60 free Wales trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Wales trivia quiz covers the country from every angle. The geography questions ask about Snowdon and its rack railway, the three national parks, Anglesey, the wettest spot in the UK, the four UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the 58-letter village name on the Menai Strait. The history strand runs from Hywel Dda's law code and Gruffudd ap Llywelyn's brief united kingdom through Edward I's conquest, Owain Glyndwr's revolt, the Tudor Acts of Union, coal and Cardiff's docks, Aberfan, and devolution to the Senedd. Then comes the culture: why the leek and the daffodil, the red dragon of Vortigern's prophecy, Saint David's dove and his last words, the chairing of the bard at the Eisteddfod, male voice choirs and the triple harp, the Mabinogion, Dylan Thomas, laverbread and cawl, S4C, and the Welsh-speaking colony in Patagonia. Sport gets its due too, from the Six Nations to Euro 2016 and the five Welsh clubs in the English football pyramid. Difficulty runs from easy to expert and is shown on every question. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries its citation. For the neighbours, try our Scotland, Ireland and England quizzes.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the capital and largest city of Wales?
Cardiff
It was only formally recognised as the capital in December 1955, after Caernarfon had also vied for the title.
Q 02What is the Welsh-language name for Wales?
Cymru
It comes from the Brythonic word combrogi, 'fellow-countrymen', and gave the Cambrian Mountains and the Cambrian period their names.
Q 03What is the highest mountain in Wales?
Snowdon
At 1,085 metres it is the highest peak in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands, and around half a million walkers climb it a year.
Q 04Which mythical creature appears on the flag of Wales?
A red dragon
The emblem goes back to Cadwaladr, king of Gwynedd around 655 AD, but the flag only became official in 1959.
Q 05Who is the patron saint of Wales?
David
His feast day, 1 March, marks his death in 589 and is not, despite repeated calls, a bank holiday.
Q 06Which two plants are worn as national emblems on Saint David's Day?
The leek and the daffodil
The muddle is linguistic: the Welsh for daffodil, cennin Pedr, means 'Saint Peter's leek'.
Q 07Which prime minister is credited with popularising the daffodil as a Welsh emblem in the 19th century?
David Lloyd George
A 1916 report nonetheless gave preference to the leek, which went on to appear on British pound coins.
Q 08What is the title of the de facto Welsh national anthem, sung before rugby and football internationals?
Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau
The title means 'Land of My Fathers'; it is also played at the opening of the Senedd.
Q 09What is the name of the devolved Welsh Parliament?
The Senedd
Created as the National Assembly for Wales in 1998, it took the name Senedd Cymru in May 2020.
Q 10Roughly what was the population of Wales at the 2021 census?
3.1 million
Two-thirds live in South Wales; the country accounts for about 5 per cent of the population of England and Wales combined.
Q 11Per the 2021 census, roughly what share of people in Wales aged three and over speak Welsh?
18%
That is 538,300 people; a separate 2022 survey put the figure nearer 30 per cent.
Q 12Which Welsh mountain range gives its name to the earliest period of the Palaeozoic era?
The Cambrian Mountains
The next two periods, the Ordovician and Silurian, are named after ancient Celtic tribes from the same area.
Q 13How many national parks does Wales have?
Three
Snowdonia, the Brecon Beacons and the Pembrokeshire Coast; the Gower was Britain's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1956.
Q 21Which English king completed the conquest of Wales in 1283?
Edward I
The Statute of Rhuddlan the following year ended Welsh independence and his castles in Gwynedd are now a World Heritage Site.
Q 22On what date in 1400 was Owain Glyndwr acclaimed Prince of Wales by his supporters?
16 September
The date is now marked as Owain Glyndwr Day; he was never captured and vanished from the record in 1412.
Q 23Under what name does Owain Glyndwr appear in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1?
Owen Glendower
In Welsh tradition he became a 'Son of Destiny' folk hero alongside King Arthur and Cadwaladr.
Q 14What is the largest island off the Welsh mainland?
Anglesey
More than 50 islands lie off the coast; Anglesey and Pembrokeshire remain notorious for shipwrecks.
Q 15Crib Goch in Snowdonia is the wettest spot in the UK, averaging roughly how much rain a year?
4,473 mm
By contrast, Llwynon in Brecknockshire once managed just 2.7 hours of sunshine in the whole of January 1962.
Q 16Which bird of prey is described as a national symbol of Welsh wildlife?
The red kite
Brown bears, wolves and wildcats died out in Wales during the Norman period; the polecat clung on there when it nearly vanished from Britain.
Q 17The gwyniad, a fish unique to Wales, is found only in which lake?
Llyn Tegid (Bala)
New Quay on Cardigan Bay, meanwhile, hosts the UK's only summer-resident bottlenose dolphins.
Q 18How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites does Wales have?
Four
Edward I's castles in Gwynedd, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the Blaenavon industrial landscape and the slate landscape of the north-west.
Q 19Which 10th-century king codified Welsh law at an assembly at Whitland?
Hywel Dda
His name means Hywel the Good; his law stressed compensating the victim rather than punishment by the ruler.
Q 20Who is the only king ever to have united the whole of Wales, ruling it from about 1057 to 1063?
Gruffudd ap Llywelyn
He was killed after a surprise attack by Tostig, brother of the English king Harold, who then married his widow.
Q 24Which Tudor king's Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 and 1542 annexed Wales to England?
Henry VIII
The Acts gave the Welsh parliamentary representation and formally fixed the border from the Dee to the Wye.
Q 25Per the Historia Brittonum, which king of the Britons was told to dig up two dragons beneath his fort at Dinas Emrys?
Vortigern
Ambrosius prophesied that the red dragon of the Britons would push the white dragon of the Saxons back into the sea.
Q 26In which year did the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru form?
1925
The Welsh language society, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, followed in 1962.
Q 27At its 1913 peak, roughly how many people worked in the South Wales coalfield?
233,000
They dug 56 million tons of coal that year, and Cardiff was briefly the largest coal-exporting port in the world.
Q 28The 1966 Aberfan disaster killed 116 children when a colliery spoil tip slid onto what?
A junior school
Pantglas Junior School had just begun lessons; 28 adults also died and the inquiry blamed the National Coal Board.
Q 29In which year did the UK government first formally regard the current capital as the capital of Wales?
1955
Home Secretary Gwilym Lloyd George announced it in the Commons; only 76 of 161 Welsh local authorities had chosen Cardiff in a 1924 poll.
Q 30How many cities does Wales have?
Seven
Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham, Bangor, St Asaph and St Davids; Wrexham was the newest, in September 2022.