Exploring the world, one place at a time
On Monday, the Brecon Beacons National Park announced it will only go by it's Welsh name, Bannau Brycheiniog, from now on. So it seems timely to introduce you to the second of the castles I visited in the park over the Easter bank holiday weekend: Bronllys Castle. Bronllys Castle was founded in the late 11th... Continue Reading →
Work has been insanely busy the last few months, so the last thing I wanted to do over the Easter bank holiday weekend was sit in front of a screen. So on Good Friday, I set off on a drive to the Welsh county of Powys to visit a couple of castles: Tretower and Bronllys.... Continue Reading →
If you've been reading my blog a while, you'll know I'm a sucker for an old ruin – be it a castle, an abbey or even a burial mound. So when I was driving through Carmarthenshire in west Wales earlier this summer and saw a sign for Talley Abbey, I made an immediate detour. I'd... Continue Reading →
Tucked away amid some farmers' fields in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales you'll find Old Beaupre Castle, a medieval/Elizabethan manor house that's in remarkably good nick considering it's been largely abandoned for the past 300 years. Unbelievably difficult to find, it's well worth the effort to seek out as it's the epitome of... Continue Reading →
Nestled among the trees and woodland of the Carmarthenshire countryside, Dinefwr is a grand estate boasting a medieval castle, a stately home and a 100-acre nature reserve that's home to a host of wildlife including deer, otters and badgers. Looking for somewhere to stop on my drive back to Cardiff from Pembrokeshire, I stumbled upon... Continue Reading →
Ogmore-by-Sea is one of my favourite stretches of coastline in south Wales. The rocky strip of land, which boasts fantastic views over the Bristol Channel, is around the corner from another favourite beach, Southerndown, and is a great place for a brisk weekend coastal walk. A couple of weeks ago, I spent a blustery morning exploring... Continue Reading →
Just outside the village of St Nicholas in the Vale of Glamorgan is the ancient burial mound of Tinkinswood. Excavated in 1914, the 6,000-year-old Neolithic burial chamber was once the resting place for more than 50 people. It's a random sight to see sitting in a field in the middle of South Wales and I can't even... Continue Reading →
Little Old World 