Weekend in Wales

I had a few days in London before I was off again and this time to Wales! That weekend I learnt that they don't call it Wild Wales for nothing. But I'll start at the beginning.

I set off with a small tour - only about 10 people and our tour guide who was a legend. I hadn't been on an organised tour before as I was always stuck in the 'traveller>tourist' mentality. After having done a few tours throughout my travels I can honestly say that an organised tour does not always equal 'tourist'. For a solo traveller it's a great way to meet people and from all over the globe too so you really learn a lot just by chatting away with fellow travellers. 

We set off from London and after crossing over into Wales our first stop was Chepstow for lunch. The main attractions were Chepstow Castle and the adorable old town streets, often dotted with pastel coloured houses. Another stop was Hay-On-Wye, a town famous for it's second hand bookstores - they are everywhere! I was travelling with a strict weigh limit but I couldn't resist grabbing an Agatha Christie for my collection. We also visited the ruins of Tintern Abbey - built in 1131 and reminiscent of Hogwarts. I actually ended up jumping the centuries old stone fence with 3 American girls after our tour guide mentioned you could easily do so to avoid paying. Seemed like a great idea at the time! In truth it was as I got to witness one of the girls go head over heels onto the other side while trying to get over... so stealth! 

We stayed the night at Baskerville Hall. Built in 1839, it was this very hall that hosted the Sherlock Holmes writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a friend of the Baskervilles, and inspired the famous story of his 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'. Apparently the place is haunted. I didn't see any ghosts but the place definitely has an interesting aura about it - or maybe I was just in awe of this beautiful building that I was lucky enough to be staying in.

The next day we woke early to go on a 4 hour horse ride through the Brecon Beacons National Park. Yes, that's me rugged up like a dork with my union flag mittens. I first have to say, this was without doubt the coldest day of my entire life. This is when things got wild. We set off with lovely sunshine and everything was dandy. The weather shortly deteriorated and by the time we were on the mountains it was pretty much snowing! But not the nice snow, more like big chunks of sleet that froze everyone in their saddles. Thank goodness I knew how to ride from my childhood because at one point half the horses bolted for some reason and one of the girls fell off her horse - a crazy sight but luckily she was alright. 

Thankfully we ended the weekend with a traditional sunday roast by the fireplace at a pub - complete with yorkshire puddings which I will now have to learn how to make because it was heaven. To see more from Wales check out the little video I made below. Be sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel too so you can see all my travel videos as soon as I upload them. More travel posts coming soon!

emma