My husband and I have been to London. Now, we don't know where our next adventure should be. Any thoughts on North Wales? Bath? York? All of the above? We are leisurely sightseers. We like to plant ourselves in fewer locations rather than power travel and change hotels often. A few hotel changes over two-three weeks is acceptable. I think our next venture will be two weeks long.
Posted by
2405 posts
You need to state your preferred mode of travel. If you choose to hire a car, people will suggest more remote locations. Time of year would also be useful.
Posted by
OP
Central Florida
484 posts
It would be a family trip. No late nights at pubs - darn. Summer time travel. Prefer buses and trains over car rental. Thanks. Husband is also interested in Dartmoor area.
Posted by
2405 posts
Wales has lovely scenery - both inland and along most of the coast. Unfortunately, away from the north Wales coastal strip and in the more populated south, public transport is not that brilliant. I would say that having a car is almost essential.
South Devon has much better public transport though I do not like some of the places such as Torquay. Totnes is one place in south Devon that is reasonably attractive and being on a main line railway (to Cornwall), does have excellent transport links. It also has a ferry services down the river to Dartmouth. Salcombe - a very attractive estuary town can also be reached by bus via Kingsbridge.
Dartmoor is not far away and you could get there from Totnes by taking the short train journey to Newton Abbott and then use this bus service:>http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/visiting/vi-planningyourvisit/vi-gettingarounddartmoor
http://www.totnesinformation.co.uk
http://www.southhams.com
You could also use the train service to reach The Eden Project in Cornwall - with a bus link.http://www.edenproject.com/visit-us/directions/by-bus-or-train
&/OR take the train to Looe in Cornwall - > http://www.visit-southeastcornwall.co.uk
Exeter could also be a day out :http://www.heartofdevon.com/exeter/ Teignmouth or Dawlish are also easy to reach but you must use a stopping train.
Train schedules here:> www.nationalrail.co.uk
http://www.carfreedaysout.com/roving.html
(NOTE that it sometimes works out cheaper to buy split tickets for certain routes. Devon to Cheltenham or Cardiff would often be cheaper by splitting the ticket at Taunton even though you stay on the same train).
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk
Bath can also be used as a hub but the main thing against it is that accommodation is likely to be expensive. By train you can make day trips to Oxford, Cardiff, Salisbury (use shuttle bus link to Stonehenge), or take the slow train to the seaside at Weymouth - though I do not rate Weymouth highly. You can also go by local bus to Wells. This local tour company seems to have good ratings:>
http://www.madmaxtours.co.uk
http://visitbath.co.uk
Cheltenham is another place that you could consider as a hub as it has excellent rail services as well as local buses to the Cotswolds.
Cardiff, Bath, Birmingham, Chepstow (Castle) and the Wye Valley (Tintern), Hereford & Ludlow can all be relatively easily reached by public transport - mainly trains. However, you would not have time to visit everything in the Cardiff area on a day trip so Cardiff might be the better bet for a base.
http://www.visitcheltenham.com
So, considering Cardiff. (Bath is 1 hour by train. Train can also be used to reach Chepstow & then local bus to Tintern but you may prefer to use the 'See Wales Tours'). You could also take a train to Abergavenny - then bus to Brecon & then another bus back to Cardiff (or vice versa). Such a route would be partly in the Brecon Beacons National Park. http://www.breconbeacons.org
www.visitcardiff.com
www.cardiffcastle.com
http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/stfagans/ (Bus 32 / 320)
www.museumwales.ac.uk/cardiff
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/castell-coch/?lang=en
http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/caerphilly-castle/?lang=en
This tour company also has good reviews > http://www.seewales.com
This site will help you find local buses:>http://www.transportdirect.info/web2/home.aspx?abandon=true&repeatingloop=Y
If you do wish to consider north Wales, then Conwy or Llandudno is probably your best bet due to good transport links. Use this link for buses into the scenic Snowdonia National Park:>http://www.gwynedd.gov.uk/gwy_doc.asp?doc=25961&Language=1&p=1&c=0
You can easily travel by direct train from London or Cardiff to north Wales. Manchester is the nearest airport for north Wales.
http://www.visitwales.com
/www.visitllandudno.org.uk