I love the landscapes of Great Britain and the best way to get to know them is to get out of London, the most important city in the kingdom. Beyond England Scotland and Wales are always waiting for visitors to make known not only their beautiful landscapes but their own rich history.
WalesFor example, it is a country that has a coastline on the Irish Sea and is on the same island as Great Britain. Owns wonderful landscapes so now that summer is coming and the weather improves noticeably, it is time to enjoy them. Welsh it is a paradise for hiking, trekking, fishing, boating, mountain biking and mountaineering. Are you a born adventurer? Then, enjoy Wales this summer 2016.
How to go to Wales
Many people visit England and from there decide to spend a few days in Wales, but if you want go directly from Spain you can do it from this spring. Vueling announced direct flights between Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Alicante towards Cardiff. The flights are three times a week: they depart from Malaga on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from Palma on Fridays and Sundays, from Alicante on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and from Barcelona on Fridays and Sundays.
Looking for a flight for the end of July, I find that the outbound trip between Barcelona and Cardiff for Friday July 22 costs 35 euros while returning next week has a cost of 140 euros. Cardiff is the capital and the largest city in Wales. It is in Glamorgan County, overlooks the bay of the same name, and is the largest transportation hub in the country. It has the airport, about 16 kilometers from the center, with only regular buses that make the trip and also with a train service.
The central train station maintains the connection with English cities and allows travel into the interior of Wales. There is also a central bus station used by the medium and long distance buses. Finally, being a coastal city there is an Aquabus service that connects the city with other destinations on the Bristol Channel and surroundings.
Outdoor tourism in Wales
Wales is promoting itself for 2018 so it has decided that from now on each year will be a different theme year. Thus, this is called Year of adventure and as the first edition of this project it was against celebrating Wales as best adventure destination in the UK. 2017 will be the Year of Legends and 2018 the Year of the Sea.
Wales is 273 kilometers from north to south and 96 from east to west with 1200 kilometers facing the sea. It has 641 castles, many! And when you hear Welsh speak, you will feel like you were in another time. Thinking about the summer and accepting the recommendations that the Welsh tourist office itself gives us, here I leave you the best destinations in Wales this summer 2016:
North of Wales is the Sowdonia National Park. It has 2140 square kilometers and 60 kilometers of coastline. It is one of the most visited parks in the UK and the mountains dominate it. It is divided into four mountainous areas and each one offers its own to its visitors. For example, if you like to hike, climb or bike Snowdon is the best mountain. In addition, there is a train that takes you to the top that is beautiful.
The area offers many hiking trailsThere are public roads and although there are agricultural areas one can cross them without problem. The coastal area is protected because it contains a valuable dune system. How do you get there from Cardiff? If your thing is a day trip the best thing is to take a train to Bangor and from there a bus to Llanberis and another to Betws-y-Coed. Not a near destination thus it is never a good idea to try to come and go on the same day. It is convenient to go and spend the night.
From London a train to also takes more than three hours. To stay for the night Betws-y-Coed is a beautiful place so keep that in mind. Another popular park in summer is the Brecon Beacons National Park, South Wales. It is about miles of green, mountains, some caves and streams. Between ponies and sheep one can biking, hiking, horseback riding, canoeing or kayaking, and fishing or surfing on the coast.
If you like to walk there is the Taff trail, which links Brecon with Cardiff and opened in 2005. It can be traveled on foot or by bike and covers a total of 89 kilometers from Cardiff Bay to Brecon following the cause of the river of the same name. Needless to say, it goes through beautiful places. And finally there is the Pembrokshire Coastal National Park. If you like landscapes where the land meets the sea, this will be your best destination.
Sandy beaches, forested estuaries, dramatic hills and cliffsThis is how we can describe this tourist destination in Wales. The coastline has huge rocks, arches, stelae, sea caves, and peninsulas. To enjoy it you must follow the Pembrokshire Coast Path, a National Trail dating from the 70s and runs through 299 kilometers of which almost all are cliff up, going up and down. Amroth and Poppit Sands are at both ends and it is a route that connects with other tourist routes, if you are a fan of hiking.
Some of its beaches are Blue Flag and others have deserved different but equally special mentions. The park also has heritage sites, including the Oentre Ifan tombs dating from the Neolithic, a time when human beings began to settle in a stable way around communities. It is an imposing stone structure. From the Bronze Age is Foel Drygarn, ruins of stone ramps and circles that once formed a fort.
In order not to pollute with fuel vehicles for more than ten years, the workers of the park circulate with electric bikes. On the other hand there are lovely medieval destinations, like the village of Angle. Finally, if you want to visit any of these parks in particular, my advice is that visit the website of each park first because each one provides accurate and timely information about the weather and what you can do there. It is worth to organize better.