Top 5 Things to Do in Wales

Top 5 Things to Do in Wales

1.  Castles Castles Castles and more Castles.  Wales has more castles than any other country I think!  From fully refurbished and decorated to just the outline of what once was, they seem to be down every long road and well worth the hunt for them, we made it into a game to see how many signs we could find.  Being there takes you so far back into time you can almost hear the trumpets and footfalls.  The heraldry accompanied by the clang and click of metal everywhere.  We were thankful that we could not smell what it was truly like but what a romantic place viewed from the future.  Some of these castle under went huge battles and sieges.  Pembroke Castle is a great example and well worth the visit!

IMG_4661 IMG_4666IMG_4517

2.  Beaches and Gorgeous countrysides – Great beaches with the most incredible low tides ever.  Miles of low tide make for great beach walking and countrysides with color that is hard to believe.  The land is still mostly owned by Barons but many years ago an agreement was reached between the commoners and the lords that the lands would be open to passage and grazing so it tends to stay lovely and usable by all.  Really cool idea.  If it was in America it would have long since been subdivided and turned into suburbia and shopping malls!

rhossilibay1IMG_3154IMG_4834IMG_4572

3.  St. David’s Cathedral, A beautiful drive out to the westward point in Wales but amazingly quaint town and then Holy Wow!  They built this abbey down in a valley so the Vikings could not see it to plunder from the Sea, it’s that old!!  Really incredible architecture and the ceilings and floors are still intact and it it still in service.  Don’t forget to go to the artifact room where they have some of the original saxon staffs and a timeline that goes back to 500ad.  That is only 150 or so years after the Bible was written!

IMG_4389 IMG_4406 IMG_4412 IMG_4421

4.  Great old pubs with historical charm, grabbing a pint and getting to feel history.  Wondering how many others have come thru the doors and sat at the same fireplace 100s of years before.  History and Ale!  Naught more need be said!

1271167_10202140817350969_1459358125_o 1264732_10202140728228741_1617205049_o 1268256_10202140784390145_1019593209_o 1293042_10202072073992428_206675810_o

5.  The Abbey in Wye Valley and Dylan Thomas Boathouse Regions.  Both tranquil and beautiful.  Really wonderful places to visit and walk.

IMG_4610 IMG_4620 IMG_4621IMG_4590IMG_4585

Hanging With the Welsh Coastal Locals!

Hanging With the Welsh Coastal Locals!

Sun came out so we did too, ha ha! Port Eynon for mussels and traditional Welsh Cawl(soup). Pretty place off the beaten path.

Winding roads to get there and Amazing amounts of locals camping out for a 3 day holiday weekend (which is quite frequent in the UK).  Not a lot to do other than beach.  This is for sand pales and sun bathing with a few restaurants thrown in and clean beach bathrooms nothing much else.  But it was fun and sunny.

Previously however, this area was quite the hot bed of activity with “supposed” smuggler/pirate caves dug under the town under to the sea for quick get aways.  WW2 this was a well hidden secret of shipping soldiers to practice storming the beaches before D-Day and Normandy.  Not many photos and history as it was all kept very top secret.

Like all of Wales, HUGE tidal shifts from low to high, so before you head off, check the tide charts or you may find it way way out like we did which is great for beach combing.

How Many Castles Can You See In One Day?

How Many Castles Can You See In One Day?

11270492_10205540837634407_5374144839545618482_o11224563_10205540880435477_7939926104678096255_o10861042_10205540861635007_3894529585462989289_o10397040_10205540839594456_520537319839199093_o11270492_10205540837634407_5374144839545618482_o11219488_10205563788888174_6917594149634330725_o11053264_10205571165432583_6760235716583176191_oIMG_4634 Our last castle for the day but we saw a total of 8-9, we lost count all in one day!  Other than Scotland, I am thinking Wales has the most castles anywhere!  If the google search is correct, Wales is THE capital of castles in all of Europe with 600.  So I guess we didn’t even begin to see them all!

Its good to plan your trip with the most famous/largest but along the way to those,  be on the look out for the road markers that say Castle and be prepared to stop on a turn and find ones that don’t rank for the maps!    What a great day of finding all we could but we missed quite a few too! ( 591!)11053264_10205571165432583_6760235716583176191_o10861127_10205540842114519_3779102957717977307_o