Wales Places To Visit

MID, NORTH & SOUTH WALES

After centuries of conflict along the border, Wales finally came under English domination under Edward 1 who built a series of state-of-the-art in the 1280s. Two hundred years later, the accession of Henry VII, a Tudor king of Welsh descent, brought prosperity to the Welsh gentry and the region proved itself an economic dynamo with the development of coal mining and industry in the towns of the South. 

The mountains and rugged coastline of North Wales contrast with the sandy beaches and hills of the South.  The richest concentration of castles in Europe, from Flint in the North to Chepstow in the South, scatter across Wales’ wooded valleys and cluster on her coast and borders.  The unchanged beauty of Welsh houses at places like Llancaiach Fawr Manor and Treowen are testimony to the taste and continuity of the gentry of the South.  For spectacle, the colourful fantasy of William Burges’ gothic interiors at Castell Coch and Cardiff Castle are unmatched.  For romance, remember that the misty ruins of Tintern Abbey inspired both Turner to reach for his watercolours and Wordsworth for his pen.