Inter-railing has become a trendy choice of holiday amongst students across Britain and Western Europe in the last few years. With cheap train fares and accommodation as well as lots of diverse, cultural and aesthetically-pleasing sights almost around every corner, it is easy to see the reason behind its massive popularity. The hassle of a flight or the cost of the cross-channel journey is not even a necessity for international travel and an intra-railing experience you will never forget. You could just get a direct train from Reading to South Wales or, if you are more adventurous, first head up to Birmingham maybe stopping en-route for some quick jewellery shopping, then head over to West Wales across the marshes to the wild Cambrian sea and up the coast across sandy beaches, wild lands of legend and coastal castles.
The university town, Aberystwyth, is the first town the Cambrian Coaster stops at on the coast. Surrounded by the Cambrian Mountains with a sweeping view of Cardigan Bay, its picturesque location is an essential stop on any journey. The town itself hosts the Welsh National Library, Ceredigion museum of old country life, and the ruins of Aberystwyth Castle, each with its own mysteries to unveil. Aberystwyth is also a great base for visiting other fascinating locations in mid-Wales, including the Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth and the Devil’s Bridge Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in the UK.
The Cambrian Coaster continues from Aberystwyth through some of the most unforgettably gorgeous scenery in Western Europe featuring the pristine, white beaches of Tywyn, the spectacular Mawddach estuary and the quaint, seaside village of Abermaw nestled in the foothills of the towering Snowdonian Mountains. For those who want a peaceful day, nothing could beat sitting on the dock of the Barmouth Bay, dolphin-spotting and watching the occasional train cross a single-track wooden railway viaduct situated on one of the most beautiful bays in the UK. For those who are sporty, Abermaw is the starting point of the Three Peaks Race from where many sail to England.
Further up the coast is the stunningly attractive English castle, Harlech, the awesome Welsh castle, Criccieth, and the eerie, 5000 year old burial chamber of Dyffryn Ardudwy. Long periods of war between the Celts and Saxons promoted the building of both English and Welsh castles throughout the Middle Ages. Nowhere is this more apparent than along the Cambrian Coast where English and Welsh castles were built in close proximity to each other and thus differences between the two styles can be more easily identified. Harlech, an English castle, is larger, contains ruins of an entire village, and is more lavishly designed than Criccieth, a Welsh castle. Welsh architects made the most of the rugged Welsh landscape and located their castles on cliff-tops in more isolated locations and surrounded each with deep ditches.
Towards the end of the Cambrian Coaster train-line is the Italianate, fanciful village of Portmeirion - a cluster of buildings constructed in a range of distinct architectural styles and deliberately designed to be one of the most eye-catching and vivid residential complexes in the UK. Nearby is Blaenau Ffestiniog, a traditional, Welsh slate-mining village set in the heart of the Snowdonia Mountains which is almost more exotic and memorable than Portmeirion due to its visually appealing image.
Wales is a land of legend, castles, burial chambers, historic towns and breathtaking scenery. Whatever your interests, you can almost guarantee that intra-railing in Wales will be an experience you will always treasure. It is an area where almost everyone speaks English and which is also relatively inexpensive and easy to reach, with train fares from Reading to Aberystwyth priced at £20+, and the Cambrian Coaster Day Ranger costing £5.70 for one day’s unlimited travel. As 1st March is St. David's Day, a day of merry-making and festivities across Wales, why not pop over to Wales for a day and discover life the Celtic way?
No comments:
Post a Comment