Places to See in Wales

[Andrew]

We're heading to the UK in a couple of weeks and would like to spend a day or two in Wales. Any must sees?

Thanks, Andrew

PS we'll be taveling by train (Britrail pass) and shoe leather express, so locations on or close to station towns would be preferable

[Dave Gray]

I stayed a few nights at Betws-y-Coed in the Snowdonia region when I was a mere nit in 1976. Lovely area.

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

... a day or two in Wales. Any must sees?
....

Nope.

But there's plenty of stuff you might like to see - Give us some clues - there are a couple of us in South Wales and a couple who know the north pretty well.

In between is a Here Be Dragons / Terra Inconsequentia that nobody knows and not even the natives can spell - Cwmystwyth f'rinstance.

[Hwyl]

http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/maps/pics/railways.gif

I only really know the North (Gogledd). The coast run from Aberystwyth to Pwllheli is very pretty (Forumite Obscured by Clouds, lives in Pwllheli).
Where the train tracks take a sharp turn to the left near Blaenau, is Porthmadog. There's a narrow guage railway called the Ffestiniog railway that joins the two lines there.

I grew up in Bangor, about a two mile walk from the station is Port Penrhyn where there are lots of historic boats and an active boatbuilding repair operation, called Waterfront Marine.

A short bus ride away is Beaumaris, which Emily (elf) enjoyed and in the other direction Caernarfon (http://www.origins-photography.co.uk/acatalog/SunriseonCaernarfonCastle.jpg), if you go to Caernarfon be sure to have lunch in the Garddfon pub in Felinheli (well worth a visit in itself). Eat at the bar, it's one of the ncest pubs in the world.

Holyhead (Caergybi) is a bit of a dump, but the train ride across Anglesey is nice, there are frequently special offers for day trips to Dublin.

More as I thnk about it

[paladin]

Visit Pembroke and see the nice places my ancestors from that side of the family came from....before the damn French/Normans decided they owned it.

[Woxbox]

Gotta hike up Snowdon, or one of other nearby peaks to avoid the crowds.

[Thorne]

It all depends on what you like to do, what sort of roads you like to drive, etc.

If driving the A487, the Centre for Alternative Tech is worth visiting -
http://www.cat.org.uk/

If you like mountains and small roads, the B4343, 4310 and others wind through the hills north to south -- watch for sheep on the turns.

We lived in the Welsh border area in the mid-90's, and liked some of the Norman and later era castles. Some are ruins, others in pretty good shape. The Victorian Castell Coch just north of Cardiff is a fantastic period piece. If near Cardiff, the St. Fagans museum is wonderful.
http://www.britainexpress.com/wales/cardiff/castles/
http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/stfagans/

[Hwyl]

It all depends on what you like to do, what sort of roads you like to drive, etc.

Whilst I agree with you Thorne, I tried to respect this

PS we'll be taveling by train (Britrail pass) and shoe leather express, so locations on or close to station towns would be preferable

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

Beaumaris Castle (Port Merion)
Port Meirion
http://www.warwick.ac.uk/services/publicity/prisoner/p989.jpg

Barmouth?

[Thorne]

Whilst I agree with you Thorne, I tried to respect this

Ooops! My bad. Never did the rail thing in the UK, so don't know what is easy to get to. But the stuff near Cardiff should be easy to get to by public transport.

[Flying Orca]

Betws-y-Coed is stunning, and when Oystagirl and I were there we had lots to do within a nearby walk, train, or bus. It makes a good base.

[The Bigfella]

Whatever you do, don't rely on asking the locals for directions.

[Hwyl]

Whatever you do, don't rely on asking the locals for directions.

Another ignorant racist remark

[The Bigfella]

Another ignorant racist remark

Not at all Gareth... just the voice of experience.

[Thorne]

My biggest problem with asking directions in England (never had problems in Wales) was the old, "Head over thataway and just ask anyone..."

Like each village appoints some old gaffer called "Anyone" to stand around and answer gormless questions by tourists. But we usually found our way around without getting too off course.

I do recommend the British Ordinance Survey maps, we liked the pink ones but others found the yellow series (larger area) more useful.

[Peerie Maa]

You might just miss this, which would be a shame http://www.conwyriverfestival.org/
Conway has s fine castle and the walls are well preserved.
If you are going to north Wales Chester is a fine city, lots of Roman ruins and a vibrant late evening pub culture.
As others have said, train through Betsw y Coed to Blaenau Ffestiniog, visit a slate mine, then on the mineral railway down to Portmadog and hop a bus or taxi to Port Merion.

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=54989

[John Turpin]

Andrew, I took my family to the UK last year and only planned for two days in Wales. It turned out to be too little time and next time I'll spend more days there. So, to maximize our time, I hired a local Cardiff guide and asked him to take us to as many castles and historic sites that he could pack into a single day. It was an excellent experience and his local knowledge enabled us to see more in a short period of time than we ever could have accomplished ourselves. If a private guide appeals to you, PM me and I'll give you his contact information.

Have a great time!

John

[kingplanker]

http://www.welshwales.co.uk/winter_marina_60%25.jpg
Swansea along the southcoast is very scenic.
http://www.welshwales.co.uk/index1.htm

[Andrew]

Thanks for all the responses. We usually avoid large cities preferring cozy pubs and local music, water and boats of course, meeting locals and sharing a pint over good pub grub.

We'll sus out the suggestions on the web. We'll probably go with the flow but having a few ideas up front helps.

We'll post pix when we get back.

PS P.I. Stazer-Newt, I think Bog Snorkeling is out. Wet suits don't fit with traveling light and airline baggage constraints. By the way, just how dark and deep is it?

[peter radclyffe]

laugharne where i lived as a kid, dylan thomas's boat house

[David W Pratt]

Everester's autographs on the ceiling of teh Pen-y-gurid pub, cliffs at Angelsey, Caernarvon Castle, the sun, if you are lucky.
Good luck.

[Hwyl]

Everester's autographs on the ceiling of teh Pen-y-gurid pub,

Difficult to get to from the train, but yes a great place. Actually spelled Pen y Gwryd http://www.pyg.co.uk/

[jonboy]

Digging cockles out of the sands of some unpronounceable place near the Gower ( south central),...
as said above, Dylan Thomas's haunts, his boathouse-writing shack is quite moving...
and it's not racist Hwyl, I think Bigfella meant that in the North anyway if you don't speak the lingo you will have a harder time than the average tourist
And Chester's in England , close to Weealls ,due boy
Lava bread,..an acquired taste as they say.... but skip Brains beer it's commercial crap on a par with any major chemical brewery. check out any other local beer...
a working man's club in any of the Rhonda towns ... it's like going back fifty years... just say JPR or Cliff Morgan and you will get a lock-in till dawn...don't drink Brains though, as I said....Read Under Milk Wood... There's truly one of the best butchers in the world in Llandeilo.. if you find him you'll know, and some good bookshops and the best kitchen-kit shop outside of Ironmonger's Extraordinary in Rye East Sussex ( long way from Wales ) as well
It didn't rain, for about three or four hours in 1983, I think... be prepared..if you are an ovinocastellophile you'll love it

[Larch_Keelson]

I'm pretty sure I was on a whale watching tour in the Sea of Cortez.

[jonboy]

I've got a big lump of tree trunk with Ed Rickets carved on it
Its the Log from the Sea of Cortez

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

Whatever you do, don't rely on asking the locals for directions.

Asking directions in North Wales works about as well as anywhere else in Britain - but in some parts of South Wales - you would be comprehensively stuffed.

The problem is not local unhelpfulness, but the signposts - you can drive up a valley which to the untutored eye looks like a 15 mile long ribbon development but is known locally by the seven or eight different village names. So the signposts give the old village names (in two languages) but never tell you that you have arrived in Llan-Thingy or that you are now leaving Llan-Thingy, just that Aber-Whotsit is some way up the road.

Careful observation of the signposts on the other side of the road will tell you when Llan-Thingy has been overshot....


Buy a GPS.

[obscured by clouds]

I had written a bunch of stuff but lost it all. :mad:

There's loads to see up here all within a small distance, and the trains and buses cover a load more area than you might think.

Give us some idea of what you want to do, see, stay,e at and most importantly - spend and I can pass on more info.


Essentially if you have 2 days you either go north or south. I'm biased so I'll say north......... take the Cambrian coast line and head north from Machynlleth [south takes you on a short journey to Aberystwyth]. The train will get you to loads of places from there- or the bus will- mountains, steam trains, steam trains up mountains, castles [a world heritage site], industrial archeology, family resorts and loads of weather.

If you decide on this I'll give you more info