Discovering Wales
21-25 MAY 2015
DAY 1
London - Oxford - Cotswald - Coventry
The first real English trip. We leave London heading north and make a short stop in Oxford, browsing the college courts and walking distractedly through the quiet streets of the city. The first real destination are the picturesque villages of the Cotswolds, a series of small towns characterized by a uniform rural architecture typical of the elegant English countryside. Sand-coloured stone houses, wooden or stone roofs, small independent cottages dotting cobbled streets connected by stone bridges over quiet streams. These villages are all similar, but at the same time each has its own particular character. There are three centres we have visited: Burford, Stow on the Wold and Chipping Campden. It's about parking your car and taking a stroll through the open courtyards, inns and small shops, in a pleasantly quiet atmosphere.
Part of the Cotswalds, but very different in size, is the town of Stratford upon Avon. Our opinion is that there is not much special to observe, and the fame, which attracts many tourists here, is given exclusively by the opportunity to visit the place that gave birth to Shakespeare. The urban agglomeration is more anonymous in comparison to the other villages that we have crossed, but making a walk some ancient building with wooden lattices appear between the impersonal neighborhoods.
We sleep in Coventry visiting a friend. The city offers no attractions, except for the gutted Cathedral, whose walls have remained standing in the city centre.
DINNER: Habibi
DAY 2
Coventry - Bangor
The next morning we hike through the parks around Coventry, and visit Warwick Castle. The castle itself doesn't have much to offer, but the location in the green English countryside is a positive note. In the afternoon we leave again to reach the north of Wales.
We go down to stretch our legs after 3 hours of travel, in the tiny village of Betsw-y-Coed, a cluster of very elegant stone houses that rise behind a stream. We then make a detour, on the way to Bangor, to the island of Anglesey, arriving just in time for sunset at the Holyhead Lighthouse. A few white houses around the lighthouse dot the remote promontory in the middle of the sea, immersed in the pinkish atmosphere of twilight. Passing just for curiosity through the Guinness World Record county for the longest name in the world, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobllantysiliogogogoch, we arrive at our hotel, an expensive and not too welcoming Inn in Bangor.
HOTEL: Eryl Mor Hotel
DAY 3
Bangor - Aberaeron
Bad English style breakfast in the hotel, and we get back on the road. We visit the town of Caernarfon, a pleasant location with a castle overlooking the sea, and then we look for a suitable starting point to make a day of trekking on the second highest mountain in the United Kingdom, the Snowdon, which with its just 1,086 meters high, was little more than a hill to climb over for Nic, but still something fair to do.
The walk lasts a total of 7 hours; we begin to climb with the sun, and we arrive at the top surrounded by a variable blanket of fog. I cheer up myself with an excellent salty pastry that we buy in the uninviting restaurant of the refuge which is located at the top of the mountain, where there is also a cable car.
We arrive late in the evening in our second accommodation in Aberaeron, an extremely nice marina, surrounded by colorful houses, a bit 'off by rain and fog. Our hotel is an Inn upstairs of a pub. We dine in the pub, and in the morning we enjoy a great full English breakfast, complete with everything.
HOTEL: The Monachty
DAY 4
Aberaeron - St. Davids - Pembroke
The day's plan is for a walk along the south coast of Wales, in Pembrokshire National Park, with the hope of seeing seals and puffins, but such a thick fog suddenly descends that the first attempt ends in an unidentified place where the fog do not allow us to see a meter from the car. The second unsuccessful attempt dies in a desolate beach where we can not see a shadow of animals but only children in rubber boots happy to splash around in the lagoon, and the third leads us to a delightful city center, St. David’s, built around a beautiful cathedral and surrounded by a park.
From St. David’s we venture to the coast with the intention of taking a walk of a couple of hours. The cliff is exceptional, the water of a wonderful emerald color, worthy of the most beautiful seaside resorts, and the walk is very pleasant, thanks to the sun that has finally decids to shine. The walk ends up lasting more than 4 hours, and without seeing any animal of course, except for a group of white horses in the wild walking on the cliff.
We arrive in the middle of the evening in Pembroke, later than expected, and after being refused by all the pubs in the city, all full, we manage to eat a roastbeef accompanied by giant pudding and an exceptional chicken with Stilton and bacon in a hotel restaurant not far from our accommodation, booked through Airbnb.
DINNER: The Coach House Hotel
DAY 5
Pembroke - Cardiff - Bath - London
On the way back, at the end of our short trip, we stop for lunch in Cardiff, which we were advised not being special to visit by friends and colleagues. We can confirm that it is not worth spending much time, other than enough time to satisfy the curiosity of having visited the capital of Wales. Among the participants in a vintage festival dressed as Elvis, and an exaggerated box of fish & chips to take away that we enjoyed sitting on the pier, we briefly visit the center and resume our journey.
We stop again for a quick visit in Bath, a majestic town not far from the Welsh border, which revolves around the famous Roman baths and boasts elegant 18th century buildings. It's a pleasant walk, and we've preferred the quiet secondary residential neighborhoods rather than the downtown area, which is far too crowded.
This content is NOT SPONSORED, but based on my genuine personal experience. Spontaneous opinions, positive and negative, shareable or not, that I hope will help to live better travel experiences. My advice is a guide to lead you through world explorations, but the real journey, you build it!
