Lady’s Itinerary for a Summer Weekend in Wales

Today I want to share my itinerary for a summer weekend in Wales with you. This part of the UK is a great place to see cities, nature, and coastline on one trip.

Summer Weekend in Wales

The English love the underdog. They cheer for whomever is losing a sporting event and they favor whichever artist is ranked number two.

I’m not English, but when in ‘Rome‘, you gotta love the underdog. As such, my boyfriend and I went on a summer weekend break in Wales, the geographical underdog of Britain.

Something about Wales being the one part of the country that we never seem to hear about piqued our curiosity.

Cardiff

After taking the train from London to Cardiff, we checked into our hotel and spent the first evening of our summer weekend in Wales exploring the city.

Cardiff has been the capital of Wales since the long-ago era of the 1950s. The city itself is the personification of Wales’ underdog status, experiencing a renaissance after a period of decline in the 20th century.

We availed ourselves of the bright spots, visiting the waterfront area of Cardiff Bay, walking around the city center, taking in the opulence of Cardiff Castle, and admiring the enormous Millennium Stadium.

We also explored the nightlife scene and went to a few of the city’s pubs.

Castell Coch and Brecon Beacons

On Saturday morning our summer weekend in Wales continued as we picked up our car in Cardiff and drove the short distance to the fairy-tale Castell Coch.

The over-the-top rooms were ornate to say the least, and the place amazed us with its magnificence.

From the castle, we headed north to Brecon Beacons National Park. It’s known for its great hiking trails and for being home to Pen y Fan, the highest peak in South Wales.

The weather was a bit schizophrenic, rainy one minute and sunny the next, so it made for some interesting hiking conditions.

We spent the afternoon zig-zagging our way through the park, hiking to waterfalls and through sheep pastures while avoiding raindrops.

Pembrokeshire, Wales

On Saturday night our summer weekend in Wales brought us to Pembrokeshire on the southwest coast. The area around our accommodation was beautiful and had a great walking path along the cliffs and beaches.

On Sunday we went for a hike along the coast and stopped for lunch at The Shed Bistro, a tiny seafood restaurant in Porthgain with a great reputation.

I had local sea bass with an amazing dill beurre-blanc sauce, while my boyfriend noshed on a crab sandwich for which the meat was caught in the bay right outside the restaurant.

St Davids

Our bellies full, we walked back to our accommodation and drove to the city of St Davids. We wanted to see the famous cathedral and pick up some local goodies to take home with us.

We couldn’t resist buying a couple bottles of mead after reading Beowolf in high school English class. I have no idea what it will taste like, but it’s made with honey so it can’t be bad, right?

Summer Weekend Getaway in Wales

At the end of our summer weekend in Wales, we headed back to Cardiff to return our car and take the train back to London.

On the way, we stopped at a huge beach in Newgale, then drove past the Gower Peninsula and through Swansea, which we decided was the underdog city of Wales.

But is Wales itself really deserving of its underdog status in the UK? Some of the cities might well be less glamorous than their non-Welsh counterparts, but the coastline and parkland were gorgeous, and the seafood was delicious.

Maybe it’s time to reevaluate. Then again, if we did that, it would mean I couldn’t be excited about traveling to Wales anymore…

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