Southeast Wales
You could be forgiven for thinking that Caerphilly Castle – with its profusion of towers and crenellations reflected in a duck-filled lake – was a film…
Must-see attractions in Southeast Wales
Southeast Wales
The haunting riverside ruins of this sprawling monastic complex have inspired poets and artists through the centuries, most notably William Wordsworth,…
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Southeast Wales
Although you wouldn't guess it from the outside, this large stone church has been described as the 'Westminster Abbey of South Wales' because of the…
Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Dramatically perched atop a steep limestone crag, high above the River Cennen, are the brooding ruins of Wales' ultimate romantic castle, visible for…
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Southeast Wales
Imposing Chepstow Castle perches atop a limestone cliff overhanging the river, guarding the main river crossing from England into South Wales. It is one…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Ascending Pen-y-Fan (886m), the tallest peak in the Brecon Beacons, is one of the most popular hikes in the park (around 350,000 people make the climb…
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Southeast Wales
Fascinating Big Pit provides an opportunity to explore a real coal mine and get a taste of what life was like for the miners who worked here from 1880 to…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Originally the home of the Vaughan family, Tretower gives you two historic buildings for the price of one: the sturdy circular Norman keep, now roofless…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Halfway up a thickly forested hillside in the Vale of Eywas, this tiny 11th-century church is like a time capsule of Welsh faith and culture, buried too…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
You're likely to have the impressive remains of Garn Goch to yourself. One of the largest Iron Age sites in Wales, it comprises a smaller hill fort…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Halfway along the impossibly beautiful Vale of Ewyas lie the atmospheric ruins of this Augustinian priory, set among pasture and wooded hills by the River…
Southeast Wales
The seat of the Morgan family for more than 500 years, Tredegar House is a stone and red-brick 17th-century building set amid extensive gardens, 2 miles…
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Dan-yr-Ogof National Showcaves Centre for Wales
Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
The limestone plateau of the southern Fforest Fawr is riddled with some of the largest and most complex cave systems in Britain. Most can only be visited…
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Southeast Wales
When it was completed in 1789, this ironworks was among the most advanced in the world. Today the site is one of the best preserved of all its Industrial…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Perched on a hill above the River Honddu, Brecon Cathedral was founded in 1093 as part of a Benedictine monastery, though little remains of the original…
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Southeast Wales
The last great medieval castle to be built in Wales, Raglan was designed more as a swaggering declaration of wealth and power than a defensive fortress. A…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
A series of dramatic waterfalls lies between the villages of Pontneddfechan and Ystradfellte, where the Rivers Mellte, Hepste and Pyrddin pass through…
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Southeast Wales
Of the three mountains encircling Abergavenny, Blorenge (561m) is the closest to town – the round trip is only 5 miles – but it is a steep and strenuous…
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Southeast Wales
A steep 10-minute walk uphill from the main shopping strip leads to Newport's ancient cathedral. The building provides a fascinating journey through…
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Southeast Wales
Until its last pit closed in 1990, the Rhondda Valley was synonymous with coal mining. That industrial heritage is celebrated within the buildings of the…
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Southeast Wales
The large blocky building next to the church is the former abbey's 12th-century tithe barn, the place where people brought their obligatory contributions…
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Southeast Wales
Fronting Agincourt Sq at the north end of Monnow St, this handsome Georgian building was built in 1724 to house sittings of the assizes court. It was here…
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Southeast Wales
Abergavenny castle's keep was converted into a hunting lodge during the Victorian era and now houses a small museum. It tells the history of the castle…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Of the glacially sculpted hills that surround Abergavenny, Skirrid (486m) is the most dramatic looking and has a history to match. A cleft in the rock…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Though Wales has a long history of spirit distillation, this boutique distillery released its first malt whisky only in 2004, marking the resurgence of…
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The Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh
Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Based at Brecon's military barracks (built 1805), this museum commemorates the history of the Royal Welsh – a newish British Army infantry regiment…
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Nelson Museum & Local History Centre
Southeast Wales
Admiral Horatio Nelson visited Monmouth twice in 1802, officially en route to inspect Pembrokeshire forests for ship timber, though it may have had more…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
The finest feature (and the highest point) of the Black Mountain is the sweeping escarpment of Fan Brycheiniog (802m), reached via a fairly strenuous 11.5…
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Southeast Wales
For a measure of the wealth that accumulated at the top of the industrial pile, check out this castle, built in 1825 by William Crawshay II, overlooking…
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Southeast Wales
In 2002, construction work for the Riverfront Art Centre uncovered the remains of the most complete medieval ship ever found, buried in the mud on the…
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Southeast Wales
Between 1859 and 1964 this narrow-gauge railway hauled coal and passengers between Merthyr and Brecon. A 5.5-mile section of track, between Pant Station…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Standing in considerable decrepitude in the town centre, Hay's battered castle is closed to the public but there are various interesting shops to explore…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Brecon is the northern terminus of this canal, built between 1799 and 1812 for the movement of coal, iron ore, limestone and agricultural goods. The 33…
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Southeast Wales
Put your Caerleon explorations into context at this excellent museum, which paints a vivid picture of what life was like for soldiers in one of the most…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
The cone-shaped pinnacle of Sugar Loaf (596m) is a 4½-mile round trip from the Mynydd Llanwenarth viewpoint car park. Take the middle track that follows a…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Restored with the assistance of the BBC's Village SOS television show, Talgarth's 17th-century watermill is back in business for the first time since 1946…
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Southeast Wales
The spidery towers of the 1906 Transporter Bridge rise over the river, about a mile south of the city centre. A remarkable piece of Edwardian engineering,…
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Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery
Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Behind the stolid neoclassical exterior of the former shire hall is the town's museum – although it's been shut for several years now. Various promised…
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Southeast Wales
Like any good Roman town, Caerleon had a grand public bath complex. Parts of the outdoor swimming pool, apodyterium (changing room) and frigidarium (cold…
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Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog
Distinctive flat-topped Crug Hywel (Hywel's Rock; 451m), better known as Table Mountain, rises to the north of Crickhowell and gave the town its name. You…
