I'd been walking all day in the hills above Llangollen, and I was properly
tired. Wandering slowly back in the late afternoon I caught sight of the
black ruins of Castell Dinas Bran on their high hilltop above the town.
Could I raise the energy at this late hour to climb up there as a grand
finale to the walk?
I almost didn't bother. Then the thought of the stroppy, self-glorifying
English writer George Borrow ascending the hill in 1854 - followed by crowds
of cheeky Llangollen children, according to Borrow himself in his marvellous
travelogue and boast-athon, Wild Wales - spurred me to make the effort. And
of course, like every extra mile you walk in Wales, it was wonderfully well
worth it, sitting up there among the historic castle walls, scenting warm
grass and listening to lark song, watching the sun dip towards the Berwyn
Hills and picturing Borrow lecturing and hectoring everyone in sight as he
strode masterfully to the summit.
That's the thing about walking in Wales: it does get all five senses going, as
well as powering the imagination. All that history - castles, battles, poets
and princes, ancient monuments and literary masterpieces - spread out across
all that fantastic variety of landscape: mountains, wild uplands, farmland,
cliffs, beaches, villages, lonely hamlets in the folds of the hills.
Footpaths are legion, and many have recently been re-waymarked. As for
accommodation - not so long ago, really decent places to stay were few and
far between. But nowadays a visitor in search of a walking break in Wales is
spoilt for choice.
Here is a personal Ten Great Walking Breaks selection.
Use them as a springboard for finding dozens more of your own.
All accommodation prices are for B&B in a double room based on two
sharing.
Glamorgan Heritage Coast
The Glamorgan Heritage Coast stretches from West Aberthaw westward for 14
miles to Ogmore-by-Sea. This is a carefully watched and wardened piece of
coastline with no coast roads and where development is banned. So the
footpath that runs from end to end, along the fractured cliffs and the red
stone and sand beaches, gives a wonderful walk through genuinely unspoiled
landscapes, with wide Bristol Channel views all the way.
Where to stay: Egerton Grey Country House Hotel, Porthkerry,
Barry, Glamorgan (01446 711666, www.egertongrey.co.uk), from £100. A
relaxing country house hotel in beautiful grounds.
Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorer 151.
Information: Bridgend TIC (01656 654906); Glamorgan Heritage
Coast Visitor Centre, Southerndown (01656 880157).
Black Mountains
Offa's Dyke National Trail forms the boundary between England and Wales as it
runs through the heart of the Black Mountains, giving grandstand views over
the long ridges and the deep, curving valleys that divide them. Other
footpaths abound - the circuit from the ruins of Llanthony Abbey to the
chapel at Capel-y-ffin and back is great for walkers who don't like steep
slopes.
Where to stay: The Bear, Brecon Road, Crickhowell, Powys
(01873 810408), from £72. Cranky, beamy old inn with good food and a warm
welcome.
Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorer OL13.
Information: Abergavenny TIC (01873 857588)
Brecon Beacons
The Brecon Beacons National Park website has dozens of suggestions for walkers
who are out to explore the beautiful Brecon Beacons, the highest mountains
south of Snowdon. You can capture the four major peaks - Fan y Big, Corn Du,
Cribyn and the tallest, 2,906-ft Pen y Fan - in one long day from Brecon or
from Storey Arms on A470. Or you can follow dozens of less challenging
footpaths.
Where to stay: Pickwick House, St John's Road, Brecon, Powys
(01874 624322, www.Pickwick-House.Brecon.co.uk), from £65 . Classy,
welcoming B&B house.
Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorer OL12.
Information: Brecon TIC (01874 622485); Brecon Beacons
National Park (www.breconbeacons.org).
Gower Peninsula
The gorgeous Gower peninsula - rugged, flowery, green, blessed with a splendid
coastline - offers superb walking. Try Oxwich to Port-Eynon (huge beaches,
fine cliffs), or scramble out from Rhosili to the end of the Worm's Head
promontory (exhilarating and exciting, but watch the tides! Tide info: 01792
390707).
Where to stay: King Arthur Hotel, Higher Green, Reynoldston,
Swansea (01792 390775), from £55 , friendly old inn; or spoil yourselves at
the gourmet paradise of Fairyhill, Reynoldston (01792 390139), from £140.
Three-course dinner £37.50.
Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorer 164.
Information: Swansea TIC (01792 468321); Mumbles TIC (01792
361302); Gower Society (ridge@gower40.fsnet.co.uk) for information on the
Gower Way long distance path.
Pembrokeshire Coast Path
You can pretty well take your pick of any walk along the 186-mile
Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail, Wales's finest coastal path.
Perhaps the cream of it is way out west. Based at Solva, you can walk north
around rugged, historic St Davids Head, or south by cliffs, sands and
woodland to Broad Haven and Marloes.
Where to stay: Harbour Inn, Solva, Pembrokeshire (01437
720013), £45. Pleasant seaside inn with one bedroom at the heart of
wonderful walking country.
Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorers OL35 and OL36.
Information: St Davids TIC (01437 720392); Pembrokeshire
National Park (01437 764636, www.pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk).
Around Dolgellau
Among the many notable walks around Dolgellau are the 10-mile Mawddach Trail
down the broad Mawddach estuary to the sea; a 4-mile toddle from Fairbourne
to Barmouth across the estuary mouth via the enormous Barmouth Bridge
railway viaduct (return by train - children love this walk!); and the ascent
of 893m (2,930ft) Cadair Idris, one of Wales's most rewarding mountain
climbs. Legend says if you fall asleep on the summit you'll awake either a
poet or a madman.
Where to stay: Llwyndu Farmhouse & Restaurant, Llanaber,
Barmouth, Gwynedd (01341 280144, www.llwyndu-farmhouse.co.uk), from £70.
Picturesque farmhouse hotel in delightful setting.
Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorer OL23.
Information: Dolgellau TIC (01341 422888)
Berwyn Hills
The Berwyns are a range of rolling, unfrequented hills where walkers can roam
for miles. A spectacular short walk is around Pistyll Rhaeadr, Wales's
highest waterfall at 74m (240 ft); or you can walk from Llangollen by Valle
Crucis Abbey up the Eglwyseg river to World's End, returning by the
breathtaking cliffs of Creigiau Eglwyseg and the hilltop ruin of Castell
Dinas Bran.
Where to stay: West Arms Hotel, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog,
Denbighshire (01691 600665, www.thewestarms.co.uk), from £99. A really
relaxed old inn in a lovely village.
Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorers 255 and 256.
Information: Llangollen TIC (01978 860828).
Glyndwr's Way
By far the best way to explore the uncrowded beauties of central Wales's wild
uplands is along the newly re-launched 132-mile Glyndwr's Way. From Dylife
walk west across moors and valleys to Machynlleth (15 miles), or east by the
huge Llyn Clywedog reservoir and neighbouring forests to Llanidloes (16
miles).
Where to stay: Star Inn, Dylife, near Machynlleth, (01650
521345), from £40. An unfussy village pub in fabulous countryside.
Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorers 214 and 215.
Information: Machynlleth TIC (01654 702401); Countryside
Council for Wales (0845-130 6229, www.ccw.gov.uk).
Llyn Peninsula
Though the Llyn Peninsula doesn't yet have a complete coastal path, this
rugged, weatherbeaten promontory at the tip of northwest Wales has many
glorious walks. Out at the western end you can scramble a cliff circuit
above Bardsey Island, then take a boat from Aberdaron and walk round the
island itself.
Where to stay: Plas Bodegroes, Pwllheli, Gwynedd (01758
612363, www.bodegroes.co.uk), from £80. Regency manor house with
Michelin-starred restaurant serving superb food.
Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorers 253 and 254.
Information: Pwllheli TIC (01758 613000).
Snowdon
When in Snowdonia, it's got to be the daddy of them all - the magnificent
1085m (3,559-ft) Mount Snowdon, Wales's highest summit. You can revel in all
sorts of mountaineering tales hilarious and gruesome in the Pen-y-gwryd
Hotel before tackling Snowdon by any or all of six main climbing routes. The
Watkin Path is the longest, the Miners' Track and Pyg Track are spectacular,
and the path beside the Snowdon Mountain Railway the easiest. You can always
let the train take the strain, of course. Any which way, the views from the
top (pace the Welsh mist) are stunning.
Where to stay: Pen-y-gwryd Hotel at Nantgwynant,
Gwynedd(01286 870211), from £54. Attracts climbers and mountain walkers from
far and wide, with memorabilia of famous expeditions and heroes of the hill.
Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorer OL17.
Information: Snowdonia National Park Information Centres
(www.eryri-npa.co.uk) - Aberdyfi (01654 767321); Beddgelert (01766 890615);
Betws-y-coed (01690 710426); Blaenau Ffestiniog (01766 830360); Dolgellau
(01341 422888); Harlech (01766 780658).
Walks Information
There are hundreds and hundreds of publications on walking in Wales, ranging
from books to booklets and leaflets. A dozen walking tour operators offer
excursions from strolls of a couple of hours to tough week-long hikes. Wales
has 10 long-distance trails, and many dozens of shorter waymarked ways.
Trails short and long, publications, tour operators, tourist offices and
details of public transport and maps needed are listed in Wales Tourist
Board's excellent free booklet Walking Wales, available from the Wales
Tourist Board, Brunel House, 2 Fitzalan Road, Cardiff CF24 0UY (02920
499909, www.walking.visitwales.com).
Maps: For details and ordering of Ordnance Survey 1:25,000
Explorer maps covering Wales see www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk.
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