Tag: Wales

A slow-travel journey along the North Wales Way reveals hidden gems

 

 

A summer assignment for Wanderlust Magazine took me on a slow-travel odyssey along the North Wales Way.

It’s one of three new routes devised by Visit Wales to look afresh at regions most people think they already know.

In terms of North Wales, visitors often drive from the North Wales border outside Chester to the tip of Anglesey in a day. But they’re missing out.

Here’s a flavour of my feature:

Unesco-listed castles and picture-postcard villages; stone-skimming beaches and ancient Celtic sites; plus, some of the best in local produce from independent food champions proud of their region’s natural bounty. It’s time to look afresh at North Wales.

The journey took in the new interpretation at Caernarfon Castle [pictured above], Plas Newydd on Anglesey and Beddglert before heading onto Conwy and Llandudno.

My trip ended with a preview of Skyflier, the much-anticipated new attraction in Rhyl from the Zip World group.

Over coffee pre departure. founder Sean Taylor enthused:

“Rhyl is a sleeping giant. It was the bucket-and-spade seaside town of my childhood but could become North Wales’ answer to New Zealand’s South Island.”

Read the full feature, Waking a Sleeping Giant, in the new issue of Wanderlust Magazine here.

How to explore the traditional seaside town of Criccieth in Wales

A trip to Criccieth, the old-school seaside town in North Wales, earlier in the summer.

The assignment for the i Newspaper formed part of a summer series about classic British resorts.

The story was published last weekend and outlines ideas for a weekend away by the seaside, including a visit to Criccieth’s historic castle [pictured above] and dining at Dylan’s restaurant.

Plus, I popped into nearby Portmeirion, the fairytale village that will celebrate its centenary in 2026.

Read the full story via the i Newspaper Criccieth: the North Wales seaside town with a craggy castle

How to spend a weekend in football-loving Wrexham like a true A-list Hollywood star

Image: Telegraph Travel

Amazing scenes in Wrexham this week.

They inspired this feature about the Hollywood glamour of the formerly workaday town in Northeast Wales for Telegraph Travel.

Here’s a taster of the article.

The streets of the former industrial town in Northeast Wales were packed last night with fans from across the world cheering on the open-top bus parade from the Racecourse ground, home of Wrexham AFC.

It marked the Wrexham team securing promotion back to the English Football League after 15 years and consisted of three buses, featuring the men’s side and women’s side, which also clinched promotion.

The club’s Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney [pictured above] completed the line-up, having bought the club in 2020 and transformed its fortunes.

It’s a story worthy of a Hollywood epic for the third oldest professional football club in the world, dating from 1864, and compensates for Wrexham narrowly losing out to Bradford to host the UK City of Culture 2025 last year.

Jim Jones, CEO of North Wales Tourism, says:

“You can’t put a value on the recent exposure. Wrexham is the gateway to North Wales and the whole world now wants to know the story of Wrexham and the region.”

Read the full feature via Telegraph Travel  The A-lister guide to Wrexham

How to spend St Davids Day in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, Britain’s smallest city

Something is stirring in Britain’s smallest city.

Green stemmed and canary-yellow-hued, the daffodils are emerging in the grounds of St Davids Cathedral, the holy site founded by St David [see images above], known locally as Dewi Sant, as a sixth-century monastery.

The daffodils herald the arrival of spring, releasing the close-knit Pembrokeshire community from its winter slumbers.

They also signpost St David’s Day today, celebrating the hairshirt-sporting Welsh patron saint, who is embraced by Wales but with revered with prodigal pride in St Davids.

What’s more, this year’s celebrations mark a significant anniversary: 900 years since 12th century Pope Callixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome.

I was in Pembrokeshire last week to preview events for St Davids Day, chatting with the locals for a feature with Telegraph Travel. The story was published on March 1st.

“Dewi was known as the water man,” says The Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, Dean of St Davids Cathedral. “To this day, he embodies the idea that, if you live a disciplined life, then you will enjoy the riches money can’t buy.”

Diminutive St Davids had its city status reaffirmed by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 in recognition of its early Christian heritage.

The westerly peninsula is bordered by the Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail and a bracing stroll from the cathedral leads to the ruins of St Non’s Chapel, where folk legend says Dewi was born around 500AD.

The waters of the nearby holy well, which gurgled up from the earth at Dewi’s birth, are said to possess curative powers, while the view stretches over St Brides Bay to the RSPB bird reserve of Ramsey Island.

Read the full feature via Telegraph Travel  Welcome to St Davids, Britain’s smallest city.