5 days driving in south Wales

Bath seems like the better choice for both picking up and returning the car. If you rent in Cardiff, would there be an extra charge to return the car in Bath? And if you both picked up and returned the car in Cardiff, then you’d need to get to Bath for the tour, whatever that would cost, on whatever schedule you’d need to determine.

If the tour starts in Bath it makes sense to me to pick up and drop off the car in Bath. Bath isn’t far from the border and it’s an easy drive. Depending on where you intend to visit, driving time differences are pretty insignificant. For example, going to Tintern Abbey is only a few minutes longer from Bath than Cardiff.

Another option would be to pick up the vehicle at Heathrow and drop it off in Bath. Bath is only about 2 hours driving from LHR; traffic, weather, and construction dependent.

Driving after an overnight flight isn’t recommended. Some people can do it while others better stay off the road.

If you are actually planning to stay in Cardiff, a car could be a nuisance. The heart of the city has pedestrianised streets and surrounding this ‘core' are roads with traffic & restrictions such as bus lanes and parking can be expensive. Road works are also taking place on the south side of the city centre in order to lay tram-lines.

So, arriving by train into Cardiff Central and having a downtown hotel makes things easier. You can still get out to *St.Fagans Castle/Museum by Cardiff Bus 32 (not Sundays) or take a local train for the 20 minute ride to Caerphilly to see the castle. Castell Coch would be easier with a car as from the bus stop in Tongwynlais it is a 17 minute walk up a hill.

However, if not planning to visit Cardiff, you could rent a car at Heathrow or Bath and drive over the M48 Severn Bridge and head for Chepstow to see the castle and then up the A466 to Tintern Abbey (ruin). Consider heading north towards Monmouth & then westward towards Brecon through lovely countryside using the A40. (Raglan Castle is on this route but beware of complicated road configuration). https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com
Brecon area = https://bannaubrycheiniog.org

If you have a car, consider staying on the edge of the city at a hotel with free parking. Radyr station on the northern edge of Cardiff has a large free car park for train passengers. Local Metro trains are very few minutes into the city centre.

If you want a bit of coastal scenery in SE Wales, pop down to Southerndown which is about a 40 minute drive SW of Cardiff. (Even better coastal scenery can be found on the Gower peninsula - which is west of Swansea - aim for Rhosilli ).
Gower >https://www.visitwales.com/destinations/west-wales/swansea-bay/exploring-gower-peninsula

• St.Fagans Castle - really a 1500’s Manor House - is undergoing renovations (2026). The ground floor is still open to the public but the building is covered with scaffolding / plastic. However, the site is still worth visiting to see the historic farmhouses etc. in the grounds.

Thanks for your responses!
After checking things out a bit more I believe that car rental in Bristol will be better as far as car selection and is a little closer to Wales than Bath. So train from LHR to Bristol, spend the night, pick up car and head for Wales. Spend 4 days, return car in Bristol and train to Bath on the morning of day five to begin the RS tour.

Where in Bristol do you plan to pick up the car? There is an Enterprise directly opposite Temple Meads station which would be convenient.

I don’t know if you’ll be arriving on a weekend or weekday but expect heavy rush hour traffic in the centre of Bristol.

Enterprise have an office in Bath and their car selection seems to be as good as Bristol's - and it would avoid the heavy traffic of Bristol