2020 will be a beautiful year! Especially in Wales, where the entire year will be themed as the Year of the Outdoors. Let’s discover more about it!
With a lot of activities to do in Wales, let’s focus on one in specific for this blog post. The Cambrian Way. A beautiful road trip that takes you along the best Wales has the offer.
What is the Cambrian Way?
In Wales, there is a beautiful hiking road that recently has become an official part of the touristic scene in the United Kingdom. The Cambrian Way is a road leading from Cardiff in the south to Conwy in the north.
A 479 kilometers long road. Which is excellent for a multiple-day hike, or a multiple-day road trip. However you go, you can expect to have a lot of adventures in the outdoors!
2020: The Year of Outdoors
2020 will be the Year of Outdoors in the whole of Wales. Since they have a lot to do and see outside, they felt like giving it a special year to celebrate all those things.
Think outdoor, sports, and mindfulness. Like hiking, mountain biking, and winding down from work in nature.
How and where? Well, that is entirely up to you. Wales has three national parks you can visit, 600 castles to behold, and 870 miles of coastal path to hike. That’s a path all around the coast of Wales. Which is actually the only country to have such a continuous path.
Oh, and don’t forget amazing dark sky reserves to witness the beautiful night sky.
Looking for a nice and already planned out road trip in Wales? Check out this nice 7 day trip by Gallia for only 490 euros per person.
How long is the Cambrian Way?
The route is about 298 miles (or 479 kilometers) long. Going from Cardiff Castle in the south to Conwy Castle in the north. The highest point is in Snowdon at 1085m high.
What to do along the Cambrian Way
Cardiff: the start of the Cambrian Way
Starting at the Welsh capital, you can easily just do a city trip to Cardiff first. Before jumping in your car and heading north, make sure to visit Cardiff Castle, National Museum, Bute Park, and Wales Millenium Centre.
The Royal Mint in Llantrisant
In this museum, you can witness the process behind the creation of the United Kingdom’s coins. From the very start to the very end. You can even create your own coins while you are there!
Black Gold Experience
The Home of Coal. In this place, you can get guided tours by actual miners that once worked there.
Cyfarthfa Castle
A castle turned museum and art gallery. This 19th-century castle was built during the industrial revolution and is now home to Egyptian grave goods, Greek and Roman artifacts, and decorative arts from the Far East.
Brecon Beacons National Park
In this huge national park along the Cambrian Way, you can also find the Fforest Fawer Unesco Global Geopark and the International Dark Sky Reserve.
There are four mountain ranges to be found: the Black Mountains, The Central Beacons, Fforst fawr, and the Black Mountain. They all sound like Lord of The Rings places to me!
In this national park, you have a huge network of mountain biking trails. 2000 miles of public footpaths going from gentle slopes to difficult highland. Excellent for a trip outdoors!
If you have a few days to spare, you can enjoy the Taff trial or the Beacons Way footpaths.
Elan Valley
As this blog post is all about the Cambrian Way and Year of Outdoors, I just have to add this nice valley. It’s a natural domain surrounding some dams and reservoirs dating back to the victorian age.
You can walk, cycle, drive, and watch the dark skies there.
On the estate, there are plenty of animals to be seen. You will find foxes, squirrels, and so much more.
The Devil’s Bridge Falls
Which sounds terrifying! There are two walks you can do. The Nature trail, waterfalls and 3 bridges one. Which takes about 45 minutes and is pretty hard to do. So take good shoes with you as there are 675 steep steps to do on uneven natural stone.
The other walk is far easier. It only takes you 10 minutes and will bring you to the punchbowl and 3 bridges.
Gwydir Castle
With over 600 castles in Wales, there had to be some on this list! Gwydir Castle is an ancient Welsh house situated in the beautiful Snowdonia. It is regarded as one of the finest Tudor houses in the whole of Wales.
Trefriw Woollen Mills
Here they create Welsh tapestry like the olden days. Using raw wool they create bedspreads, traveling rugs, and tweeds. If you like what you see, you can buy some of their goods in the shop.
Adventure Parc Snowdonia
In this parc in North Wales, you can have a lot of adventures. As the name already suggests. Gorge walking, rock climbing, abseiling, mountain biking and coasteering. By the end of your visit, you have a lot of extra memories and tales to bring home with you.
For those that don’t know coasteering: It’s a combination of hiking, climbing, and swimming around the coast.
Great Orme Copper Mines
These mines are 4000 years old, dating back waaaay before the Roman Invasion. It is the largest Prehistoric mine in the world. And we are still learning a lot about it.
Bodnant Garden
A beautiful garden where you can discover many different plants from all over the world. Specifically plants from China, North America, Europe, and Japan that thrive in the Welsh climate.
Disclaimer: This content is written by me, the blogger, but was commissioned by ZapperPR. This means I get paid for writing and publishing this article.
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