After a lovely and bustling first few days in England, we took a train into Cardiff to begin a few days exploring all that Wales has to offer.
I have to say, Wales ended up being one of my favorite places on earth. Beauty surrounds you there from sheep at every turn, blue skies, incredible landmarks and fewer tourists, too. And I couldn’t even fit all of its magnificence in one post, so I’m splitting it into two parts.
So, let’s get to exploring!
CARDIFF
Cardiff Castle
I will say that we spent less than 24 hours in Cardiff, but I was just delighted by the city. Although it’s a decent-sized one, it had neat shops and beautiful gardens at every stop. Oh and good food, too. One of the first things we did there was visit the massive Cardiff Castle, plopped right in the middle of the city. You can walk around the periphery, climb up towers and see a great view of the city.
Chai Street
We were dying to find some amazing Indian food on this trip, and we got pretty close at Chai Street. It was easy to walk to from the castle back to our Airbnb, and we ate up our samosas and thali plates.
BROD
We found the perfect Airbnb in Cardiff, quiet yet in a great location where we could walk to amazing places like this beautiful Danish bakery. I saw the sign and minimalist branding and knew the Danish goods would be delicious.
Next, we picked up a rental car at the Cardiff airport and jetted off to Brecon Beacons National Park.
BRECON BEACONS
Penderyn Distillery
The drive north through Wales and Brecon Beacons was just a taste of the beauty that was to come in Wales. I noticed that there was a distillery on the edge of the national park, so it was our first stop. Although the tour was sold out, we were able to try a few spirits in the shop. We tried and purchased a few of their whiskeys and gin. I even picked up some shortbread and jam, too!
The New Inn in Ystradfellte
The folks at the distillery had mentioned there was a nice waterfall a bit north, so we put the code into our GPS and checked it out. It ended up that it took us to a car park where you had to walk a few miles extra to see the waterfall.
Being the foodies we are, my husband and I (well, I’m glad he coerced me) decided to just stop and have a bite to eat at the local pub in this small town called Ystradfellte with a magical old chapel and some of the warmest folks.
The pub was cute and cozy, with only a handful of us eating lunch. They had plenty of beers and even that local gin from Penderyn, along with the best Cornish pasties I’ve ever had.
Flaky on the outside with rich meat, vegetables and gravy inside. We enjoyed our plowman’s plate, too!
Brecon Cathedral
Although we didn’t get to go to all of the places I saved in Brecon Beacons (we had driven a lot that day and still needed to get to our house for the night), but I’m glad that we made it to another amazing cathedral: Brecon Cathedral.
It was in the middle of the town of Brecon, which believe it or not had more people than sheep. Parts of the chapel have been around since the 1093, so it was very special to be in this historical building. They also had a cute gift shop and tearoom.
And I mean, how about those views?!
Taking a trip soon and need some recs?
I loved using a saved Google Map on our trip to save spots and then to see what was close when we were there. So, I’m letting you see access my map, too, to make your trip planning simple!
*You can get my entire UK Google Map (including England, Wales and Scotland) for only $15. PayPal me and I’ll share this map with you that has more than 90 restaurants, bakeries, landmarks and more already pinned for you!
Check back in later this week for Part 2 of our Wales trip, featuring the Snowdonia National Park.