Where to go in Wales

Epburpee

Epburpee

Epburpee

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I am trying to arrange a trip for next weekend and Id like to go somewhere in Wales.
Looking for some nice walks. Not massive hikes though. And would be be good to explore a town or city.
I looked at getting a train to Bangor because it was the nearest place to the 'Black Lake' which I thought
might be cool to visit, but it was just the first place I looked at. There's loads of scenic places I could go,
and mainly I just want to walk around, see some landscapes and chill.
Its just a three day trip. Anyone got any recommendations?
 
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Epburpee said:
The weather is not looking good for next weekend, so we'll scrap that.
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Risky planning technical hikes at this time of year in Wales, but there's gentler walks, providing weather is decent. On the point about weather, we're still a fair few days out, so next weekend's can still change at the moment.

For recommendations, if weather is decent, I did the Iolo Morganwg Heritage Walk a few years ago, which was lovely. This is in South Wales though, but it starts in the town of Cowbridge and takes in its the surrounding fields and wooded paths. Reasonably gentle terrain. 6.5 miles, but I think there's a shorter option of around 4.5 miles too.

Lots of fascinating history and places of interest to explore on that walk. There's a PDF guide that you can download from this website, which has a map of the walk and lots of useful information:

visitthevale.com

Vale Trail 9 | Walks in the Vale of Glamorgan

Old Hall Gardens, Cowbridge. CF71 7AH. Grid ref SS994747
visitthevale.com visitthevale.com
 
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These places look great. The Iolo Morganwg Heritage Walk is
the sort of thing I was after.
I think i will go somewhere nearer and cheaper next weekend and go to Wales another time,
have been meaning to go for a while. Would love to have a longer trip to explore Snowdonia.
 
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Weather is all part and parcel of the fun of Wales.

Unfortunately can't really recommend much as when we go we usually go to hike.
 
Rroff said:
Weather is all part and parcel of the fun of Wales.

Unfortunately can't really recommend much as when we go we usually go to hike.
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Would that involve a day of hiking up hills and valleys, and then returning somewhere to stay, or do you camp out?
Can you recommend a couple of hikes?
 
Nabinium said:
For recommendations, if weather is decent, I did the Iolo Morganwg Heritage Walk a few years ago, which was lovely. This is in South Wales though, but it starts in the town of Cowbridge and takes in its the surrounding fields and wooded paths. Reasonably gentle terrain. 6.5 miles, but I think there's a shorter option of around 4.5 miles too.
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Cowbirdge is also a nice little town with some nice shops and a few good places to eat or drink.
 
Brecon is nice, good town to mooch round. Plenty of places to eat & drink as well as some nice walks.
The walk along the river is really nice with a few places to stop off for a cheeky pint.
 
If you want a challenging hike, the Fan Dance is a popular one these days - Up one side of Pen-y-fan, down the other, then back again.
It's one of the routes used by the SAS during their training for Selection, but in recent years a bunch of civvies have started doing it for fun and on sponsored events. Each leg offers a different challenge, depending on which way you're walking it.
 
ttaskmaster said:
If you want a challenging hike, the Fan Dance is a popular one these days - Up one side of Pen-y-fan, down the other, then back again.
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Touching on my post another thread earlier - did a hike just east of there in the summer and being out of condition due to not really getting outdoors since the lockdowns and now the other side of 40 it really hit me compared to before COVID where it would have been a walk in the park.

Also despite walking and running quite a bit in a more gym like context in recent years (my average day is around 20K steps) - that really doesn't condition you for a hike like that.
 
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Precipice walk near Dolgelau fits the bill, easy ish walk with great views. If you feel like something more strenuous then you can also head up Cader Idris, or for something more relaxed visit the pub by Penmaelpool toll bridge, there is a flat walk there all the way to Barmouth down the estuary as well.
 
200sols said:
Precipice walk near Dolgelau fits the bill, easy ish walk with great views. If you feel like something more strenuous then you can also head up Cader Idris, or for something more relaxed visit the pub by Penmaelpool toll bridge, there is a flat walk there all the way to Barmouth down the estuary as well.
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I was scrolling down to recommend the Precipice Walk near Dolgelau but note there are two of them. One officially starts at Nannau (NNE of Dolgelau). There is a car park there, though we started and finished in Dolgelau.

The New Precipice Walk (as labelled on OS maps) is NW of the village of Llaneltyd and also walkable from Dolgelau.

I was also going to recommend the Mawddach Trial as it's an easy, low-level walk if the weather isn't great. We parked in Barmouth and got the bus to Dolgelau. Easy navigation to follow the trail back to Morfa Mawddach station and use the bridge to cross back into Barmouth.
 
Lived in and seen a lot of Wales but one place that took my breath away is https://www.pembrokeshirecoast.wales/ ...

Granted I didn't see much of it as I only explored a small section of it around Lydstep / Shrinkle but would recommend you do Caldey Island whilst you're there, having an island to yourself and free from cars is amazing

I must revisit the main path around the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park free from the family tying me down :D
 
Subliminal Aura said:
Lived in and seen a lot of Wales but one place that took my breath away is https://www.pembrokeshirecoast.wales/ ...

Granted I didn't see much of it as I only explored a small section of it around Lydstep / Shrinkle but would recommend you do Caldey Island whilst you're there, having an island to yourself and free from cars is amazing

I must revisit the main path around the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park free from the family tying me down :D
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I moved to Pembs in 1997 and it is a lovely place the live. Irrespective of season, it's best to pack for all 4 when visiting. :)
 
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park looks amazing. Its a large are too, might be suitable for a longer trip.
Thank you for the recommendations.
 
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