Cardiff takes around 3.5 hrs from ‘London Victoria Bus Station’, costs around £15 and if you book in advance you could get a train for a similar price that will only take around 2 hrs. I booked the accommodation last minute and stayed in ‘Cardiff Travelodge Central’ for only £30 per night. The hotel location was perfect and close to the best places of interest in Cardiff. It is 5 mins walk to ‘Cardiff Castle’ and ‘Bute Park’. Cardiff Castle tickets are free of charge unless you want to walk around the Castle house, battlements or other visitor attractions and then there is a small fee. It isn’t that big – so you won’t need that long in there to look around – but you could easily spend a few hours in Bute Park and it’s very good for a run or early morning workout as well. I walked to ‘Cardiff Bay’ from central Cardiff which took around 45 mins – but it was such a great day I seriously enjoyed it!
Snowdonia: We stayed very close to ‘Menai Bridge Anglesey’ which is a very cool suspension bridge for views and the best Instagram shots. We were staying around a 15 min drive from Snowdonia National Park, we got up early and typed it into google maps… this was a mistake and be sure to type in a specific address – as Snowdon is not well signposted!!! We typed in ‘Snowdon Railway Station car park’ and it took us right there in around 15-20 mins. Snowdon Mountain Railway prices are £32 EACH and it is hard to see outside if the weather is bad. I was unsure if I would even attempt hiking Snowdon alone in October with the bad weather the day before and the lack of a view! It was not raining when I woke up and I thought just do it! Again, google maps took me on a bit of a crazy route – but I got there in the end and tried to find cheaper parking than £10 and DID NOT SUCCEED! The bottom of the mountain is very close to the railway station that takes you up. There were not many people which was GREAT and I asked a couple how long it took and if they could see anything at the top… they said 2 hrs and NO! I would advise NOT climbing Snowdon alone and just taking a water bottle – as you don’t need a backpack! I will probably do the running route next year. I will also look for hotels near Snowdon Railway Station!
Portmeirion is a surreal Italian style village in North Wales. It has had a lot of exposure on TV over the last year and many online blogs rate it in the top 10 most ‘Instagramble’ place’s in the UK! Portmeirion parking is free, Portmeirion entry fee is £15 per adult though! It is truly breathtaking from the moment you walk in and it is just unbelievable that you are in Wales! You can tell why the location was cherry-picked from the view of the lake, its own microclimate and beautiful flowers. The drive alone Is well worth doing for the views leading up to the village! Again, I would advise not doing this solo OR if you are on a tight budget… but is it worth £15 for around an hour YES and I would probably even go back for the ice cream!!!
(I’d recommend 5-7 nights stay)
