About-Wales.com

Tourism in Wales

Photo: Snowdonia National Park, in North Wales, is very popular with hikers and mountaineers

Among the biggest tourist attractions in Wales, apart from the mountains, are its many medieval castles, some of them finely preserved, its astonishing narrow-gauge steam railways, built for industry but now used for tourism, and its beautiful coasts.

The little railways of Wales

The famous Ffestiniog Railway, originally built to carry slate from the quarries at Blaenau Ffestiniog to the coast as Porthmadog, was one of the world's first preserved heritage railways. The state landscapes and quarries around Blaenau Ffestiniog are now classed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Other spectacular Welsh narrow-gauge railways are the Tallylyn Railway, a few miles to the south, the 19km Vale of Rheidol railway starting at Aberystwyth, and the completely rebuilt 40km Welsh Highland Railway, running from Caernarfon to Porthmadog.
In addition, there is the unique rack-and-pinion Snowdon Mountain Railway, taking visitors to the top of Snowdon, the highest peak in England and Wales.

Medieval castles

Another UNESCO heritage site in North Wales consists of four of the magnificent castles built in the thirteenth century by King Edward I. The Plantagenet (Angevin) kings of England, who conquered Wales, put up a whole network of impressive castles to control the territory, and the four castles of Caernarfon, Conwy, Beaumaris and Harlech are among the finest medieval castles to be found anywhere in Europe.
Not all of Wales's great medieval castles are in the north; the Plantagenets built castles all round the edges of Wales, and among other fine medieval castles that can be seen and explored are Cardiff Castle (largely restored in the nineteenth century) , Pembroke Castle, which dates back to the eleventh century, and the spectacular Caerphilly castle, 11 km north of Cardiff, which is surrounded by water and is the second largest castle in Britain.

Industrial heritage

Wales is a must-visit destination for anyone with an interest in industrial history and archaeology. Its rich mineral deposits have been worked since prehistoric times, and even before the Romans invaded Britain, Welsh copper bronze and tin were being traded throughout Europe.

On the island of Anglesey, off the north coast of Wales, the mines at Great Orme are the world’s largest Bronze Age copper mines. Off the beaten track near Llandovery, in southwest Wales, the Dolaucothi Gold Mines were among the most important gold mines in the Roman empire. Underground visits are available at both these sites, and at a number of other sites too.
The most popular ( abd aklsi free!) underground mine visit in Wales is at Big Pit at Blaenavon, part of the National Coal Museum and the UNESCO world heritage site covering the mining heritage of South Wales. Guided tours led by former miners take visitors on a trip through real galleries at this mine which was in production until the 1970s.

Outdoors

With most of its territory covered by mountains and hills, Wales is a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts. While Snowdonia in the north offers challenging opportunities for hikers, mountaineers and rock climbers, the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons in the south offer miles of hiking trails.

As for long-distance footpaths of trails, the 1400 km Wales Coast Path was the first signposted walking trail in the world to cover the entire coastline of a whole country. It includes other popular coastal footpaths such as the Pembrokeshire coast footpath and tghe Llyn peninsular footpath... and of course passes by all the great coastal historic castles including Harlech and Caenarfon.

Welsh rivers offer great opportunities for kayaking, at all levels of difficulty. While the most popular river for kayaking is the slow-moving river Wye, from Hay to Chepstow, white-water enthusiasts will prefer the fast-flowing rivers of North and Central Wales. Use of these rivers is not necessarily a public right, and white-water enthusiasts are encouraged to consult the Canoe Wales website for more details.

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