As we drove from north to south Wales, we watched the scenery change from dramatic mountains to rolling hills and back again. Impossibly, the roads started getting narrower than the already tight lanes we’d become used to. We stopped for one last Snowdon woodsy hike, and for lunch in an all gray-stone town called Dolgellau, which my parents remembered perfectly from their trip through years ago.
Our exchange was a humble two-story row house with a charming garden and haphazardly supplied kitchen. We could see a couple of the many peaks in Brecon Beacons National Park from our windows and reach them from our doorstep. After that long car day, our feet were itching to climb conic, iconic Sugarloaf.
Another day, we walked the opposite direction to another hill, The Blorenge. To my surprise, there were more wild ponies here, this time, several mares with foals.
We took another nearby hike through the gorgeous Vale of Ewyas, which took us past the ruined Llanthony Priory (now housing a pub!) and yet more ponies.
As you can see, most of these hikes had a range of seasons. We used one fully rainy day to drive down to Cardiff, where we checked out some indoor activities like lunch at the covered market and a visit to a free Welsh history museum. The best of that museum was not indoor, as it was actually made up of different buildings from around Wales set up as a village. You could walk through different eras’ houses, churches, a working bakery and of course a pub.
Abergavenny had its own history of course, quite a violent one. There was a big surprise massacre of invited guests at the castle. Now it is a bit of a foodie town with a renowned bakery, a farmers market several days a week, even a vineyard!
We said goodbye to Wales on another rainy day, on to southern England, our last UK stop!