wales, and Cer lan y stâr nawr in South Wales. Colloquially, a person from North Wales (especially one who speaks with this dialect or accent) is known as a North Walian, or a Gog (from the Welsh gogledd, meaning "north"). There are Welsh medium schools scattered all across North Wales, ranging from primary to secondary schools.

According to the 2011 census, there were 204,406 Welsh-speakers aged three and over in North Wales. Data from the Annual Population Survey, stated that Gwynedd had the largest proportion of speakers in North Wales and Wales as a whole, with 75.6% of residents aged 3 and over saying they can speak Welsh. Flintshire had the lowest rate of Welsh in North Wales, with only 22.5% saying they can speak it. North Wales is the most Welsh-speaking region of the 4 statistical regions of Wales, at 41.9% of the population speaking Welsh in the year ending September 2019, up approximately 2.4% from September 2009. However, Flintshire is one of 2 principal areas in Wales where the rate of Welsh has decreased over the past decade.[1]

The 6 counties of North Wales are all part of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), it is the largest of the local health boards which divide up NHS Wales services in Wales. Formed from the merger of the North Wales NHS Trust (itself a merger of North East Wales, and Conwy & Denbighshire NHS Trusts), the North West Wales NHS Trust, and the Local Health Boards of the six counties of Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, and Wrexham.

There are 3 main district general hospitals in North Wales; Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, Ysbyty Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan, and Wrexham Maelor Hospital. Each hospital is the main centre of healthcare for the west, central, and east parts of North Wales respectively. North Wales additionally has a network of 22 acute and community hospitals, with patients commonly referred to hospitals in England for rare, more specialised treatment, unavailable under BCUHB, notably to Countess of Chester, Royal Liverpool University, and Royal Shrewsbury hospitals.

In 2016 the UK Government invited North Wales to submit a Growth Deal Bid, to "create thousands of jobs, boost the economy, improve transport and communication links, focus on renewable energy, support tourism and more". A bid was prepared by the North Wales Business Council, which consists of the Leaders and Chief Executives of the 6 councils, the Vice Chancellors of Wrexham Glyndŵr University and Bangor University the Chief Executives of Coleg Cambria and Grwp Llandrillo Menai, and North Wales Mersey Dee Business Council.[31] In the 2018 budget Philip Hammond announced that £120M would be made available by the UK Government to support the Growth Deal.[32] In December 2018, Ken Skates confirmed that the Welsh Government would match the UK Government funding, and also offered to match any additional funding support which the UK Government might make available.[33] In November 2019 the Heads of Terms Agreement for the North Wales Growth Deal was signed by the representatives of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, Alun Cairns the UK Government Secretary of State for Wales, and Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely on behalf of Welsh Government.[34]

Two daily newspapers are published in the region. The region-wide "North Wales edition" of the Daily Post, based at Bryn Eirias on Colwyn Bay's Abergele Road,[35] is distributed from Monday to Saturday, whilst The Leader (formerly the Evening Leader) publishes two editions for Wrexham and Flintshire and is based at the headquarters of Newsquest in Mold after NWN Media Ltd dissolved after existing since 1920.[36]

Additionally, nine weekly newspapers provide local and community news:

The weekly Aberystwyth-based Cambrian News covers southern Gwynedd and publishes separate editions for the Arfon/Dwyfor and Meirionydd districts.

A weekly Welsh-language newspaper, Y Cymro is published each week by the Cambrian News from its Porthmadog office alongside two localised Welsh titles, Y Cyfnod (Bala) and Y Dydd (Dolgellau). Yr Herald Gymraeg is distributed by Trinity Mirror as a pull-out section in the Wednesday edition of the Daily Post. There are also 24 Papurau Bro (area papers) providing community news and generally published each month.

Several hyperlocal websites in the area provide locally sourced news online. In Conwy county, BaeColwyn.com has provided Welsh language coverage of the Colwyn Bay area since 2011 and AbergelePost.com has been serving the Abergele area since 2010. Wrexham.com is a full-time operation covering Wrexham and the surrounding area, and is based at offices in Wrexham city centre. A full-time citizen-led online news site Deeside.com started in early 2013 and covers Connah's Quay, Mancot, Pentre, Shotton, Queensferry, Sealand, Broughton, Hawarden, Ewloe, Sandycroft and parts of Saltney.

Although no BBC local radio stations exist in Wales, the corporation's national services BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru cover the region from their broadcasting centres in Bangor, and Wrexham. The Bangor studios produce a large number of Radio Cymru programmes with some music and feature output for Radio Wales originating from Wrexham.

Three commercial radio stations serve the area — Capital North West and Wales broadcasts local drivetime programming for Wrexham, Flintshire, Denbighshire and Conwy county as well as Cheshire and the Wirral with a Welsh language opt-out service for the former Coast FM area on 96.3 FM. Capital Cymru airs an extended local programming service, predominantly in the Welsh language, for Gwynedd and Anglesey. Across the entire region, Heart North Wales also airs local peak-time programming in English, including an extended news programme on weeknights. All three stations broadcast from studios in Gwersyllt on the outskirts of Wrexham.

Three community radio stations broadcast on FM — Calon FM serving Wrexham County Borough and parts of southern Flintshire, Tudno FM broadcasting to Llandudno & surrounding areas and Môn FM across the Isle of Anglesey and parts of Gwynedd. Radio Glan Clwyd - an extension of hospital service Radio Ysbyty Glan Clwyd - broadcasts on 1287 AM in the Bodelwyddan, St Asaph, Rhuddlan, Towyn and Kinmel Bay areas.

Towards the western side of North Wales, local hills mean national BBC FM coverage can be quite poor, often suffering interference from Irish stations from the west.

News coverage of North Wales is generally provided within the BBC's Wales Today, Newyddion and Ffeil programmes (the latter two broadcast on S4C) and on ITV's ITV News Cymru Wales. BBC Cymru Wales news teams are based at the corporation's Bangor and Wrexham studios, while ITV Cymru Wales runs a newsroom in Colwyn Bay.

S4C has an administrative office in Caernarfon, where a cluster of independent production companies are also based or partly based including Rondo Media, Cwmni Da, Antena, Owain Roberts Animations and Tinopolis.

Wrexham A.F.C. play in the English football league system; having been a member of the Football League for over 80 years, in 2008 they were relegated into the Conference National for the first time in their existence and now play in the [[EFL League 2 (English Football League). Their home ground is the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham and they train at Colliers Park, Gresford. In November 2020, the club was purchased by Hollywood actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.[37]

Several teams including Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. and Bangor City F.C. have appeared in UEFA competitions, playing within the mostly semi-professional Welsh leagues the Cymru Premier and the Cymru North.

Due to the proximity of North Wales to the North West of England, support for the English clubs of Liverpool F.C., Everton F.C. and Manchester United F.C. has been historically strong.

Wales was represented in the Super League by the Crusaders RL, they re-located to Wrexham for the 2010 season from South Wales. They played at the Racecourse Ground and trained at Stansty Park both in Wrexham before folding in 2011. They have now been replaced by the League 1 side, North Wales Crusaders.

North Wales has its own amateur league, in the fifth tier of the British rugby league system, the North Wales Championship.

In September 2008 it was announced by the Welsh Rugby Union that a development team based in North Wales would be created, with a long-term goal of becoming the fifth Welsh team in the Celtic League.[38] It was envisaged that this would both help the growth of the game in the area, and provide a larger pool of players for the Welsh national team to be selected from.[39] The team was named RGC 1404.