obrienwv

We are planning a trip comming from gatwick air port to cardiff wales. We have never been to Wales and were trying to find interesting little villages to visit. We might also stop in Cardiff to sight see a little. ANy recommendations?

julia_t

Try www.visitcardiff.info/ for the official Cardiff website.

I love Cardiff for shopping, but I don't know it well otherwise. The Wye valley is beautiful, and well worth a visit expecially Tintern Abbey and Symonds Yat. There are some good inns and B&B's along the river, type 'wye valley accommodation' into google and see what comes up. Also there is Llangoed Hall, a wonderful luxurious County House Hotel on the banks of the river Wye. It should come up on google.

Hay-on-Wye is a delightful little town, full of antique shops and book stalls, some clustered along the lower walls of the castle and open to the elements! South Wales and the Welsh borders have plenty of castles, some ruined but nevertheless spectacular in their locations. Near Chepstow is the Roman settlement and fort at Caerleon.

The back road between Abergavenny (from Llanfihangel Crucorney) and Hay is absolutely stunning, with the fabulous ruined Llanthony Priory situated halfway along. There is a little inn there where you can eat and stay. The road runs along the foot of the Black Mountains, and I can't begin to describe it's beauty.

You will no doubt get lots of suggestions of places to visit, and a tip is to go to google, type in: tourist information, followed by the name of the place, village or town, and that way you get lots of links and information.

Have a wonderful trip!

PalQ

St David's and one of the UK's smallest cathedral towns - cute town but a great seaside walk in the area!

nankar

I don't know how far you will be venturing but we loved St. Davids and the Pembrokeshire coast. We also enjoyed Tenby which has many shops and pretty seaside views. We were based in Laugharne which is also a very pretty little town complete with castle. We spent an afternoon at the Welsh folk park which was enjoyable. There are so many castles everywhere in this area. I don't know when you are going but we went in the spring. Wildflowers were everywhere and the countryside was quite "lovely" !

fairfax

I moved to wales from the US in March and have had a great time exploring the area. The coasts of Wales are great, and absolutely spectacular... There are so many beautiful small towns and villages, and the ring of castles along the coast. If you want cities, there's Cardiff and Swansea (home of Catherine Zeta-Jones) and if you want villages, the place is thick with them. The Gower has stunning beaches. In fact, BBC is doing a series called Coast which has just explored the Welsh coast, as well as the rest of the country's...

Muck's the one who should weigh in with suggestions.

caroline_edinburgh

Cardiff is one of our favourite cities and we visit at least once a year. Take the open top bus tour and get off at Cardiff Bay. Pre-book a tour of the beautiful new Millennium Centre & catch a Welsh National Opera performance if you can. Get the little 'train' across the Cardiff Bay barrage. Visit the Castle & book a tour of the rooms - only 19th century but very interesting. Visit Castell Coch (small castle-ike folly).

At Blaenavon in the valleys above Cardiff there is The Big Pit, a former working coalmine now run as a vistor attraction with ex-miners as guides : it recently won a 'museum of the year' award.

Then moving roughly west..

The Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagan's is supposed to be good but I haven't been yet.

At Laugharne you can visit the home of Dylan Thomas.

As others have mentioned the Gower peninsula is lovely and unspoiled.
The National Botanic Garden of Wales with its Great Glasshouse by Norman Foster.

Also as others have mentioned, Pembrokeshire is lovely and is a National Park with a coastal footpath all the way round (I think). Tenby is a small Georgian seaside town with pretty multicoloured houses. Fishguard is a nice small town with a visitor centre concerning the 'Last Invasion of Great Britain' and its own version of the Bayeux Tapestry. Pembroke is another pretty little town with an impressive castle. St Govan's Chapel. Bosherstone Lily Ponds has a lovely round walk down to the sea and back. The Tafarn Sinc.

gardeniapatti

The Museum of Welsh Life in St. Fagans was great! Here is their website:

http://www.nmgw.ac.uk/www.php/mwl/

My husband and I visited in March and the gardens were just starting to bloom. Most of the museum is outside. They have collected buildings from many eras and many areas of Wales. It made us want to go visit the other parts of Wales.

There is also a good pub, The Plymouth Arms, across the street from the manor house. The bus stop is less than a block away.

Pilchard

Hi.

This isn't south but it is worth a small detour: Bedgellert, perhaps one of the most charming, quaint, beautiful places on the island. These pictures do not do it justice:

southsnowdonwharf.org.uk/snowdonia.htm

I strongly recommend a night or two at the best inn in town:

royalgoathotel.co.uk

The drive in and out is also spectacular.

B.V.

Anonymous

I agree that the Museum of Welsh Life is excellent. It's the first living-history museum I've ever been to that goes all the way back to Neolithinc times! Wear bug spray, it's the only place in the UK where we encountered flies.

"Hay-on-Wye is a delightful little town, full of antique shops and book stalls, some clustered along the lower walls of the castle"

This really doesn't do justice to Hay-on-Wye, the "town of books". Bookstores not only line the castle, much of the inside of the castle IS a bookstore, established by an eccentric (self-proclaimed "king" Richard Booth) who promoted the concept, until now almost every building in Hay houses either a bookstore or a B&B. Dozens of them. The local movie theater, even!

wojazz3

The Wye valley is very nice. As mentioned, the Gower peninsula is beautiful and not very crowded once you get passed Swansea. We stayed in Rhosilli which is hardly a village at all. There is one restaurant, but it was good. The views were amazing.

We also stayed in Broadhaven. The village itself is nothing spectacular but the beach is beautiful and again the views are wonderful. Just over the hill on a short, narrow treacherous road is Littlehaven which gave us one of our favorite veiws and sunsets of the trip. Here is the location of my trip report.

http://www.geocities.com/obeirne_wales_2004/

Have fun