Click here to buy the
Lonely Planet guide to Wales >
Wales at its best is tramping in splendid isolation across magnificent green hills and purple-heather moors, valleys ringing with the song of male voice choirs and poetry of 6th-century bards, local pubs beckoning with a pint of Best Bitter.
One man and his dog (and sheep by the millions) are the only souls for miles around; King Arthur fires the imagination with his treasury of ancient Welsh lore; and you can be sure it will rain. Political devolution has long dominated national politics and no one shows a greater pride in this raw, underrated land of heady rough-cut landscapes, mighty stone castles and lyrical morning mists than those fiercely patriotic, rugby-loving, song-mad, Welsh-speaking Cymry (Welsh).
Best time to visit
March to June, September
Top things to see
- Pontcysyllte, the world’s longest navigable aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal
- Snowdon, Wales’ highest and headiest peak at 1,085m
- The Six Nations Rugby Championships in Cardiff
- Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech and Beaumaris castles
- The Brecon Beacons National Park – rugged hills, moors and fantastic pubs
Top things to do
- Hike, mountain bike, camp, get wet, feel alive in the Snowdonia National Park
- Shop for china in Portmeirion, a whimsical vision of Italian classicism
- Be roused by male voice choirs performing at Llangollen’s International Eisteddfod
- Follow the Pembrokeshire coastal path through quaint fishing villages and around secluded coves – play spot a puffin!
- Frolic across sandy beaches and limestone cliffs on the Gower Peninsula
Get under the skin
- Read – Random Deaths and Custard by Catrin Davydd, one of Wales’ best contemporary creative writers
- Listen – to operatic arias by Welsh tenor Aled Wyn-Davies
- Watch – Solomon and Gaenor, a turn-of-the-20th-century tale of forbidden love set against South Wales’ coalfields
- Eat – bara brith (tea-soaked fruit loaf); a Welsh cream tea (fruit scone with strawberry jam and whipped cream); or a lunchtime plate of Welsh rarebit (an 18th-century version of beer-soaked Cheddar cheese on toast)
- Drink – a pint of Cardiff-brewed Brains or ale from a local microbrewery
In a word
Bore da (Hello, good morning)
Trademarks
Mountains; sheep; coal mines; male voice choirs; rugby; tongue-twisting place names starting with double L; King Arthur and Merlin; leeks; the Welsh red dragon
Did you know?
Genuine Welsh products: Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins, Laura Ashley, Roald Dahl, Tommy Cooper, Peter Greenaway, Alfred Sisley
Excerpt from an article originally published on lonelyplanet.com.
