250 years ago, William Gilpin wrote Britain’s first travel guidebook. But it wasn’t dedicated to London or another major city. Instead it was the Wye Valley, on the border of England and Wales, which caught his, and the public’s,…
Browsing Tag
Wales
I love a good train trip and have travelled by rail across Europe and beyond. But there are plenty of fantastic rail adventures close to home in the UK too, from Cornish coastal trains to the wild Scottish highlands.…
Although I love travelling the world, there’s no place like home, and try to get out and explore as much of my own country as I do others. For a small place, Britain really packs a lot in. Within…
South Wales was where I spend my first holidays – long beach days of sandcastle-building, rock-pooling and ice-cream eating. But this part of Wales isn’t just about the beautiful beaches, it’s got plenty of historical, cultural and literary sights…
In South Wales, close to the English border, there’s a small town that’s become a big hit with food lovers. Abergavenny hosts Wales’ biggest food festival in September, with hundreds of stalls and over 30,000 visitors. Food is to…
As Wales’ first National Park and the third most popular National Park in Britain, Snowdonia is something special. It stretches over 827 square miles of unspoilt scenery with rocky mountains, clear lakes and thick forests. It has plants and…
I have to admit a weakness for those property renovation TV show like Homes Under the Hammer, where people buy up old houses and do them up. They always make me want to have a go myself. But Wern…
If you like a scenic train ride, then you’ll be in heaven in North Wales. The region has something like 14 different heritage railways – narrow-gauge, steam, miniature and trams – and that’s before you get to the mainline…
It was a picture straight out of an Italian holiday brochure. Clear blue sky, a shimmering Mediterranean sea, tropical flowers, pastel coloured buildings, tourists eating cones of gelato, and the lilting tones of… Welsh? Yes in reality this classic…
Perched on top of a rocky crag and towering over the North Wales countryside, Harlech Castle is one of the country’s most impressive medieval castles. It was built by Edward I in the 13th century during his invasion of…
The Welsh city of Cardiff is Europe’s youngest capital, with a great mix of history and culture, from ancient castles to Cardiff Bay’s modern architecture and into the future as the home of TV’s Doctor Who. You’re spoilt for…
Taking the train is one of the most relaxing ways to travel, and the UK has some spectacular train routes – travelling over historic viaducts in the Scottish Highlands, weaving through the cliffs on the Cornish coast, crossing the…