The Castles of Wales

I’m glad to have helped, and thank /you/ for actually asking some questions, even if they made me realise I don’t know anything about castles, or Wales =P

They’re all good castles, though, personally if I could only visit a few castles, I wouldn’t go to Cardiff castle, or at least not inside. Much of it was rebuilt by the Marquess of Bute as there wasn’t much left of the original castle, which is still rather amazing. He mainly rebuilt the outer wall, which is fantastic to see, especially the animal wall, but if you are heading to Cardiff anyway, I would still suggest it, though, the actual castle is fairly small, and the price rather high.

Caerphilly was the fist castle I ever visited, back when I was 7 or 8, and it’s a fantastic castle, the biggest in Wales, and it’s very well preserved, with a wealth of information. If you could, I’d suggest going during the Big Cheese, as they have re-enactors on the castle grounds, though it is a rather busy event, and can be quite crowded.

I would highly recommend going to Chepstow if you have the time, (it’s one of my favourites) and Caldicot castle is very near by, both are fantastic castles, and especially impressive because of their views, Chepstow especially, as you can see over to England.

I would also suggest visiting Big Pit, which is an old coal mine that provides free tours through the mine, though it’s rather cramped, so I wouldn’t go if you are claustrophobic. St. Fagans is another fantastic site, it’s the Welsh heritage museum. I usually go at least once a year, because I always notice something new there. It’s a huge site, with a wealth of history, and somehow it’s free. 

Honestly, I’d suggest visiting the CADW site, as they care for most of the larger and more accessible castles, as well as some other historical site, such as Roman remains, and abbey ruins, such as Tintern Abbey. If you know a basic route you’ll be taking, it’s easy enough to find near-by castles and plan from there. If you are planning to visit a few of the Cadw sites, I would suggest getting a week pass, because the admission prices will start to add up, especially if you are planning to visit some of the bigger, more popular sites.

It really just depends on what you would personally enjoy; there are some fantastic roman sites in Caerleon and Caerwent, if you are more interested in working 17th manor houses, I’d suggest Llancaeach Fawr, if you were interested in natural beauty, I’d suggest visiting Snowdon or the Brecon Beacons National Park.

If I could, I would recommend all the places I’ve ever visited, but if you’ve only a week, personally I’d find it hard to pick and choose, between all of these amazing sites. I’d suggest doing a bit of online research, see which ones interest you the most.

Goodness, I wrote more then I was expecting to, but I hope this helps!

Well, I know a lot of people complain about the public transport, but at least a fair bit of it is just the fact that we are British, we love to complain. I haven’t really dealt with the public transport outside of South Wales, so I can’t say much about that, but in the South (where the most people are, and therefore, more need for public transport) I’ve found it to be quite good. 

Though, if you were to go castle hunting, I would suggest getting a car rather then a bus, because not all castles are on the bus routes, and at times it can be quite hard to figure out where each bus stops without looking it up online.

On the whole, the buses and trains are quite good, and, in my experience at least, usually on time, so I would recommend them, especially when travelling through the cities and larger towns, where the roads can be quite impossible to decipher. 

I hope this helps!