Wonders of Wales

In April 2018, I took a week to explore some of the wonders and wilds of Wales. I flew into London, England, met my tour, and headed northwest into Wales...

Our first stop was the border town of Hay-on-Wye, also known as the 'Town of Books' because of the many bookstores to be found...some with very interesting names!

And it even boasted an old castle, with some modern additions...

We then made our way through the Elan Valley and over to the seaside town of Aberystwyth, where I stayed at a lovely Bed and Breakfast just a short walk from the sea...

A very cozy room to come into after exploring in the cooler, rainy days of Spring!

The following day, after a delicious Welsh buffet breakfast, we headed away from civilization and into the wilds to explore some of Snowdonia National Park. It was a dark, moody day, so couldn't get too many pictures, but there were wide expanses of brown and green hills and some forests full of trees covered in moss along the way...

We then came back to civilization to the small village of Beddgelert, famous for it's grave of a legendary dog named Gelert...supposedly owned by the 13th century Prince Llywelyn, the dog is said to have saved the prince's son...

We were told by our guide that this story was not quite true...it was supposedly made up by a man back in the 18 or 1900s to help lure tourists to the town! Regardless if the tale is true or not, the town is worth a visit.

We then headed to Harlech Castle, said to have been built by King Edward I when he took over Wales almost 800 years ago...

We had lunch here, and I got to try the Welsh dish called Rarebit, which is basically melted cheese and other savory ingredients on toasted bread...mmmm

After lunch, we made our way back to Aberystwyth for the night.

The following day, we packed our bags to head to our next destination of Tenby. We traveled through Cardigan Bay and went through the towns of Aberaeron and New Quay, which has connections with Dylan Thomas.

Our next stop was the Dinefwr Estate, where we got to eat lunch inside, where I tried the Welsh dish Cawl stew, before walking around the grounds to the old Dinefwr Castle...

Our last stop of the day was Laugharne, where Dylan Thomas spent his last days, and it also has a great castle ruin by the sea...

In the evening, we arrived in Tenby, another harbor (habour) town, where we stayed for the next 2 nights...

The next day we explored the southwest coast in Pembrokeshire, where we got to see a working woolen mill before stopping in the tiniest town in Britian of St. Davids...

we ate lunch and walked all through and around the great St. David's Cathedral...

In the afternoon, we made an unplanned stop to check out St. Govan's Chapel situated on a cliff by the sea...

where it is said St. Govan lived as a hermit hundreds of years ago...

Our last stop of the day was Pembroke Castle, where we had a couple hours to explore the grounds...

We then headed back to Tenby for our last night in Wales.

On our way back to London we made several stops. The first of which was the outdoor living museum of St. Fagan's right outside of Cardiff. It was a great place to see some of the history of Wales displayed in period buildings...and learn about what life was like over the past few hundred years in Wales...

Our next stop was the Roman fortress of Caerleon, an impressive ruins, even in the rain!

nearby were some old Roman baths, where the soldiers and others went to get clean...

We then headed back into England and stopped in the quaint Cotswold village called Castle Combe (even though there is no castle...)

We arrived back in London in the evening and made our ways home. After an amazing time exploring the wilds and castles of Wales, I made my way back across the Pond to share my adventures with family and friends...and dream of my next trip!

* The tour company I used was Rabbies, highly recommended! More information can be found here: https://www.rabbies.com/en/england-tours/from-london/5-8-day-tours/discover-wales-5-day-tour