Part of the wonder and beauty of Wales is the search for the hundreds of castles that exist sprawled all over the country. Here are some of the ones I knew and loved:-
Castell Coch
Castell Cosh (or the Red Castle) is situated on a hillside between Cardiff and Pontypridd. It is often called the ‘fairy tale’ castle and is reminiscent of castles from the medievil era. (Also it is similar to many castles found in the Rhine Valley.
The Gower peninsula boasts some of the most beautiful coastline that you could wish to see.
Cliffs and hills hide much of the majestic beauty as you have to walk to many of the beaches, but the walk in the open country, which seems untouched by commercialism adds to the wonder of the Gower.
Castles lay hidden in the hills, giving the most adventurous plenty to discover and explore. Quaint pubs and european style cafes dot the coastline, mingling with the tourist shops and motels.
Several major cities are close by for the lovers of shopping.
One of the busiest transport networks in the entire world is based right here in London.
Its common name is “the Underground” a name adopted in the 1930’s along with its famous Red circle and Blue stripe through.
Yet the tube network was started much earlier in the late 1800’s.
The underground was a complex maze of tunnels constructed deep underground to solve the transport problems that were beginning to affect London.
Lack of space was an issue above so the answer was found below.
What do you want? Bit of history? There’s a lot of Roman stuff in Chester and York. If you prefer medieval go to Stratford, there’s some nice places round there. The West side of the country is a lot nicer than the East. Try the following trip:
1) Weymouth, on the South coast - not interesting in itself, but find the Portland heights hotel (on the coast road towards Portland Bill). There is a go kart track opposite, walk through it and you’ll be in a quarry which was given to the local Stonemasons college. There is some weird stuff in here. It’s cool. You won’t find any signposts.
I spent September 1984 and September 1986 traveling through England, Scotland, and Wales with a girlfriend. We had a fabulous time and I always wanted to go back for more, but life got in the way and I never did. It wasn’t until last year, when our choir was invited to sing Evensong services for a week at the York Minster cathedral in York that Penguinman and I started making plans. He’d never been there, and I immediately laid out a terrific trip for us. But when he gently suggested that we couldn’t see in two weeks everything I had seen in two months, we did some serious pruning. Nevertheless, we were in the UK from August 28 to September 22 of this year, and every minute of the trip was wonderful. Well, almost every minute…
On Hay-on-Wye and the Hay Festival of Literature.
Imagine driving through the verdant Wye valley between England and Wales. Now picture a small, quiet, borderland town with a quaint mixture of buildings from every era from Norman to the present day, topped with grey slate tiles. The bi-lingual street names are a history lesson in themselves. The English versions read; Castle Street, Lion Street and High Town.
I visited Wales five years ago and an still enamoured of the place. As we stayed in the northern parts, my comments will be limited to those areas…
Wales is a country in love with itself, and that love shines though in all that Wales has to offer. The bilingual signage throughout the county give a Gaelic authenticity to the experience without overwhelming guests not used to vowel-filled words the length of sentences.
My family and I went on a trip to Wales during the summer of 1999. The reason for our trip was to visit family. I had been to Wales before, but only when I was younger, and I didn’t really remember all that much about it.
I found Wales to be a beautiful place, with friendly people and a great atmosphere. There were lots of cool things to do, like visit castles and go sight-seeing. However, I did not find much to do during the night (there weren’t many nightclubs and things like that).
Being part British myself, I am particularly fond of anything to do with Britain. My mother is British. I lived there for 2 years as a child and have very fond memories.
I never knew how beautiful Britain was until my older brother moved to Wales. He and his wife bought a quaint little stone house in this quaint little village (For the life of me, I can’t remember the name!). You’re probably thinking, "So What?" Well, all I can say is if you are looking to vacation somewhere peaceful, beautiful and clean, go to Wales. Enjoy the food, friendly villagers and see scenery you will never see anywhere else. It is well worth the travel.
This suggested 3 day trip begins and ends in London. It offers an easy way to see some of Britain’s most splendid castles. It does assume the willingness to drive.
Head west from London on the M4 for about 120 miles and you reach the Severn river which is spanned by two massive suspension bridges. Take the northern bridge (The M48) and you arrive in the small town of Chepstow. Chepstow’s castle is in the middle of the town overlooking the river Wye.
