Best foot forward

Pembrokeshire: Coast Path National Trail

Article by: David Atkinson, September 2008

With three national trails, 19 regional routes and a myriad of day walks for all levels of ability, Wales is the ideal place to get your walking boots on and fill your lungs with some fresh country air. The country’s huge variety of hills, moors and valleys is backed by a well-developed public transportation system to get you out there - and plenty of tourist information. In addition, there’s a warm Welsh welcome when you get back to your guesthouse after a day in the great outdoors.

Try to catch one of the walking festivals to share tips with local enthusiasts. Over the next few months both the Barmouth Walking Festival and the Cardigan Festival of Walking will hit the hillsides. Before setting out, always check the weather forecast, take waterproof clothing and emergency rations, and make sure your footwear is sturdy.

Snowdonia

The biggest draw for walkers is Snowdonia, Wales’ largest national park and home to its highest mountain, Mount Snowdon (3560ft). The park covers an area of 823 sq mi and features a diverse landscape from jagged peaks to lush, green valleys. A chain of World Heritage-listed medieval castles are all within easy striking distance at Caernarfon, Harlech and Conwy.

Hikers pause to admire the lush green valleys and rocky peaks of Snowdonia National Park.

National park information centres are open year round at Betws-y-Coed, Llanberis and Dolgellau, making these ideal bases to explore the park. The latter is home to an excellent new guesthouse, Ffynnon, which combines family-friendly facilities with boutique-chic design. From Llanberis, the Snowdon Mountain Railway is currently running to Clogwyn station, rather than the summit of Snowdon, with a new summit station and visitor centre due to open spring 2009.

You can reach the heart of Snowdonia with a bus transfer from Manchester, or by train from London Euston to Chester.

Brecon Beacons

Dominating a vast swathe of rural Mid-Wales, the grassy moors and uplands of the Brecon Beacons National Park offer a contrast to rock-strewn Snowdonia. The park embraces four mountain ranges and derives its name from the central and highest range of the quartet, the high point of which is Pen-y-Fan (2907ft). The country-spanning National Trail, Offa's Dyke Path, runs along the park's eastern border.

For maps and advice, make your starting point the National Park Visitor Centre, located near the village of Libanus, five miles southwest of Brecon. Abergavenny, Brecon and Hay-on-Wye all make good bases with a wide range of accommodation and dining options. The Bridge Café in Brecon is an excellent eatery with organic and fair-trade food and three cosy B&B bedrooms. In Hay-on-Wye, the Blue Boar on Castle St is a traditional Welsh pub for a pint of ale and a home-cooked dinner of Glamorgan sausages - the perfect reward after a day's walking.

Located some 30 miles from the M4 Severn Bridge near Bristol, the park is easily accessed from southern England. The closest train stations are at Abergavenny and Merthyr Tydfil for connections to Swansea and Cardiff.

Pembrokeshire

The clifftop Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail spans Wales' southwest coastline, taking in pristine bathing beaches, historic Iron Age forts and countless hidden coves en route. The trail hugs the shoreline between Amroth on the south coast to Poppit Sands near Cardigan on the north coast and, as from summer 2008, joins up with the new stretch of the Ceredigion Coast Path. This forms part of a wider initiative to ultimately open up the whole of the Welsh coastline to walkers.

Ancient burial chamber: St David's, Pembrokeshire

Tourist offices along the trail can advise on breaking the 15-day yomp into smaller, more manageable sections. St David's makes an ideal place to stay and is home to the new Oriel y Parc visitor information centre. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records as Britain's smallest city, St David's is also known for its 12th-century cathedral and bohemian atmosphere with galleries and restaurants.

Pembrokeshire's major transportation hubs run frequent train services to Swansea with connections for Cardiff and London Paddington. To shuttle between locations on the trail, Pembrokeshire Greenways runs bus services and encourages the use of sustainable transport.

Away from the crowds

To get away from the high-season hordes, there are plenty of lesser-known areas, which combine great walking and local attractions. In Pembrokeshire, head inland to explore the ancient Preseli Hills, where quiet country lanes lead through the Gwam Valley to the highest peak, Cwmcerwyn (1758ft). The bluestone megaliths of Stonehenge in England came from this area around 1500 BC.

In North Wales, the Loggerheads Country Park offers access to the Clywdian Range, where well-marked paths make an ideal day’s walking around Ruthin. The summit, Moel Famau (1821ft) offers spectacular 360-degree views across England's northwest from Liverpool to the Cheshire Plains.

All content and opinion sourced from Lonely Planet and specially produced for: Visit Wales