I am looking for suggestions for a route from Salisbury to Conwy. We (wife, 18 y.o. son, and me) will be driving. We usually prefer to take the path less traveled, but have concerns about travel time/distance in the UK. We have all day for this journey. Should we think about going through the Cotwolds, or would a route mostly through Wales be rewarding?
Posted by
Los Angeles, California
1986 posts
Wye valley from Tintern; or up via Cotswolds (briefly), Salisbury Plain; Ledbury along the English side via all the Black and White timbered buildings. You see a variety this way. But lots of places are going to make you want to linger and spend time
Posted by
Camano Island, WA, usa
1518 posts
Stop off in Chester...the drive to Conwy from there is easy. Chester is a walled city with a castle and Roman ruins. Last time we stayed in an old pub just west of the city. Run up to Liverpool for a day. Be sure to go to Betws-y- Coed, Beaumaris, Carnnarfon and Harlech when you are in Wales.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
If you want the scenic, country route, draw a line from Newport to Caernarfon that passes through Landrindod Wells. This cuts across and along the old drovers' trails and is sadly neglected by most tourists. The bad part is you'll miss all the castles. If you can rob an extra day make it a two-day deal and hug the coast clockwise. There's a half-dozen castles that will knock your socks off.
Posted by
Dallas
1022 posts
Bath, Chepstow, a brief stop at the ruin of Tintern Abbey, through the pretty Brecon Beacons via Abergavenny, then up to beautiful Snowdonia finishing at Conwy. It's a long day, probably about 7 hours driving, but feasible.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1068 posts
A propos of nothing, this threas has made me realize how much I MISS WALES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To everyone asking about Scotland, England, and Ireland - think about Wales. It is a GEM. Just gorgeous. Lost my heart there almost 30 years ago, and never got it back. Jeff - all of these suggestions rock.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta
4 posts
Thanks everyone for your help. Ed, I really like the route from Newport to Caernarfon. I'm still concerned about the time, over 5 1/2 hours driving. Landrindod Wells seems like a good place to stop for lunch.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Nice job on the time, Jeff. It's about a hundred and fifty miles or so on narrow, twisting, two-lane, scenic roads. Most people would have guessed some goofy number. You're pretty close. LW makes a good lunch stop, nothing fancy, a couple of good pubs, and a few interesting blocks to walk to stretch you legs. What's going to slow you down a bit is stopping to gape in the two national parks.
Posted by
Atlanta, Ga, USA
2023 posts
If you take the drive that most posters suggested two sights worth a stop are Powis Castle and Bodnant Gardens. We loved staying in Betys-y-coed-a beautiful little town. I highly recommend a well known tea room, Tu Hwnt i'r Bont in Llanrwst. The building is over five hundred years old and the tea room(covered in Virginia Creeper) is a favorite of Prince Charles.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta
4 posts
I thought I would post what route we finally took. The first day of driving in England 2 days earlier was okwe drove from Salisbury to Stonehenge to Avebury to the Uffington White Horse and then back to Salisbury. That convinced me that although I enjoy driving through the countryside on the smaller A & B roads, it would be too long and tiring to go all the way from Salisbury to Conwy in North Wales that way. So we took the most direct route North, A336 out of Salisbury, the A419 to M5/M6, then took the M53 into North Wales. The motorway driving was very similar to driving in the States, and we made good time. We Arrived in Conwy with enough time to walk around the town a bit and have a nice dinner. Thanks for everyone's input. We have decided the next time to stay longer in fewer places (we are calling our trip the Survey of Britain tour).