Derbyshire area
From there to here for two nights:
Whitby
Then back to here for one night:
Buxton
Places to visit
Things to see
Cultural gems
Eccentric traditions
St Nectans Glen
Welsh Castles
Forest and woodland walks
Scotland
Site links
Stuff to do
Craft Fayres
Touring Wales...suggestions
From Bristol it's easy to get the Gower,
then west to pembrokshire or north from the Gower to New Quay area.
Lots of sea life to see, Dolphins along the Ceredigion coast
Lots of sea life to see, Dolphins along the Ceredigion coast
Three days & just two nights head to
Ragland castle stop have a look around this lovely castle before you drive onto
Abergavenny park on the bus station car park do the same here check out the
castle market etc and eat to, then drive on up the back road to Brecon tiwn
stop overnight there in car park by the river or canal for small fee eat and
use local pubs for a few drinks next day go for a walk around the small town
get yourself a full cooked breakfast in one of the cafes or your motorhome then
drive off up the road to Builth Wells have a wander around get so lunch or stay
the night in the river car park or drive off to Hay on Wye park up in the big
carpark over in a quiet corner area for the night go to one of the local pubs
etc for drinks and food if you like but do have a good walk around the area it
is a lovely little town then get some sleep as you got to travel home in the
morning. Hope that helps it is not two far but lovely countryside locations if
you want the sea etc come for a few days to the Gower area two but not much
cheaper sites or wild camping available there these days.
The Gower - our little ‘gem’ of beauty,
does tend to get quite congested at the weekends, so is much easier to explore
mid-week.
If you want to explore inland, say the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountain area, you will find much quieter roads, and miles of stunning scenery, with lots of lay-bys and pull-ins to stop and enjoy.
Pembrokeshire is absolutely breath-taking, but in order to do it justice, I feel you would need a much longer visit - you won’t want to leave in fact!
Whistle Inn at Garn Y Erw is
lovely with fab walks (between Blaenavon and Brynmawr) also up the road is
Keepers Pond and the Blorenge. There’s a lovely cycle path from the Whistle Inn. You can then go up a local hill as it’s all tarmac or go down to the big pit. If you go to Keepers Pond you can again go around the local roads (very quiet) as there are some lovely views. I’d love an electric bike
If you want to explore inland, say the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountain area, you will find much quieter roads, and miles of stunning scenery, with lots of lay-bys and pull-ins to stop and enjoy.
Pembrokeshire is absolutely breath-taking, but in order to do it justice, I feel you would need a much longer visit - you won’t want to leave in fact!
https://www.facebook.com/crickhowellcaravanpark/
South Wales (2 days)
First stop Is Chepstow for its ruined castle
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp…
http://www.castlewales.com/chepstow.html
from Chepstow take A48 to Caerwent for Roman remains
http://www.caerleon.net/caerwent/
Take A449 to Raglan for ruined castle
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp…
http://www.castlewales.com/raglan.html
Take A40 to Abergaveny then A465 (Head of Valleys Road) to pick up A469 down Rhymney Valley to Caerphilly and its ruined castle.
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp…
http://www.castlewales.com/caerphil.html
Take B4609, A468, A470 to Castell Coch
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp…
http://www.castellcoch.info/
Finally head for Cardiff and its Castle
http://www.cardiffcastle.com/stle
http://www.castlewales.com/cardiff.html
This would be a nice itinerary filling 2 days. There are plenty of castles and they are all very different. There is a good mix of scenery too. You would need to have an overnight somewhere in the middle - possibly Abergaveny or Caerphilly. Second night would be Cardiff and then back to where ever you need to be.
North Wales (3 Days)
Start as for the previous post and head for Chepstow and Abergavenny. You now need to drive up through the centre of Wales through some superb scenery. I would suggest A40 and A479 to Builth Wells then A483 through Llandindrod Wells to Newtown to pick up A470 to Dolggellau and A487 to Porthmadoc. This is a probably your overnight spot or else Criccieth, a delightful old fashioned holiday resort, a few minutes drive further on along the A497 with it's ruined Castle.
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp…
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp…
If you like trains think about a trip on the
Ffestiniog Railway which runs from Porthmadoc to Blaenau Ffestiniog. It is narrow gauge and if you are lucky you may be pulled by one of the unique double Fairlie engines. This is a fantastic experience - the sheer POWER of the loco working up the steep gradients with 12 coaches. . . .
http://www.ffestiniograilway.co.uk/index.asp
It is a superb ride through excellent scenery. It may be worth splashing out and asking for a seat in the Observation car. If you have time break journey at Tan y Bwlch and follow the nature trail through the trees down to the lake. There is a very good cafe on the station.
From Porthmadoc, head to Caernarvon along the A487. This is a walled town (can't walk on the walls) and has a magnificent Castle where Prince Charles was invested as Prince Of Wales.
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp…
http://www.castlewales.com/caernarf.html
If you didn't go on the Ffestiniog Railway you might be interested in the Welsh Highland Railway which has its terminus in Caernarvon just below the castle.
http://www.welshhighlandrailway.net/index.asp
You may not of heard about this but it is a completely new railway which has been rebuilt over the last 10 years along a line that closed 70 years ago, by the Ffestiniog Railway company. It runs from Caernarvon through some incredible scenery through Rhyd Ddu (on the slopes of Snowdon) to Beddgelert. (Later on this year the final link to Porthmadoc will be opened). I've not been on this railway but daughter says the scenery is even better than on the Ffestiniog - and that is high praise from her. As a student she spent all her summer holidays volunteering as a fireman on the steam locos on the Ffestiniog.
From Caernarvon, pick up the coast road A487 to A55 and head for Conwy.
Just beyond Bangor is Penryn Castle - a splendid Victorian mock castle
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-penrhyncastle
Conwy is another walled town and you can walk round part of the walls. There is another splendid ruined castle and also the restored medieval town house, Plas Mawr (buy joint ticket with the castle)
http://www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/
http://www.castlewales.com/conwy.html
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp…
http://www.conwy.com/plasmawr.html
Just across the river is the Victorian seaside resort of Llandudno and a trip on the Great Orme Tramway
http://www.greatormetramway.co.uk/
By now you are probably wanting to head towards the Lake District along the A55 to Chester. If time allows do a quick detour to Rhuddlan Castle (about 2-3 miles north St Asaph on A525)
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp…
http://www.castlewales.com/rhudln.html
St Asaph has the smallest Cathedral in Britain
http://www.st-asaph.com/
I have discounted Beaumaris Castle on Anglesey because I don't think you will have time to include this. (If you do, cross Menai Bridge and pick up A545).
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp…
http://www.castlewales.com/beaumar.html
Wales ( 3 days)
- Take A46 to M4 to M48 over Severn Bridge. First stop is Chepstow Castle.
- From Chepstow take B4293 and Chepstow Rd to Raglan Castle.
- Take A40 to Abergaveny then A479 through Brecon Beacons National Park to A470 to A496 to Harlech.
This is 175mi and about 4 ½ hours of driving, which may work if we leave Bath very early in the morning.
Staying in a Harlech for 2 nights (http://www.maelgwynharlech.co.uk/).
On second day, do a circle route as follows:
- Visit Harlech Castle
- Take A487 to Caernarvon Castle
- Take the coast road A487 and cross Menai Bridge and pick up A545 to Beaumaris Castle.
- Backtrack to A55 to Conwy Castle
- Take A470 back to Harlech
This is about 100 mi and 3 hours of driving.
(Wales again)
http://www.castlewales.com/chepstow.html
http://www.castlewales.com/tintern.html
http://www.visitwyevalley.com/
In the adjacent Vale of Usk you have Caerleon, famous for its Roman remains and Arthurian connections:
http://www.caerleon.net/intro/index.htm
The second / third night you could stay in Hay on Wye (I assume that is what you meant when you talked about the "bookstore" - Hay is famous as the town of books), and use that base to explore the Brecon Beacons as well as the town itself.
I wouldn't bother with Arthur's Stone - there is a place just as impressive you will pass on the West Wales coast (more in a bit).
Drive up to North Wales along the A470. A beautiful scenic drive and aim to get to Rhayader for 3pm (British summer time) or 2pm (GMT) where you can see the spectacular sight of Wales's national bird, the red kite:
http://www.gigrin.co.uk/
My personal recommendation for a base in north Wales is Beddgelert. Not as commercialised as Betws-y-Coed but very beautiful mountain scenery around you, with excellent links to all the main north Wales sites.
http://www.beddgelerttourism.com/
3 nights in North Wales should suffice, given your time limit. The coast drive down south is very pretty. Try and stop in Machynlleth for lunch - a pretty market town and an interesting exhibition about Owain Glyndwr.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machynlleth
Tenby is a good base in Pembrokeshire, as it gives you access to St Davids and the Gower in equal measure. Personally though, given the time constraints I would skip the Gower on this occasion as Pembrokeshire has the more spectacular coastline and various small towns and places of interest.
On your way down south stop and visit Pentre Ifan:
myweb.tiscali.co.uk/celynog/pentre_ifan.htm
Then on your final day I would skip Caerphilly castles as you will have had the chance to see similar but in my opinion more spectacular castles in north Wales (eg Conwy and Caernarfon).
Cardiff is about a 2 and a half hour drive from Tenby, so you may want to be content with just visiting Cardiff Castle (which is so different from other castles in Wales that it is worth a visit) but if you wanted, and had the time/energy you could stop off just west of Cardiff at St Fagans - an excellent open air museum:
http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/stfagans/