Wales in the UK

[PatrickMarq]

I’m thinking of going to Wales in the UK with my car from Belgium.
From +/- end of July until the second week of August.

Taking my FujiFilm gw645 and/or Fujifilm 6x9 - Bronica with me.

What would be a good center location to do some trips?
We like to stay in a town with shops, restaurants. And do some hikes and visit some parks, castles, …

[dave_whatever]

There's a lot to see in Wales, and a lot of variety, might be worth narrowing down a bit. North Wales has some spectacular mountain scenery, epic coastlines (Great Orme, Lleyn Peninsular, Anglesea etc), and some smaller towns (Llandudno, Caernarfon etc). Mid wales is a bit more rolling hills, popular coast spots, then in south wales you've got Pembrokeshire coast (limestone sea cliffs dropping into the sea), Gower peninsular, bigger towns, and then there's the Brecon Beacon hills inland, the list goes on. Personally I'd head to North Wales / Snowdonia (now more correctly known as Eryri National Park) as the mix of mountains and accessible coast in a relatively small area is pretty much unbeaten in the UK unless you go all the way to Scotland. It will be busy in July/August dues to the school holidays though.

[Vaughn]

I spent a couple weeks in Bangor - my son was renting a house in sight of the Menai Bridge while going to Uni there. It was a good place to explore from. Anglesea is pretty, the bridge was fun to work with photographically and Snowdonia was very nice. The old slate mines are neat, too.

Menai Bridge from my son's house...

[PatrickMarq]

There's a lot to see in Wales, and a lot of variety, might be worth narrowing down a bit. North Wales has some spectacular mountain scenery, epic coastlines (Great Orme, Lleyn Peninsular, Anglesea etc), and some smaller towns (Llandudno, Caernarfon etc). Mid wales is a bit more rolling hills, popular coast spots, then in south wales you've got Pembrokeshire coast (limestone sea cliffs dropping into the sea), Gower peninsular, bigger towns, and then there's the Brecon Beacon hills inland, the list goes on. Personally I'd head to North Wales / Snowdonia (now more correctly known as Eryri National Park) as the mix of mountains and accessible coast in a relatively small area is pretty much unbeaten in the UK unless you go all the way to Scotland. It will be busy in July/August dues to the school holidays though.

Dave, thanks for the info. We don’t have a choice i’m retired now but my partner she still works (in a school)

[PatrickMarq]

I spent a couple weeks in Bangor - my son was renting a house in sight of the Menai Bridge while going to Uni there. It was a good place to explore from. Anglesea is pretty, the bridge was fun to work with photographically and Snowdonia was very nice. The old slate mines are neat, too.

Menai Bridge from my son's house...

Vaughn, nice view.
And yes the old slate mines. Saw a lot of images of those.

[pgk]

I’m thinking of going to Wales in the UK with my car from Belgium.
From +/- end of July until the second week of August.

Taking my FujiFilm gw645 and/or Fujifilm 6x9 - Bronica with me.

What would be a good center location to do some trips?
We like to stay in a town with shops, restaurants. And do some hikes and visit some parks, castles, …

I used to live in North Wales on the north coast about 1km outside Eryri National Park (Snowdonia). I also worked for a time in Swansea. I would suggest that if you want to see a lot without constantly driving then North Wales is probably more suitable. There are a number of 'centres' which would fit your needs. You could stay at Conwy which gives access to the south to the National Park and to the west to the coast and Anglesey (Ynys Môn). Conwy has its iconic castle, great eateries, shops and more, but can be busy and parking can be problematic.

You could look at Betws-y-Coed about 35km south of Conwy, again well placed and in spectacular scenery. Westwards there is Llanberis and south there is Beddgelert (beautiful countryside and plenty of very pleasant walks) and coastally you could look at Porthmadog (I worked there too). All have lots to do and see. Then there is the Llyn which is beatuful but not mountainous. So many options. I'd suggest Betws-y-Coed would be a very central location, or if you'd like somewhere quieter you could try Harlech which has some fabulous landscapes inland (narrow roads but worth it!) and a great castle.

You will need to book soon I would say becaise it gets booked up and can be busy especially now that the North Wales coast road gives fast easy access.

I would buy a good Ornance Survey map and really look at it carefully to see where the different towns and villages are in relation to each other and the distances involved. I made a living from photography in North Wales for over 30 years, much of it tourism and landscape so I can vouch for the fact that it is a fabulous place to photograph.

[PatrickMarq]

I used to live in North Wales on the north coast about 1km outside Eryri National Park (Snowdonia). I also worked for a time in Swansea. I would suggest that if you want to see a lot without constantly driving then North Wales is probably more suitable. There are a number of 'centres' which would fit your needs. You could stay at Conwy which gives access to the south to the National Park and to the west to the coast and Anglesey (Ynys Môn). Conwy has its iconic castle, great eateries, shops and more, but can be busy and parking can be problematic.

You could look at Betws-y-Coed about 35km south of Conwy, again well placed and in spectacular scenery. Westwards there is Llanberis and south there is Beddgelert (beautiful countryside and plenty of very pleasant walks) and coastally you could look at Porthmadog (I worked there too). All have lots to do and see. Then there is the Llyn which is beatuful but not mountainous. So many options. I'd suggest Betws-y-Coed would be a very central location, or if you'd like somewhere quieter you could try Harlech which has some fabulous landscapes inland (narrow roads but worth it!) and a great castle.

You will need to book soon I would say becaise it gets booked up and can be busy especially now that the North Wales coast road gives fast easy access.

I would buy a good Ornance Survey map and really look at it carefully to see where the different towns and villages are in relation to each other and the distances involved. I made a living from photography in North Wales for over 30 years, much of it tourism and landscape so I can vouch for the fact that it is a fabulous place to photograph.

Thank you, quite useful.
We are leaving next week on another holliday, so when we are back I’ll make work of it.

[Mark J]

Paul sums it up very well.
All you need is some sunshine... been in short supply recently.

Vaughn, nice view.
And yes the old slate mines. Saw a lot of images of those.

[Vaughn]

Vaughn, nice view.
And yes the old slate mines. Saw a lot of images of those.

It was the view from the back deck where I had my morning tea and watched the swirlies. I was a month in Wales and Northern Scotland (May/June). Blessed with unusual good weather. Traveling with family (74 yr old sister and two 26 yr old sons), so kept it to the Rolleicord. But on my own I would have had the 5x7, if at all possible.

Something taken while traveling between Wales and Northern Scotland:
Platinum print (three 120 negs)
The Sterling Kelpies, 2023
These are two 30 meter (98 feet) tall metal constructs.

[Mark Sampson]

I've often thought of visiting Wales. I've only seen the south coast from the English side of the Bristol Channel (Porlock), though. Someday!