South Wales - Attractions
Posted by: Don Atkinson on 28 July 2014
A four day break this comming weekend sees us going to South Wales.
OK, we're only going to Newport, just and hour and a half down the M4 and we've been several times before, staying in Newport, Breacon and Little Haven for example. Even from Newport we usually manage a day out on the Breacon Beacons, Marloes Sands or Tintern Abbey and its surrounding hills.
What other "must-see" experiences have you enjoyed in this wonderful part of the UK ?
Southern edge of The Beacons National Park is Dan Yr Ogof cave. Loved visiting it as a kid.
Bruce
The beaches on the Gower peninsula, just past Swansea, are fantastic - Rhossili and 3 Cliffs Bay are world class. I was there last week and swimming in a sea that was warmer than the Med I was swimming in the week before!
Of course from Newport it's only a short drive to Bristol and civilisation!
In the absence of more consructive suggestions.
What do they call a sheep tied to a lampost in North Wales?
A Leisure Centre.
I'll get my coat...
Don
Without wishing to appear negative, the best bit of South Wales is on the East side of the Severn Bridge.
Wales is just plain backward, it is like going back to the 1950s. It is dreary and very very quiet. The Gower has some nice scenery but restaurant wise it is awful. The economic boom of the previous decade forgot about South Wales. To be blunt , it is a dump.
Cardiff is good but I doubt if you want to spend 4 days there, despite the good shops and hotels etc.
To be frank, you would be better off spending your time in Bristol, Cheltenham, Gloucester and the Cotswolds. Even bloody Swindon would be better.
Don't shoot the messenger but I went once and never again.
Regards
Mick
Each to his own Mick but to write off the entire Principality in one sweeping effort may be seen by some as a wee bit harsh.
For those that love the outdoors there are some magnificent places in S Wales-Pembrokeshire is lovely. I guess that one man's 'backward' is another's pleasing simplicity.Parts of Wales can be a bit grim to my eyes but still some great countryside and biking/walking draws me there every year.
Or perhaps it is time you went back to see if it has changed?
Cheers
Bruce
i second the recommendation of Dan-Yr-Ogof (Ogof's welsh for cave, being pedantic). You only see a tiny bit of the system on the tourist route but well worth a visit.
Around that bit of the Brecon Beacons there are some lovely waterfalls and some desolate, wild country to hike over that's right up your street Don.
South Wales
Childhood Memories holidays in Tenby and Manobier were lovely I was a kid though
Did my technical training in the RAF at St Athan seemed to remember lots of Pubs in Llantwit Major and motorbike rides to Cardiff long sweeping bends near Airport.
Each to his own Mick but to write off the entire Principality in one sweeping effort may be seen by some as a wee bit harsh.
For those that love the outdoors there are some magnificent places in S Wales-Pembrokeshire is lovely. I guess that one man's 'backward' is another's pleasing simplicity.Parts of Wales can be a bit grim to my eyes but still some great countryside and biking/walking draws me there every year.
Or perhaps it is time you went back to see if it has changed?
Cheers
Bruce
Hi Bruce
I take your point about a sweeping statement type of comment but I did say that the scenery was good.
I went there for a few days about 5 years ago and we returned home early.
The place just seemed run down and there was no vibrancy or energy anywhere to be seen and the restaurants were way behind the times.
If you want to wander around the countryside in hiking boots, then there are some marvellous places to visit, but do not expect the local publican or restaurateurs to match what you would normally expect.
Cardiff was good but two days would be more than enough.
I think that areas such as Devon / Cornwall and the Cotswolds have out classed South Wales by responding more to what the public wants and have taken the lucrative trade away leaving South Wales with the day drip type of tourist who is not spending the money and hence the gradual running down of the place.
I remember speaking to a chap who worked with the Tourist Board a couple of years ago. He told me that the British Tourist trade suffers ups and downs according to the strength of the Pound. When the Pound is strong, people flock abroad and when the Pound is weak, they return to the UK.
The real money is made by catering to families during the summer holiday period when children are off school and then after that it relies mainly on "grey tourism" which is basically couples without children.
These people will only go to places where catering standards are high. This is where South Wales falls flat on its back, they have not modernised and are failing to attract affluent couples who are going elsewhere.
Just look at how Padstow has moved and there is nowhere in South Wales that can remotely compete with it.
Regards
Mick
Thanks jj, looks very interesting and we might include it
Southern edge of The Beacons National Park is Dan Yr Ogof cave. Loved visiting it as a kid.
Bruce
Thanks Bruce. I drove past this place last year without realising its existance ! Its now on the list to visit - especially as its only a short distance from there to the western Beacons. The website makes it look facsinating.
In the absence of more consructive suggestions.
What do they call a sheep tied to a lampost in North Wales?
A Leisure Centre.
I'll get my coat...
A Pleisure Centre.??
i second the recommendation of Dan-Yr-Ogof (Ogof's welsh for cave, being pedantic). You only see a tiny bit of the system on the tourist route but well worth a visit.
Around that bit of the Brecon Beacons there are some lovely waterfalls and some desolate, wild country to hike over that's right up your street Don.
Your're right Tony. The caves are now on the list, as is a hike up to the lake and ridge a few miles north west of the caves. I hiked up there last year and the scenery and solitude were wonderful. I'll try to find time to post a few pictures when I get home this evening.
how about Castle Koch?
it has the same design philosophy as Neuchswanstein but without the ambition, location or budget :-)
Combined with the proper castles such as Chepstow would make a nice day of contrasts
Each to his own Mick but to write off the entire Principality in one sweeping effort may be seen by some as a wee bit harsh.
For those that love the outdoors there are some magnificent places in S Wales-Pembrokeshire is lovely. I guess that one man's 'backward' is another's pleasing simplicity.Parts of Wales can be a bit grim to my eyes but still some great countryside and biking/walking draws me there every year.
Or perhaps it is time you went back to see if it has changed?
Cheers
Bruce
Hi Bruce
I take your point about a sweeping statement type of comment but I did say that the scenery was good.
I went there for a few days about 5 years ago and we returned home early.
The place just seemed run down and there was no vibrancy or energy anywhere to be seen and the restaurants were way behind the times.
If you want to wander around the countryside in hiking boots, then there are some marvellous places to visit, but do not expect the local publican or restaurateurs to match what you would normally expect.
Cardiff was good but two days would be more than enough.
I think that areas such as Devon / Cornwall and the Cotswolds have out classed South Wales by responding more to what the public wants and have taken the lucrative trade away leaving South Wales with the day drip type of tourist who is not spending the money and hence the gradual running down of the place.
I remember speaking to a chap who worked with the Tourist Board a couple of years ago. He told me that the British Tourist trade suffers ups and downs according to the strength of the Pound. When the Pound is strong, people flock abroad and when the Pound is weak, they return to the UK.
The real money is made by catering to families during the summer holiday period when children are off school and then after that it relies mainly on "grey tourism" which is basically couples without children.
These people will only go to places where catering standards are high. This is where South Wales falls flat on its back, they have not modernised and are failing to attract affluent couples who are going elsewhere.
Just look at how Padstow has moved and there is nowhere in South Wales that can remotely compete with it.
Regards
Mick
Hi Mick,
I take your point, but I'm afraid we're committed to South Wales this time - we went down to Padstow Cornwall back in January and the place is wonderful even out of season.
Our main interest is mountain walking, so Pen-y-Fan and a few other hills are always on the list in South Wales. I just hoped to find a few other places of interest to widen our usual haunts that I mentioned in the opening post. The two that were mentioned by jj and Bruce look promising.
Our main interest is mountain walking, so Pen-y-Fan and a few other hills are always on the list in South Wales. I just hoped to find a few other places of interest to widen our usual haunts that I mentioned in the opening post. The two that were mentioned by jj and Bruce look promising.
The opposite of upland walking but right on the doorstep is the Newport Wetlands nature reserve. Created as part of the "compensation" when the natural habitats in Cardiff Bay were destroyed by the construction of the large puddle in Cardiff Docks. Some years since I last visited but the attached link suggests that it has developed, both in terms of facilities and habitats, since then.
Gwyneth in Port Talbot. 
Near Cardiff you can go for a walk up Garth Hill, a bit further afield is the Elan Valley and the Cambrian Mountains. There's not many circular walks, so you're at the mercy of public transport but the green desert can be beautiful if the weather holds fair.
Without wishing to appear negative, the best bit of South Wales is on the East side of the Severn Bridge.
Ho ho ho. You need to go for a holiday in North Wales, my dear chap. Not that long ago, my family and I naively rocked up to a busy tea shop in Anglesey at 3.50pm in August after a heavy day's castle visiting. The waitress asked us what we wanted (that is, she didn't ask us what we wanted to order, oh no; rather, she said 'what do you want' as we walked in). Bemused, I ventured the suggestion of some tea and perhaps a piece of cake or two, to which I was told that a cup of tea might be an outside possibility but cake was obviously not on offer.
If South Wales is permanently 20 years behind England in terms of customer service/visitor experience, then it's at least 30 years behind that in North Wales, and possibly as much as 40 years behind in Anglesey. No wonder the Romans stopped at the Menai Straits.
Mark
"a heavy day's castle visiting"
I doubt this is a term I'm likely to use anytime soon.
One of last years little waterfalls.
And a small lake- Llyn y Fan Fawr
