Exploring the world, one place at a time
When I heard Hay Castle was opening its doors to the public for the first time in its history last May, it went straight to the top of my 'must visit' list. So while planning my annual new year's pilgrimmage to Hay-on-Wye to stock up on books, I made sure to add a private tour... 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 →
Inspired by my recent visit to the Four Falls Trail, I was keen to explore more of the Brecon Beacons' waterfall country. So when I was looking for something to do on my birthday earlier this summer, I decided a hike along the Elidir Trail would be the perfect way to spend the day. This... Continue Reading →
Last weekend I finally paid my annual visit to Dyffryn Gardens, the National Trust-run stately home and gardens just outside Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan. For one reason or another, I hadn't had chance to visit earlier in the year and was beginning to worry I wouldn't make it before the end of summer.... Continue Reading →
Looking for places to stop on my drive back to Cardiff at the end of my 2019 north Wales road trip, I came upon Powis Castle, a National Trust property just outside Welshpool in mid Wales. It's an enormous castle with stately interiors and a glorious garden, and as it was a third of the... Continue Reading →
Driving into the north Wales market town of Conwy is quite a surreal and unnerving experience, for the town is surrounded by a 1.3km unbroken ring of medieval stone walls, and to get into the town, I had to drive through a narrow gateway. It was an impressive and disorientating welcome to one of the... Continue Reading →
Amid a deep, steep valley on the banks of the Conwy River, to the east of Snowdonia National Park, lies the beautiful, sprawling Bodnant Garden. One of the finest gardens in Wales, it's an 80-acre estate of woodland, Italianate terraces, formal gardens, lily ponds and wildflower meadows packed with trees, flowers and shrubs from all... Continue Reading →
The elegant manor house, Plas Newydd, is the ancestral seat of the Marquess of Anglesey. Situated on the banks of the Menai Strait on Ynys Môn (the Isle of Anglesey), the stately home boasts superb views of Snowdonia National Park and is surrounded by park and woodland that's home to an array of wildlife, including... Continue Reading →
Regular readers of my blog will know that I unashamedly love a good castle, and for the longest time, I've been dying to tick off north Wales's big four: Beaumaris, Caernarfon, Conwy and Harlech. I visited Caernarfon years ago (great fun), have driven past Harlech and Conwy, but the one I was most keen to... Continue Reading →
With Wales out of lockdown (for the time being) and the north Wales-based I'm a Celebrity in full swing, it feels as though now may be as good a time as any to finally blog about my north Wales road trip that took place over the August bank holiday weekend in 2019. I wrote this... Continue Reading →
Little Old World 