South Wales (not New South Wales, just South Wales) Tenby and Aberystwyth - 6th - 8th August 2026
Updated: Aug 27
Heya from Aberystwyth, Western Wales.
Our first stop today was the town of Brecon itself. We parked up and spent a great hour or so walking along the canal, checking out the canal boats, the rugby fields, the allotments and the beautiful grey stone and slate houses. Absolutely, picture-postcard perfect.
We then drove to a wee town called Llandovery, which the signs claimed was the birthplace of Welsh Rugby. Rightio, big call, but who am I to argue. We got a few bargains in the charity shop - a scarf for me and two skirts for Jen-Jen, before we hit up a bakery and I had a homemade Scotch egg. A ruined castle was on the left as we bailed, and we continued on the windy but beautiful country roads to Tenby.
Author’s note: the Mokka is a great car to drive. It is so smooth and, for a wee car, has a surprising amount of punch. One of the safety features is that it beeps every time that we have a speed zone change. No one had ever told me, but Wales has so many “20 miles per hour Zones.” 20 MILES!! Mokka beeps her head off at me if I fail to slow down in time. Even if I’m down to 22, she has a whinge. Anyway, I digress.
After a bum steer from Google Maps, we ended up in a P n R in Tenby. Two minutes later, a free bus took us into the Old Town centre… and what an Old Town it was. About 20 streets were contained within the old town walls, and everything you needed, from supermarkets to lolly shops, to pubs, to chippies, to doctors, etc were in this compound. The best thing was that it was pedestrian-only, and the place was heaving with touros all enjoying the rare Welsh sunshine.
The cherry on the cake was when we walked down to the coast and discovered two beaches and a harbour that were separated by a cliff with a castle on top. This place was epic. Apparently, back in the day it was a major seaside retreat and the nobility and aristocracy used to party here. Queen Victoria was known to frequent here - usually with a spliff in hand - and there is even a statue of her consort Edward on the headland. Very cool. Very beautiful. Check out the gallery below:
We then drove the 5 miles or so out of town to our digs for the next few nights: Gildar Grove Country House. As the name suggests, this country house had been converted into a hotel, and it was very cute. Next door was a farm shop/cafe called Bubbleton that served breakfast and lunch, had pet food so that the kids could feed the animals and sold all manner of Welsh produce in the farm shop. We had great breakfasts both days, amazing coffee and from the farm shop, Jen-Jen got some incredible lemon and ginger tea, while yours truly scored a bottle of Pendryn Welsh Single Malt Whiskey. It was delish. Not as sweet as my Glenlivet, but a tad smokier and peatier. Good times!!
After checkout, we drove halfway up the west coast to our next destination, a beach town called Aberystwyth.
Before we got there, we stopped off at a National Trust location called Hafod Estate. Jen had researched this place and discovered that the hikes there were pretty good. Rightio then. We parked up and decided to do the Lady’s Walk - the blue line - which was a 2.5-mile loop and was scheduled to take 90 minutes. I grabbed a branch as a walking stick and off we went. After about 10 metres, I discovered that the blackberry vines were out of control and the fruit was ripe! I couldn’t believe it. Over the entirety of the hike, I feasted on the sweetest, organic, wild blackberries that I’ve ever tasted. So good.
The other standout on this hike was the amount of slate everywhere. Welsh slate is common around these parts, and the amount of slate chips lying around everywhere was so cool. We also saw some amazing fungi, great waterfalls and beautiful trees.
We then hit the road again and stopped off at a triple-level bridge called the Devil’s Bridge. Each level was built at a different time, and the place was so wild and cool. Check out the vid below.
We finally got to the Castle Hotel - a pub - which was our base for the night in Aberystwyth. Aila, the English barmaid, was super-friendly and showed us to our room. I then sampled a local ale and some cider before Jen, and I had a game of Scrabble in the pub. I was slightly in the lead most of the game until right at the end when she made not only a 7-letter word, but got it on a Triple Word Score PLUS made an 8-letter adjacent word. ELASTIC and LANTERNS!!! It is safe to say that she absolutely smoked me in the end!!
We walked to the main pedestrian street for great Thai before crashing out after a great day being mad travellers. P.S. I’ve given up Scrabble.
The next day we walked around the foreshore and harbour, looked at castles, beautiful townhouses and generally happy people - which seems like a common thread in this beautiful country.
That’s about it. Next stop is Snowdonia, where we will stay for three nights and check out some more of this surprisingly excellent destination.
Bye (can’t attempt Welsh language ;))
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