Wales in July

Proximity to Cardiff isn't much of an issue since you can drive all the way up to Caernarfon in three hours. What kind of walking you want to do is, so is what the others are going to do, etc. How far can you walk in day? Can you handle elevation change, or do you want mostly flat? Will somebody drop you off and pick you up or do you have to hump it to the coast as well? How many days do you want to walk? How close do the others have to be for activites while you walk - - you can wear out the small villages in a day? What if the weather turns to worms - - will you keep on huffing along or do you need to have a village within an hour to pop into?

Hi Ed, Proximity to Cardiff is not our goal. I'm just saying for logistical reasons that is likely where we will meet up with our other party to begin our week. I'm open to staying anywhere in the country, but at the end of the week need to be able to fly home to Seattle without too much logistical torture. We plan to walk parts of the Wales Coast Trail, which apparently has recently been pretty much connected along the entire coast of Wales. Flat, elevation change, doesn't much matter. Probably won't walk every day, but on any given day could walk 5-15 miles. We are looking for a home base location (which could either be a full week rental or 2 rentals of 3-4 days each) so that we are not schlepping our stuff. Will have a car. If weather turns to worms, it will be a nice comfy day (or 2 or 3 or...) inside our rental. So my main question is, where would be a good place to spend a week (or alternatively 3-4 days X 2) in Wales that is within a reasonable drive to the coast? As stated in my original post, we prefer a town/village setting that has services etc. Thanks for your reply.

Th All Wales Coast Path pretty much runs from Prestatyn in the north to Laughame in the south. It still has gaps - - and I don't know where they all are. I've driven the whole coast a bunch of times. I've walked most of the Pembrokshire Coast Path, but still haven't done the part south of Pembroke Dock despite a couple of tries that got rained out. I've also walked a few fifty-mile, scattered stretches in various areas along the western coast. Twenty-five miles a day is about right for me, but thirty starts to suck (I'm getting a bit long in the tooth). Take my ideas with a shaker of salt. Most people seem to think the area around Cardigan Bay is the most spectacular. The problem is that there isn't that much around for the non-walkers. For the benefit of the whole group, I'd suggest the Lleyn Peninsuala and probably staying in Pwllheli. It's enough of a town to be interesting and you've got all the trails on the south side of the peninsula at your doorstep and the ones on the north side are only maybe a fifteen minute drive. On non-walking days, you have Harlech (arguably tied with Chevalier as the best castle in the world) to the south and Caernarfon castle even closer to the north. Caernarfon is the larger, more interesting town. The problem for you is that , in this area, you're almost four hours from Cardiff. In the same area, Porthmagdog would be my second choice of a place to stay. The other two options would be Pembroke Dock or Aberystwyth, both about two hours from Cardiff. Both are pretty good towns, but I like Aberystwyth better. From the latter, walking in either direction would be okay, from the former I'd walk south (probably because I haven't).

If you get voted down and wind up staying closer to Cardiff, there's two good trails. Both start at Chepstow (which is another great castle). I've done bits of the Wye Valley Walk. I've been chipping away at the Offa's Dyke Path for years, but never finished it since I keep wandering off on tangents. Here's the scoop on the All Wale Coast Path: http://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=All+Wales+Coast+Path I'm a dud on places to rent for a week, but if you googled something like 'holiday cottage wales' you should come up with something.

Ed, thanks for all your suggestions. I've been researching the areas you mentioned, plus some others, as well as looking into what's available as a self-catering home for a week. Current leading contender is a house in Saundersfoot, between Amroth and Tenby (and amidst a bunch of caravan parks, I've read). Is that a decent location (specific rental notwithstanding), or would you advise looking elsewhere? Thanks much,
Mike

There's nothing wrong with a caravan park, it's just another type of vacation home. Some move, others are pretty well anchored. Anyway, it's not something Tennessee Williams would write about. I think Saundersfoot would be a great place, but I've only driven there and looked around the little recreational boat harbor, had a beer, etc. Pembroke Dock would be your major town and it's maybe ten miles away (twenty minutes ?). Remember, this is the part of the Pembroke that I clearly disclosed I haven't walked yet so I can't speak to what the path is like along there.