We're taking a RS Heart of Scotland tour that ends in Edinburgh on May 4 and after that would like to strike out on our own to Wales for about five days. But where to start, and what to see! (I haven't found a tour near that date.) End to end, we'll likely fly in and out of London Heathrow so need to end up somewhere in Wales to catch a train back to London. Thanks for your ideas!
Posted by
1 posts
Hi, I would head from Edinburgh to either Liverpool and/or Chester first, spend a day or so in both. Chester is a lovely historic city very close to the Welsh border.
The Welsh highlights are predominantly along the northern coastline from west of Conwy to Caernarfon, the whole of Snowdonia, then south towards Portmeirion and Harlech. South of Harlech to the southern coastline is less spectacular, less populated but still very worthwhile to visit.
You can travel from Chester to Conwy by train. From Conwy by train as far as Bangor, then bus to Caernarfon. There is a narrow gauge railway from Caernarfon to Porthmadoc - The Welsh Highland Railway, which also connects to the Ffestiniog Railway at Porthmadoc. Trains and buses will get you to Portmeirion and Harlech . Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech have spectacular castles. Snowdonia has rugged mountains including Mount Snowdon with a cog railway all the way to the summit.
If you get as far as Cardiff, you can catch
frequent coaches to Heathrow Airport - National Express Coaches - takes maybe 3 hours and avoids backtracking from London Paddington station.
Posted by
Charleston & Birmingham
4663 posts
Rabbies has a 5 day tour of Wales that leaves on March 5.
Posted by
Kamarooka
457 posts
My favourites from our limited time in Wales.
South Stack including a great lighthouse tour. Great hiking/running trails, fabulous views, lots of seabirds and also old stone hut circles.
Caernarfon. One of the most interesting castles I've visited, nice town too.
Harlech. Terrific castle, but not in the same league as Caernarfon. Nice town, nice beaches.
Crickhowell. Nice little town. Did some enjoyable hiking through the hills, wild Welsh ponies.
Snowdon. I had already run to the summits of Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis so thought I had better get the trifecta. Pretty wild weather, the railway wasn't running because of the 100 plus kph winds. Great views when the clouds broke up. Only went up via main tourist trail from Llanberis. 15 km out and back, about 900 m elevation gain. Decent trail for the most part. Main challenge was the wind knocking me over a few times. Nice pub lunch in Llanberis.
Raglan. Enjoyed exploring the 15th C castle ruin.
Driving through beautiful countryside stopping in little villages where the locals conversed in Welsh rather than English. I
It's a really beautiful tiny little country. I would love to go back and explore more extensively.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2376 posts
Will you have a car or are you wanting to do this using public transport?
What sort of things are you wanting to do and see in Wales?
Are you wanting to stop in a different place each night or pick a couple of places for a 2-3 might stay?