We plan to stay three days in Wales and return to Dublin for our flight to LA.(flying to Cardiff from Belfast)<BR><BR>In general, we prefer staying in a city and taking day trips to the country. Love gardens....any suggestions in the S. Wales area...or should I do a day in the North and work my way down...as you can tell I'm confused. I don not like to be in the car for more than two hours per trip.<BR><BR>Any recommendations for a hotel or b&amp;b with character in Cardif for around $100? <BR><BR>Thanks.<BR><BR>

Hi MDV,<BR>Greetings from sunny Cardiff.<BR>There are many many places to visit in the Cardiff area alone without even going further afield, although if you have time you should try to do so.<BR>Cardiff is a wonderul city with a large castle right in the city centre.<BR>You can visit the newly developed Cardiff bay area which has good restaurants and cafe bars.<BR>The Museum of Welsh life at St Fagans is<BR>a lovely day out and the village of St Fagans is nice too.<BR>Cardiff is surrounded by countryside with Caerphilly and its huge castle, also a small 'folly' of a castle called 'Castle Coch' the red castle' is well worth a visit buried in the woodland of North Cardiff.<BR>LLandaff Cathedral is a must see.<BR>There are plenty of parks in Cardiff, but one garden in particular is a place called Insole Court, its an old house (which could be from a horror movie) which has really been used by the local council for storage..such a waste, but the relatively small gardens have always been maintained and they are beautiful especially in Summer.<BR>Its really not a tourist place but if your near Llandaff Cathedral, it possible to pay a quick visit to this fairly unknown place.<BR>There are hotels of varying costs, here are some sites for you to look at.<BR>you can sometimes get good rates on Friday and Saturday nights, even the better hotels may be less than your budget. Contact them direct and ask.<BR>You don't say when you would be in Cardiff but beware the FA Cup Final is on Saturday May 17th therefore hotels will be generally difficult to get hold of.<BR>There are several B&amp;B's on Cathedral road , although I have never stayed in any of them they are quite well located for the city center.<BR>But of course plenty in the center.<BR>http://www.direct-hotels.co.uk/uk/cardiff/<BR><BR>http://www.allcardiffhotels.com/<BR><BR>http://www.thomsonlocal.co.uk/index.asp?cobrand=<BR>If you have any specific interests let us know and I am sure we can point you in the general direction<BR><BR>Muck<BR>

Muck,<BR>Thanks so much. I'll be there in late June. Cardiff is sounding more and more like a good base for a short stay.<BR><BR>M.

I visited Wales with my friends from England and we visited friends of theirs with a cottage in Snowdonia. It was spectacular and I got to go to the sheepdog trials. Cardiff, I was there only one day on the main/no cars downtown area for drinks. Cardiff is not much if you are looking for quaint and beauty but I enjoyed myself as I do at any place new to me. Powis castle has the most famous garden in Wales. I love terra cotta and the Powis garden pots are extremely old

The Botanical Garden of Wales, new for the millenium, was beginning to shape up nicely when we visited in 2001. It would certainly be worth looking at. Cardiff Castle itself is a good half-day outing and Caerphilly can be reached easily from Cardiff by public transportation.<BR>Tea at the Angel Hotel in Cardiff is an elegant and delicious experience.<BR><BR>Have a great trip.<BR><BR>V.

We loved the Museum of Welsh Life, mentioned above. We've been to a lot of these living-history museums, but never one that went all the way back to Paleolithic times!<BR><BR>IMHO, no trip to Wales wouldbe complete without a stop at Hay-on-Wye, the Town of Books, where virtually every business in town, including the movie theater and the local decrepit castle, has been turned into a bookstore.

dont forget to go to cardiff bay, the waterfront is lovely in June .take a stroll and pick up some very reasonbly priced art from craft in the bay http://www.makersguildinwales.org.uk/index.html.Enjoy your visit.

http://www.gardenofwales.org.uk/<BR>http://www.nmgw.ac.uk/ [for museums]

Mucky thank you so much -I've never heard of Insole Court. Shall visit on my next trip next week.

I really hope you enjoy Insole court, its not far from the center of

oops..sorry<BR>I was saying ...its not far from the center of Llandaff, I am sure a Taxi driver will find it.<BR>When you get there look at the old house, I hope you agree that its a real waste to treat such a place with such little respect.<BR>I really hope that the gardens are springing to life and I would suggest you go to the lower end of the garden and take your picture against the backdrop of the ancient trees and stonework.<BR>Its been a while since I went there, I must go there soon.<BR>Muck

Sorry its me again.<BR>I found this site for the lovely old place..<BR>http://www.caerdydd.gov.uk/highways/Parks/insole_park.htm<BR><BR>muck

My dad is from a beautiful town called Llantwit Major which is just outside of Cardiff. After 40 years of living in the US and Canada, he is now living in Cardiff Bay. I can't tell you how much Cardiff has changed since I was a child and how much I love to visit! I have even been to the Millennium Stadium to watch the rugby and listening to the choirs sing before the match brings tears to my eyes even now!<BR><BR>Anyway - get back on the subject. It doesn't take long at all to get out of Cardiff and be in deep countryside. I would highly recommend a day trip to the Gower Peninsula. The beach/scenery is fantastic - lots of surfers, believe it or not!! - and you can stop off at any number of beautiful country pubs and have lunch.<BR><BR>I have to share one experience with you. Dad drove me out to a place not far from Cardiff (can ANYONE HELP ME with the name here) that is an old ruin with 'stepping stones'. It was absolutely stunning, no one was there except a couple of dog walkers and HORSES SWIMMING IN THE WATER. About 10 of them. I just stood there, mesmorised. So if anyone can tell me where this is, I would definitely recommend this. Just beautiful. It was so hard to believe that we weren't far from Cardiff.

Hi Ally Pally,<BR>I am intrigued !<BR>Could you give more of a description of this wonderful place?<BR>I wonder if its by the sea, was the ruins a castle or a house.<BR>Was it near to Llantwit or Cardiff?<BR>I have always lived in Cardiff and maybe I know this place but I need a little bit more.<BR>I agree; the Millenium stadium is fabulous place especially when Wales win. Which fortunately is the case with soccer but not any more with rugby.<BR>I was there last week for a full capacity soccer match and it was tremendous Wales won 4-0 too !!.<BR>You are quite right the Vale of Glamorgan is lovely.<BR><BR>Muck<BR>

The castle you are seeing may be Ogmore, about 2 1/2 miles south west of Bridgend. We visited this lovely spot with friends from Neath some years go. It was just us, our friends, some horses and lots of sheep. You can find a couple of pictures of Ogmore on http://www.castlewales.com.<BR>Hope this helps.<BR><BR>Virginia

Yes Ogmore was my immediate thought too.<BR>Your right its lovely but the river is really treacherous.<BR>There is a place called Merthyr Mawr which is sort of behind Ogmore.<BR>Does that ring any bells?<BR><BR>Muck