If you are in London for the 2012 Olympics and you want something to do and you like history, you’re in for a treat.
The capital castle of the world is around 2 hours away from the 2012 Olympics venue.
This is a locals guide to a 3 days castle tour of Wales.
Day 1 – Castle Tour of Wales, London Olympics 2012
First off all you need to hire a car. I recommend Europcar. Possibly not the cheapest but in our experience the newest and best looked after hire cars.
2. Drive to Wales. Here are the directions from East London.
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These directions will take you from East London to Celtic Manor, one of the nicest hotels in Europe. The drive will take around 2 and half hours easy.
If you are looking for a good hotel that is cheap, in our experience you cannot go wrong with Premier Inn. Luckily there is one at the same junction where you turn off the motorway for Celtic Manor. You want the one in Newport South Wales.
That is day one. Nice and easy.
Day 2 – Castle Tour of Wales, London Olympics 2012
Castle 1. Raglan Castle. One of the best restored/maintain castles in Wales. More of a medieval manor house than a castle but a good introduction to Welsh castles. Here are the directions from Celtic Manor
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From here, as spot of lunch.
The Walnut Tree Inn is a Michelin starred restaurant. These are the directions
If you want something more simple, Abergavenney has many places to eat.
After lunch a drive through the Wales to the capital Cardiff. The first stage to Brecon and then to Merthyr through the Brecon Beacons will take you through some of the most picturesque parts of Wales and Britain. From Merthyr Tydfil to Castell Coch will take you through the heartland of the industrial revolution the Rhondda valley and the birth place of Tom Jones. The coal mining valleys of Wales.
Google gives this drive as 1hour and 44mins. Not too far and it will take you through a huge range of scenery. Obviously feel free to stop of anywhere you find interesting on your way!
Castell Coch is called the fairytale castle and it is one of the best kept castles in Wales. It is not a true castle as such, more what of what a castle would look like in a fairy tale but it is well worth a visit. It is quite small so it will only take an hour or 2 to see everything.
From Castell Coch onto Cardiff, probably the most beautiful cities in Europe and probably one of the best shopping centres in Europe. Something for everybody.
Many nice places to stay in Cardiff. Our pic for high-end hotels would be the Angel Hotel. These are the directions for Castell Coch to the Angel Hotel. If you’re looking for something cheaper, again the Premier Inn is hard to fault. Cardiff City centre is the one you want. Both these hotels will put you at the heart of the action. Excellent shopping and excellent nightlife.
Day 3 – Castle Tour of Wales, London Olympics 2012
It depends on how much time you have.
If you want to get back to the olympics today London is a straightforward drive back from Cardiff. I would recommend you take the time to check out the shopping centre in Cardiff and also Cardiff castle and the Millenium Stadium before you go!
If you have more time and what to see more, more authentic castles then the next stop should be Swansea. Wales’s second largest city.
Oystermouth is one of the largest castles in Wales and is in a more ruinous state that the ones we have covered so far.
The drive to Swansea from Cardiff will take you through rolling hillsides along the M4 corridor, which is a bit of a contrast to what you have seen so far. Here are the directions from Cardiff to Oystermouth Castle.
Oystermouth castle is based in the Mumbles, one of the nicest and most touristy parts of Wales. Many nice places to eat and to stay here. And again, Premier Inn are also in Swansea, check their website for your preferred location. Swansea waterfront is the one we would go for.
Day 4 – Castle Tour of Wales, London Olympics 2012
Again, if this is all the time you have, London is a straight drive from Swansea, these are the directions.
If you have an extra day then you are in for a treat. Today we will go to 2 of our favourite castles in the World. A lot of driving today, but lots of scenery also! This today is for your more hardcore castle goers, we are going out into the wilds so don’t expect the luxuries we have been experiencing so far!
Kidwelly castle. One word, huge! These are the directions from Swansea.
Again, more typical of Welsh castles but fully authentic. From Kidwelly we will go to Carreg Cennen castle, our number favorite castle in the whole world.
These are the directions from Kidwelly Castle to Carreg Cennen Castle. The photos say it all, amazing. Where to stay?
I’ll be honest, I have no experience of hotels in this neck of the woods but this looks amazing. And this also.
Day 5 Castle Tour of Wales, London Olympics 2012
If you are looking to head back to London from Carreg Cennen, here is the way we would go if we were looking to take in some more great scenery. Plenty of places to stop in on the way.And if you want to take in Hay-on-Wye which is one town disguised as a massive bookstore, this is an alternative way.
If you simply want a quick way back, this is the way we would go, nowhere near as interesting, but you do get to travel over the Severn Bridge, personally we prefer the old Severn Crossing in which case you want to go this way. The old Severn Crossing is a much more interesting bridge.
The third way, which gives you the best of all worlds is to go across the old Severn Crossing via Hay-on-Wye. This give you the added benefit of experiencing the Wye Valley which is awesome. Highlights include Symonds Yat and Tintern Abbey. If you don’t want to do the drive in one hit, you can break it into 2 days with these guys. This would be the complete Grand Slam of ways back to London. You get everything.
If you have an extra day, let’s go to the Gower Peninsula!
Here is the route from Carreg Cennen to Fairyhill.
Day 6 – Castle Tour of Wales, London Olympics 2012
An area of outstanding natural beauty and Weobley castle (said Webley). Weobley is not strictly a castle but a manor house but the area it is in is awesome. Here is the route from Fairyhill.
If you like a nice walk, Rhossili is fantastic. Here is the route from Weobley to Rhossili.
If you prefer to see a cast iron Victorian lighthouse, you need to go to Whiteford.
Port Eynon is also very nice. It has a nice beach and village.
Oxwich also has a nice beach and hotel.
King Arthur’s Stone is a neolithic burial chamber. This is another one on the way back to Swansea.
Basically the Gower has many nice coastal villages and it is very small and easy to get around, well worth a look.
From here London is easy to get back to.
So that is a whistle-stop tour covering the main castles in Wales with modern amusements mixed in. Hopefully it will give you some inspiration to go to Wales during the Olympics and if you do, we would love to see your photos!
Feel free to ask any questions!
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