JanisJ, Fra Diavolo, AnnHig and others:

Thanks for your prior suggestions. I've done some additional research, and have narrowed my questions.

My wife and I are still plan on returning to Southampton from a cruise on July 1 at about 6:00 AM. I assume that we can disembark and be at the Train station by about 9:00 AM. I will follow suggestions, and take the Train to Bristol instead of Cardiff. I'll rent a car for a few days in Bristol, and should be able to reach Cardiff about 1:00 or so on the 1st. We plan on staying in a City Centre Hotel, and plan on looking around Cardiff on the 1st. We plan on spending either the second or the third in the Brecon Beacons, I love waterfalls, but not long hikes to waterfalls. I'm 64, and am now limited to walking a few miles max on relatively good paths, after which I need a rest. I'm thinking of Penpych waterfall and the Eldir trail. They claim that the Eldir Trail has 4 nice waterfalls and is relatively easy. I know different people have different views of what's easy or not. I Invite suggestions on other things to do in the Brecon Beacons that don't involve hiking. Carreg Cennen Castle? Lyn y Fan Fach? Thoughts?

Whichever day we don't go to the Brecon Beacons, I'm thinking about heading East to near the Border. Stop on the way at Caerphilly, then go to some combination of Caerlon, Chepstow Castle, Tintern Abbey, and the market towns of Abergavenny and/or Monmouth. We like walking around and shopping/eating at old market towns. Thoughts/suggestions?

We'll spend the morning and afternoon on the 4th back in Cardiff, and then return the car to Bristol. We were planning on taking the train from Bristol to Heathrow, but there are no non-stop trains, and booking a towncar from Bristol to Heathrow appears to be only about 20 pounds more than buying two train tickets, and we don't have to worry about missing an 18 minute connection. Thoughts? We'll spend that night at a Heathrow Airport hotel, and leave in the Morning to return to the USA.

Any other thoughts or advice? I love this forum, as the people here are so helpful.

Thanks.

Just two very quick comments (heading out to an NBA playoff game we absolutely HAVE to win )

• I personally would not stay IN Cardiff if I had a car. Since you will have one you can stay anywhere and there is no necessity do drive in the city centre. I'd stay Somewhere in the countryside. If you wanted to visit central Cardiff you can use a park-n-ride where you park and take a bus into the city. There are several depending on which direction you are staying out of Cardiff. I'd be looking for a village B&B

• There is a National Express coach from Bristol to LHR which runs 10-14 times a day. Fare is probably between £15 and £20

Thank you Janis.