Wales without a car - how doable is it?
Mar 9th, 2013, 09:41 AM
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Wales without a car - how doable is it?
My topic title says it all. I am thinking of starting of in Conwy as a base. Does anybody have experience with this. My trip date is June/July.
Mar 9th, 2013, 09:57 AM
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Some years ago I spent a week in conwy without a car. I saw a lot of things I wanted to see, but wasted a good bit of time waiting for bus or train, especially when I had to connect. Probably could have seen more had I had a car. But yes, I would say it is quite doable.
Mar 9th, 2013, 09:59 AM
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Mar 9th, 2013, 11:01 AM
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I was in Wales in 2011. Cardiff 7 nights, Llandudno (very close to Conwy) 3 days and Abergavenny 4 nights.
I went on some organized daytrips from Cardiff, with a company called Where When Wales. Very nice. They had a minibus/van, not a large bus. One daytrip got cancelled since there weren't enough people who booked it and I got the money back the same day.
For the rest of the time I bought a multiday pass for transport, valid for 4 days of train travel and 8 days of bus travel in an 8-day period. Not sure if this is available now, but you should be able to find it through Google. I used the pass without problems. It may have been cheaper to buy individual tickets, but I wanted the freedom to jump on any train or bus at any time.
Yes, there may be some wasted time, waiting for buses or trains, but that's something one has to live with if unable or unwilling to drive. I never felt unsafe. Of course, I did my travelling during daytime, so I have no idea how it would feel at night.
I went on some organized daytrips from Cardiff, with a company called Where When Wales. Very nice. They had a minibus/van, not a large bus. One daytrip got cancelled since there weren't enough people who booked it and I got the money back the same day.
For the rest of the time I bought a multiday pass for transport, valid for 4 days of train travel and 8 days of bus travel in an 8-day period. Not sure if this is available now, but you should be able to find it through Google. I used the pass without problems. It may have been cheaper to buy individual tickets, but I wanted the freedom to jump on any train or bus at any time.
Yes, there may be some wasted time, waiting for buses or trains, but that's something one has to live with if unable or unwilling to drive. I never felt unsafe. Of course, I did my travelling during daytime, so I have no idea how it would feel at night.
Mar 10th, 2013, 11:31 AM
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Kelsey, I didn't wite a trip report as the trip was bfore I knew abot Fodors (actually before I knew about searching the internet, but had read many guidebooks), but I did look back in my trip journal to see what did.
Just a quick run down by day.
Arrived late on Sat. afternoon from Ireland. Poked around Conwy. Walked the walls, wandered down by the harbor with a take out sandwich,and happened on Morris dancers performing in the street by the harbor wall.
Sunday: after mass explored some more--castle, Anglican church, The narrowest (littlest)house n Britain (5 min.); merchant's house from Tudor era, a harbor "cruise" in a little putt-putt boat, walked the walls at sunset. By the way, there is a garden in back of the Catholic church with the Stations of the Cross, some set in rocks, if you are into that sort of thing. I found it a peaceful place to gather my thoughts.
Monday: Llandudno (a few minutes on the train) explored a toy museum, took the cable car to the top of the Great Orme, rented a bike for the next few days.
Tuesday: rode the bike to Bodnant Gardens, a true delight-te gardens, not the bike ride. Made it back to Conwy about thirty seconds in front of a heavy rain, which only lasted a little while. Decided to relax and blow myself to an expensive (for me ) supper.
Wednesday: train to Bleau Festiniog and connected to the steam train which connected to a coastal train line. None of the connections took more than a few minutes. Ended in Harlech. The castle there is in a stunning location on a cliff overlooking the ocean. On the way back, stopped in Blenau Festiniog for a visit to the slate mine (no longer in use). We were given hard hats and taken down into the mine where a delightful and informative guide told us the story of slate mining in the area. Back to Conwy and an exploratory bike ride.
Thursday: Train to Bangor (15 min. or so) Explored the cathedral there and its biblical garden, which contained all the plants specifically mentioned in the Bible. They were all labeled and I found it interesting to see some of the plants I had not seen in real life before. Took the bus back towards Conwy and got off to visit Penrhyn Castle. The castle is a nineteenth century erection by a man who had made his pile in coal. Interesting look at life of the times and there was an interesting doll and dollhouse collection. Back to Conwy by fourish and went for a short bike ride in the surrounding countryside.
Friday: train to Bangor and then a bus to Beaumaris, another of Edward I's castles complete with moat. Then bus back to Bangor and another bus to Caernarvon. Also visited remains of a Roman camp outside of the town. Walked out and back. Came home to hotel, where I had a excellent meal. Wandered the town for one last look with evening sunset for some great pictures.
Saturday: packed up and checked out. The hotel let me leave my bag there while I returned the bike to Llandudno. Rode it over, a few interesting pictures on the way, and a short visit to the beach. Came back on the train, picked up my bag, and train to Holyhead to catch ferry back to Ireland.
Ferry left midafternoon, so I used the couple of hours to explore Holyhead, an interesting church, and just sort of "slice of life" photos.
Just a quick run down by day.
Arrived late on Sat. afternoon from Ireland. Poked around Conwy. Walked the walls, wandered down by the harbor with a take out sandwich,and happened on Morris dancers performing in the street by the harbor wall.
Sunday: after mass explored some more--castle, Anglican church, The narrowest (littlest)house n Britain (5 min.); merchant's house from Tudor era, a harbor "cruise" in a little putt-putt boat, walked the walls at sunset. By the way, there is a garden in back of the Catholic church with the Stations of the Cross, some set in rocks, if you are into that sort of thing. I found it a peaceful place to gather my thoughts.
Monday: Llandudno (a few minutes on the train) explored a toy museum, took the cable car to the top of the Great Orme, rented a bike for the next few days.
Tuesday: rode the bike to Bodnant Gardens, a true delight-te gardens, not the bike ride. Made it back to Conwy about thirty seconds in front of a heavy rain, which only lasted a little while. Decided to relax and blow myself to an expensive (for me ) supper.
Wednesday: train to Bleau Festiniog and connected to the steam train which connected to a coastal train line. None of the connections took more than a few minutes. Ended in Harlech. The castle there is in a stunning location on a cliff overlooking the ocean. On the way back, stopped in Blenau Festiniog for a visit to the slate mine (no longer in use). We were given hard hats and taken down into the mine where a delightful and informative guide told us the story of slate mining in the area. Back to Conwy and an exploratory bike ride.
Thursday: Train to Bangor (15 min. or so) Explored the cathedral there and its biblical garden, which contained all the plants specifically mentioned in the Bible. They were all labeled and I found it interesting to see some of the plants I had not seen in real life before. Took the bus back towards Conwy and got off to visit Penrhyn Castle. The castle is a nineteenth century erection by a man who had made his pile in coal. Interesting look at life of the times and there was an interesting doll and dollhouse collection. Back to Conwy by fourish and went for a short bike ride in the surrounding countryside.
Friday: train to Bangor and then a bus to Beaumaris, another of Edward I's castles complete with moat. Then bus back to Bangor and another bus to Caernarvon. Also visited remains of a Roman camp outside of the town. Walked out and back. Came home to hotel, where I had a excellent meal. Wandered the town for one last look with evening sunset for some great pictures.
Saturday: packed up and checked out. The hotel let me leave my bag there while I returned the bike to Llandudno. Rode it over, a few interesting pictures on the way, and a short visit to the beach. Came back on the train, picked up my bag, and train to Holyhead to catch ferry back to Ireland.
Ferry left midafternoon, so I used the couple of hours to explore Holyhead, an interesting church, and just sort of "slice of life" photos.
Mar 10th, 2013, 12:41 PM
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Irishface you did wonderfully here without your own vehicle. I can see straight away that by being willing to change buses you saw Beaumaris castle which otherwise is not on a direct bus route from Conwy.
On this basis Conwy was a very central place to stay.
Kelsey what do you want to see and where in Wales do you want to go?
On this basis Conwy was a very central place to stay.
Kelsey what do you want to see and where in Wales do you want to go?
Mar 10th, 2013, 01:25 PM
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Hello Kelsey
I live on the Isle of Anglesey (just 60 miles East of Dublin or 100 West of Liverpool) and I would advise having a car if you wished to see much of Wales - especially any sights or places outside of the cities and towns. I assume that you may not have an open-ended time period to tour the whole of Wales. However, if you have all the time in the world, or you plan to stick to a specific area (or a limited number of places each to act a a hub for a number of days) then you might be able to organise a successful tour of those parts of Wales without a car.
It is important to realise that although Wales is a small nation it is still a sparsely populated country with much of the population mainly confined to narrow coastal belts in both the North and South. Because of the mountainous topography the transport systems across the country (especially between the North & South) are not good and other than an express coach between those two areas (takes a full day one way) there is no direct transport such as a railway; instead the rail journey from say Holyhead or Bangor to Cardiff/South Wales takes a long detour into England and then southwards to Cardiff. It is often easier and quicker to to get to London by rail. Oh! I forgot we do have one other direct transport link - an air service between Anglesey (RAF Vally/Anglesey Airport) and Cardiff twice daily each way. I have checked flights available in June with present fares around £30 each way (but these can rise to £60 each way if not booked well ahead)and here is the link: http://www.citywing.com/cgi-bin/airkiosk/I7/81015lfa.
Local travel is by way of bus mostly with a rail service along the North and South coasts some of which are long-distance express limited stops. An example of bus schedules from my seaside holiday resort village (Rhosneigr, LL64 5XB on Google Earth) is 2 routes (one to Holyhead and the other to Llangefni) with 2 hourly services between 8am and c4pm. Hence, to minimise time-wasting a car would be adviseable - especially if your time is limited. To get to any rural sights - and much of Wales's sights are rural - Mount Snowdon (Eryri in Welsh),the underground slate mines and quarries, ancient archaelogical sites (Anglesey has the highest density of bronze-age sites in Europe) a car would be best.
If on the other hand you are a keen hiker/walker then you could confine your visit to a specific area such as the Isle of Anglesey and tackle the 200Km/127 mile Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path which might take 7 days and pre-book overnight B&B or camping for each end-of-day. If you carried your own tent & cooking kit etc. you could probably ask a nearby farm for permission to stay overnight and maybe obtain water and access to toilet - but you would need to be used to that style of holidaying and be very adaptable.
Some websites that might be helpful:
http://www.visitanglesey.co.uk/en-GB/home-1.aspx
http://www.visitwales.co.uk/
http://www.anglesey.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/
http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/Home.aspx
http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/
http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/
I do hope some of the above is helpful. Feel free to ask for more information which I would be happy to help find for you where possible.
Wales is well worth visiting and Anglesey is on the direct route to the Ferries between UK & Ireland (Dublin).
James
I live on the Isle of Anglesey (just 60 miles East of Dublin or 100 West of Liverpool) and I would advise having a car if you wished to see much of Wales - especially any sights or places outside of the cities and towns. I assume that you may not have an open-ended time period to tour the whole of Wales. However, if you have all the time in the world, or you plan to stick to a specific area (or a limited number of places each to act a a hub for a number of days) then you might be able to organise a successful tour of those parts of Wales without a car.
It is important to realise that although Wales is a small nation it is still a sparsely populated country with much of the population mainly confined to narrow coastal belts in both the North and South. Because of the mountainous topography the transport systems across the country (especially between the North & South) are not good and other than an express coach between those two areas (takes a full day one way) there is no direct transport such as a railway; instead the rail journey from say Holyhead or Bangor to Cardiff/South Wales takes a long detour into England and then southwards to Cardiff. It is often easier and quicker to to get to London by rail. Oh! I forgot we do have one other direct transport link - an air service between Anglesey (RAF Vally/Anglesey Airport) and Cardiff twice daily each way. I have checked flights available in June with present fares around £30 each way (but these can rise to £60 each way if not booked well ahead)and here is the link: http://www.citywing.com/cgi-bin/airkiosk/I7/81015lfa.
Local travel is by way of bus mostly with a rail service along the North and South coasts some of which are long-distance express limited stops. An example of bus schedules from my seaside holiday resort village (Rhosneigr, LL64 5XB on Google Earth) is 2 routes (one to Holyhead and the other to Llangefni) with 2 hourly services between 8am and c4pm. Hence, to minimise time-wasting a car would be adviseable - especially if your time is limited. To get to any rural sights - and much of Wales's sights are rural - Mount Snowdon (Eryri in Welsh),the underground slate mines and quarries, ancient archaelogical sites (Anglesey has the highest density of bronze-age sites in Europe) a car would be best.
If on the other hand you are a keen hiker/walker then you could confine your visit to a specific area such as the Isle of Anglesey and tackle the 200Km/127 mile Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path which might take 7 days and pre-book overnight B&B or camping for each end-of-day. If you carried your own tent & cooking kit etc. you could probably ask a nearby farm for permission to stay overnight and maybe obtain water and access to toilet - but you would need to be used to that style of holidaying and be very adaptable.
Some websites that might be helpful:
http://www.visitanglesey.co.uk/en-GB/home-1.aspx
http://www.visitwales.co.uk/
http://www.anglesey.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/
http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/Home.aspx
http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/
http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/
I do hope some of the above is helpful. Feel free to ask for more information which I would be happy to help find for you where possible.
Wales is well worth visiting and Anglesey is on the direct route to the Ferries between UK & Ireland (Dublin).
James
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