The best things to do in Wales: much more than hikes in nature

Wales… yes, as in the UK and not Australia (that's New South Wales). I never had this destination as something to tick off my bucket list, until living in the UK for a bit. This part of the UK actually has so much to offer, especially for nature lovers.

Wales (Cymru in Welsh) is actually a country within its own right, in southwest Great Britain. It’s mainly known for its Celtic culture, Cardiff being the capital, mountainous natural parks and beautiful coastlines.

Here are some basic facts:

• Population : a little over 3 million (3.1 in 2019)
• Primary Languages: Welsh, English
• Area: 20 779 km2
• Climate: Maritime, very variable with precipitation (aka, it rains a lot)
• Regions: 6, the rugged central heartland, the North Wales lowlands and Isle of Anglesey county, the Cardigan coast (Ceredigion county), the southwestern lowlands, industrial South Wales, and the Welsh borderland.

Though it might seem like the type of country with not many things to see and visit, it's actually quite the opposite: there are loads of things to do in Wales!

What are best things to see and do in Wales, UK?

Wales is definitely a country to go to if you like nature, hiking, history, and discovering hidden gems.

Amongst the many things to do and see in Wales, from personal experience and general consensus, this is the top 5 that we will be exploring throughout this article:

1. Cardiff
2. Caredigion
3. Brecon Beacons National Park
4. Welshpool and the Snowdonia National Park
5. Eat and drink

Best things to do in Wales on a budget

The first thing would probably: travel to Wales as a Worldpacker!

With 5 projects to volunteer in Wales, this is the perfect opportunity to take some time and visit the country (especially on a budget).

The ideal itinerary would be to visit Cardiff/Newport, then make your way up to Swansea (all this via Couchsurfing or TrustedHouseSitters to not spend a dime) then begin volunteering with Worldpackers in Carmarthenshire, where there is a yoga ashram - believe it or not.

Stay in Cardiff: the capital city of Wales

Cardiff was one of my favourite cities in Wales. The centre itself is quite small and quaint, surrounded by parks and forests.

I found people to be particularly friendly and my favourite activity to do there was trying out welshcakes (only 50p a cake) and getting lost in the cobbled streets of the centre.

Bute Park and Pontcanna fields are perfect green areas to read a book, walk, or make friends with dog owners and families strolling in the park.

After the city vibe, Yoga Satsanga Ashram is looking for volunteers to stay at least 2 weeks to help around the ashram with tasks such as gardening, cleaning, housekeeping and kitchen hand. 

Explore Caredigion and its castles

Once all relaxed and grounded, make your way up to Ceredigion where there are two opportunities to choose from.

This region is now by the coast, just above Newport and right under Tywyn. Rumour has it that Ceredigion is the best place in England AND Wales to work, rest, and play. Let's find out why.

Noyadd Trefewur is a homestay in a beautiful Georgian house that is looking for solo volunteers to help out with maintenance tasks and gardening.

This this experience would be ideal to visit the region which also includes Aberystwyth Castle (​​Llanbadarn in Welsh).

This castle is an Edwardian fortress that was built in the late 13th century, during the First Welsh War. The castle itself is one of the many things to do in Aberystwyth (don’t worry if you can’t pronounce it either).

The town is better known for it’s university as well as being the centre of learning for Wales. It is also home to the National Library of Wales and has the largest Arts Centre in the country! It’s quite well located as it is huddled between two beaches - a perfect getaway during the summer.

Within the same region is a more unique experience where you’ll be living in a static caravan, that has a fully equipped kitchen!  The work is more centred around animal care, maintenance work, farming and gardening, so be sure to apply if you’re a nature lover and want to explore this area! 

Take a detour to Brecon Beacons National Park

If you’re up for a little detour before going North, stop by Brecon Beacons National Park, where another unique experience awaits you.

This eco program is located at Emma’s Flower Field and is revolved around farming and gardening. In exchange, you will get a private room, 2 days off per week and bikes at your disposal.

On those days off, grab a bike and head to the Brecon Beacons Park, one of the three national parks in Wales and amongst the 520 square miles area of greenery is the Fforest Fawr UNESCO Global Geopark (yes, I'm spelling it right). Within there is the International Dark Sky Reserve, ideal for stargazing.

Discover Welshpool and the Snowdonia National Park

Your final Worldpackers destination will be in Welshpool, at a rural vegan animal rescue. This experience is mainly animal care and gardening, and you will be sleeping in a tent… fun! You will get 2 days off per week, all meals, bikes at your disposal and more perks.

From Welshpool you’ll probably be the closest to Snowdonia National Park (Eryri), which is home to over 26,000 people and covers around 820 square miles.

Nearly 4 million people visit the park every year as there are 9 mountain rages to visit, 23 miles of coastline, and 11,000 hectares of native woodland. There exists all types of walks and hikes within the park, in addition of beautiful lakes and rivers to discover.

It’s also within Snowdonia that you can visit Portmeirion Village in Gwynedd, North Wales. Apparently it was built between 1925 and 1975 by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis and is now owned by a charitable trust. It isn’t very big so perfect for a morning or afternoon tea.

Caffi Glas is quite reputable - you won’t find Welsh Food but Italian food!

Which leads us to the foodie part of this article…

The best things to do in Wales: eat and drink

With all that hiking and discovering, you’re going to need to stay in good physical shape. What better way than to explore the culinary delights!

Here are some ideas to try out during your Welsh trip:

• Breakfast

The Welsh Rarebit: the icon of the region’s cuisine. Very simple but filling, it consists of a few slices of toasted bread with hot cheese-based sauce. Every family has its own traditional recipe but it become a Buck Rarebit if there’s a fried egg on it, and a Blushing Bunny if you have tomatoes.

• Lunch

Bara Lawrl (Laverbread): it might not sound that appealing but it’s worth a try. Laverbread is bread with a local type of edible seaweed that the Welsh have consumed since the 17th century, if not earlier. It needs to be washed and boiled multiple times before being tender enough to spread over toast with some olive oil and lime juice to make it the typical Bara Larl.

For the meat eaters, you have to try their Cawl (Welsh Lamb Soup). It might be a bit hot and heavy for summer days, but the slow cooked potatoes, carrots, other vegetables and lamb make it worth the sweat. Different regions have their own way of making them (some regions keep the meat in the broth, others serve them separately).

• Tea

Bara Brith (Welsh Fruit Tea Bread): Of course, as the English culinary culture is so close, the Welsh has to acquire the tea breaks. The speciality of the Bara Brith is that people only use dried fruits that have been soaked in tea and brown sugar overnight. The last step of making it (which is a mixture of yeast-raised dough, eggs, spices and raisins) is to bake it in the oven and spread it with butter.

• Dinner

Leek soup. Why leek? Because it’s the national symbol of the country! And apparently really good for colds as it consists of fresh leeks, garlic, vegetable stock and cream.

Selsig Morgannwg - Glamorgan Sausage (vegetarian): made of Caerphilly cheese, leeks, bread crumbs and spices. They’re not actual sausages but its shape gave it its name.

Seafood is quite common due to the coastline so if you’re a fan of mussels, you must try the Conwy ones (from the historic town of Conwy).

There’s also another famous dish that’s quite rude called: Faggots and peas. Apparently the word faggot means meatball and is made from spices, herbs, pork (or mutton) and various organs... A local delicacy.

Lastly, Wales has a bit of a mystical side to it and there are some unusual activities to do and sights to see. Let’s explore a few of them.

Unusual things to do in Wales

Pool Park Asylum

An abandoned, damp, dilapidated, silent asylum. Abandoned since 1990, Pool Park began as a deer park for the Ruthin Castle.

After having been passed from one wealthy landowner to the next, it became an asylum in 1937 after being sold to the North Wales Counties Mental Hospital.

Pool Park also held prisoners of war during World War II. If you’re up for an adventure and probably a bit of a spook, head over there at night, if you dare.

Llechwedd Caverns Trampoline Park

Have you ever been to a subterranean playground in an abandoned slate mine? Yup didn’t think so.

Come discover an enormous underground net adventure - perfect for anyone and everyone! Tickets are about 25£ per adult.

Laburnum Arch

Coming back into the light, this is one of the most photographed and visited places in Britain.

The floral arch lasts only 2-3 weeks (flowers in May and June) and is located in the Bodnant Garden.

This is also one of the most Instagrammable places in Wales... and speaking of Instagram, why not stay up to date with travellers via Worldpackers?

Baked Bean Museum

This is the only world's haricot museum displaying those heavenly delights dedicated to all baked bean devotees on the planet.

It was open in 2009 and you're guaranteed to be enthralled to view the various baked bean memorabilia containing a collection of global baked bean brands and adorned by orange inflatable seating arrangements. Very random, I know.

The entry is 10£. Welcome to Wales. 

Gladstone’s Library

Don't be fooled - this is actually a hotel! In addition of bespoke accommodation, there is also evidently a library for readers to browse endlessly, and a coffeeshop open from 9am-7pm daily. 

Transportation in Wales

All in all, there are many wonderful things to see, do, taste and experience in Wales, and traveling within the country is relatively easy thanks to their national railway system North Wales Coast Railway.

The trainline hugs the coastline, passing through Prestatyn, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno, Conwy and Bangor to Holyhead. There’s also a branch line between Wrexham and Shotton.

The principal railway line in South and West Wales runs more or less parallel to the South coast, connecting Chepstow, Newport, Cardiff, Swansea, Carmarthen and Pembrokeshire. Branch lines from Newport, Cardiff and Bridgend serve The Valleys, the Wye Valley and the Vale of Usk.

Using the bus is also another relatively easy way to see Wales.

TrawsCymru long distance buses are an ideal way of exploring Wales. They have different tickets for day or weekend journeys which could be useful if you're on a budget.

There exists also bus services for walkers and cyclists that operate in each of the Welsh National Parks: the Coastal Buses (Poppit Rocket, Strumble Shuttle, Celtic Coaster, Coastal Cruiser and Puffin Shuttle) in Pembrokeshire and the Snowdon Sherpa Buses in Snowdonia. They’re designed to reduce traffic in the parks.

Lastly, Bwcabus operates in Pembrokeshire and some areas of Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion. Once you've set up an account, you use an app or call them to book a bus in advance for local journeys to main public transport routes.

Wales has over 600 castles to visit, three national parks, four UNESCO World Heritage sites and twelve great little steam trains. If all that isn't enough to convince you to check out this little gem, then maybe you should check out neighbouring countries with other Worldpackers opportunities such as Ireland or Scotland. 

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See you around the UK!