Wales Etc For Uk Visitors

[pagetheoracle]

 

For anybody visiting the UK, I cannot praise Wales enough, scenery wise.

Around Swansea's The Gower Peninsula is Three Cliffs Bay, consisting of stepping stones across a small stream, a sandy beach, a marsh behind that with a castle ruin on the hill above and a small natural arch, plus a rock pool on the seaward side that you can bathe in.  In the Upper the Vale of Neath is the famous waterfall walk, where four rivers come together (Hepste, Felltre, Pentre and Taff) to create about a dozen falls of varying sizes, from ten to ninety feet high: Included in this is a curtain waterfall, The Gladys Falls, which is supposed to be the most beautiful in Wales (Don't visit during a dry spell or you'll see The Wizard of Oz but not the mighty fall!). At Ystradglynais, further up the valley, a river disappears into a cave only to reappear half a mile downstream.

At Tenby The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path starts. It is a quaint town made more so by the old town walls (crenellated like a castle but not very high off the ground). The cliffs are a sheer drop and if you follow them round you'll end up at The Lattice Windows, a natural stone formation that you'd expect to see in a cave, not the open landscape. Beyond this is Barafundle Bay, a National Trust property, with a wall at one end and a small grove of conifer trees at the far end (nice beach in between). Following the shore line, you come to Bosherston Lily ponds – artificial but attractive despite this. Getting back to the coast, you come to Stackpole Head with its collapsed caves, stack rock and stone window (not as attractive as The Lattice Window). Moving on along the rugged coastline, you come to a dayglo tank (if still there) at Castlemartin Tank Range and beyond that the trio of The Elegug Stacks, covered in a fine layer of nesting seabirds, The Devil's Cauldron (a collapsed cavern, with crashing waves below, spraying you with foam on a good? / bad day?) and The Green Bridge of Wales, a sea arch to rival the more famous Dorset's, Durdle's Door. Inland is Pembroke castle, home to Henry VII, with a fine keep and positioned well for a fortress.

In Mid-Wales lies Cadair Idris, Wales's second highest peak after Snowdon. When I first came upon it, it was at dusk and it resembled a great big tidal wave. As I moved towards it, I came upon the first glow worms I'd ever seen, which was magical. The following day I went up The Shepherds track, which was a steep path up the sheerest face of the mountain. At the top was a small pool that legend has it, contains a lake monster. Also in this area is Pistyll Rhaeadr falls, the highest in Wales at 240 feet, with a natural 'pot' at the bottom, where water bursts out. This is located in what is called The Valley of the Pig in Welsh. Also in this part of the country, is Coed-Y-Brenin or The Kings Forest, which is mostly composed of ancient woodland. Dan-Yr-Ogof*, a vast show cave and supposedly the best in Europe, sits in this part of Wales too.

Moving back to the coast, we have the famous Barmouth Railway, which runs over the Barmouth Estuary, we the sea clearly visible below. We are now in North Wales and the Ffestiniog Narrow Gauge Railway will take you to the slate quarries in the hills (Well worth the trip). Another train journey will take you to Betwys-Y-Coed and The Fairy Glen+, another supposed haunt of a waterhorse, killed by a knight when it got stuck under the humpbacked bridge there (Very atmospheric, with its peat-black waters, white rocks and pots, formed by stones being turned round in small pools, wearing holes in them. The pass walk at Abergynolwen is also worth doing for the mountain scenery. Heading back west, you come to Conway castle and its town walls, plus a railway bridge by Thomas Telford, designed to imitate the castle beside it. There is another ninety foot waterfall near the town, if you're interested. The Great Worms Head at Llandudno is also an attractive view, despite being at the start of a great swathe of holiday parks. Heading west again is Portmeirion, home of the TV show, The Prisoner (well worth a visit, if only for the quirky (deliberately unfinished) architecture. I can't recommend anywhere else in Wales as Snowdon itself is too touristy and Caernarvon Castle not that interesting in my opinion. I also didn't find the Swallow Falls that wonderful or the Devil'd Bridge Falls, you visit by taking a rack and pinion train ride, up a mountain from Aberystwyth , although the Eagle's Gorge there was similar to The Fairy Glen of Betwys-y-Coed.

* Wookey Hole, near Wells in the West Country, is well worth a visit but Cheddar Gorge is disappointing because some of the larger caves have had their ground surfaces flattened and concrete poured onto them. Smoo Cavern on the north coast of Scotland, is also worth a visit and Cape Wrath nearby has the highest cliffs in mainland Britain but they are sloped, unlike those in Orkney which are higher and steeper.

+ I'd also recommend a visit to St Nectan's Kieve at Tintagel in Cornwall as another interesting little valley with a waterfall, plus the cave under Tintagel itself.

 

[Buffy]

Oh I second this. 

 

Portmeirion is not only famous for The Prisoner, but also it's china: I have a huge set, mostly hauled back on the plane and bought both in Portmeirion as well as their little shop in Kensington in West London.....

 

 

As long as it is what the majority wants. We're democratic. In some ways, :phones:

Buffy

[pagetheoracle]

Oh I second this. 

 

Portmeirion is not only famous for The Prisoner, but also it's china: I have a huge set, mostly hauled back on the plane and bought both in Portmeirion as well as their little shop in Kensington in West London.....

 

 

As long as it is what the majority wants. We're democratic. In some ways, :phones:

Buffy

I've got a Prisoner mug made by them "Questions are burden to others - answers a prison for oneself." Didn't know about The Kensington Shop.