Jeff

Starting in Manchester, with a teenager and 2 children (age 5) ... <BR>I was thinking of touring through Wales and possibly hitting Stonehenge at the bottom of the loop is possible ... any suggestions on spots to hit / avoid ... places to stay, etc ... I was thinking that a few castle stops would be good for the kids?

gb

Hi, We took a trip two summers ago through the same area. We bought a Great British Heritage Pass to make things a little easier. Chester doesn't have castles, but it has a neat half timbered town, an interesting church, and a wall to walk around the town. Check out the wishing steps. The castle in Conwy was interesting, and so was Caernafon.Take the inexpensive tour given at the castle. We drove through Snowdonia. It was pretty, but a little disappointing (but then I live in Colorado). We saw the castle at Caerphilly with a real moat, and the Cardiff Castle, which was modernized. We missed the Welsh Folk Museum, but heard it was worthwhile. We stop at the Chepstow castle (I think skip that one) . You can sleep in a youth hostel that is in a small castle at nearby St. Briavels. And we enjoyed Tinturn Abbey. Although many people rave about Bath, it was not a favorite of ours. We thought Stonehnge and Avebury were great. If you go at the end of the day, there are very few people. But our favorite castle was Warwick. We were there on a weekend, and there were many events going on. The same for Kenilworth. Blenheim Palace was worth a stop. We happened to stop at Oxford on a Saturday near the end of school and the town was filled with young college students enjoying the last days of exams. Hope that helps.

susan

I agree with the above. I enjoyed Cardiff and Caenarvon Castle. Best castle in Britain is Warwick. It is near Stratford-Upon-Avon and is well worth the trip. <BR>

Raleigh

If you go to Tintern Abbey, you are only 6 miles from Chepstow castle. My wife and I felt it was one of our favorites in the UK - don't miss it.

Russ Buhite

Just spent 3 days in Wales as part of a two-week trip and I wish that we had had more time there. We stayed at a great B&B in Llangollen which was close to Valle Crucis Abbey and Dinas Bran castle ruins. The town has its own steam train station that kids will love and the scenery is breath-taking. We also very much enjoyed Conwy castle and drove over to Caernarfon castle but it had already closed. Would have liked to visit Snowdonia park with more time.

kam

We liked Raglan Castle very along with all of the above. Took the railroad to the top of Mt. Snowdon--fun but very foggy at the top. Loved the little town of Betws-y-Coed. Felt Cardiff Castle was too commercialized--far better to see the Folk Museum or the National Museum of Art. Wales was a real treat.