Cardiff Travel Answers

I was goint to suggest a trip to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch but doing a quick bit of research - even by train it's over 4 hours each way from Cardiff and the travelinecymru website refuses to funtion for bus alternatives. OK maybe not. But it would definitely be an interesting page to add your VT repertoirel. A great virtual visit is Sourbugger's page - "No, I can't pronounce it either" - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch by sourbugger

You can get to the open air museum at St Fagans very easily, and quickly, by bus and it makes a great day out - museumwales.ac.uk/en/stfagan... As with all national museums in Wales admission is free

People will probably tell me it's a long way from Cardif but the National Botanic Garden Of Wales is outstanding. As for distance, it depends on where you live - Cardiff is a lot nearer to it than most places. I've driven the twice I've been, but there's a bus connection from the railway at Carmarthen.

Castell Coch is truly fabulous - a High Victorian fantasy built on the ruins of a real castle. castlexplorer.co.uk/wales/co... To get there by bus: By bus: The nearest bus stop is approximately 1km from the castle in the village of Tongwynlais. It is served by Stagecoach service 132, which runs every 30 minutes between Cardiff and Pontypridd. On Sundays the service runs every 60 minutes.

As much as I enjoy the National Botanic Garden the train journey would take the best part of two hours each way, plus the journey by bus to and from the Garden from the train station. For me too much time spent travelling and not enough time to do justice to the Garden. Castell Coch is indeed a most unusual folly but hardly worth a whole day out and there is little in the immediate vicinity to combine with it. Whereas St. Fagan's is easily reached and provides a full day of interest. There are plenty of cafe, snack and restaurant facilities there - or pick up a picnic to enjoy in the grounds

great! Castell Coch and St Fagans museum will be then! Maybe we should rush to catch both...

Hello, My favourie spot in Wales is the Gower Peninsula, which is located just in front of Swansea. There are plenty of trains serving the route between Cardiff and Swansea and the trip takes just less than 1 hour. From Swansea you have to take a bus to e.g. Rhossili, Oxwhich Beach or Three Cliffs Bay, which are situated all on teh Gower Peninsula. Bus services are a bit limited here, so it needs some planning, but it is definitely well worth the effort. Rhossili beach with the shipwreck Helvetia and the rock formation Worms Head are absolutely stunning. Think about it! Google for Rhossili to get an idea of how it looks. I hope this helps, HORSCHECK

Both could be done but would need an early start - unfortunately both close quite early -5pm (4pm before April 1st for (Castell Coch/Red Castle) cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.as... museumwales.ac.uk/en/stfagan... Study the websites and travel arrangements to plan the day - hope you enjoy the visits! Gower coast is one of the best - used to take my children there every fine weekend - but you do need to have the weather on your side to get the most out of a visi.

ranger49 speaks good sense! The advantage of St Fagans is you can visit one place and feel like you've seen all of Wales, everything from stone houses, to a working bakery and an ancient church. It would be my number 1 recommendation too! However, it doesn't have a 13th century castle. If you want to see a genuinely old welsh castle then Caerphilly is only 20 minutes on the train from Cardiff. Admittedly Caerphilly town isn't very pretty at all, but the castle is impressive. Maybe another option, for a trip into real Wales, would be the tourist bus from Cardiff to Brecon, which goes up the Valleys and through the mountains of the Brecon Beacons during the summer months. Like any trip to the welsh countryside or the coast, best done in good weather.

What great suggestions from aaaarrgh ! One of my children and sevral friends live in Caerphilli so we visit the castle often, the Brecon Beacons are on our doorstep - how true it is that we take what is near for granted!

Its all very interesting, but the closest coast to Cardiff is "The Glamorgan Heritage Coast and Countyside" area which is just 15 minutes by train from Cariff. Better still carry on to Bridgend only 20 minutes by train and tarvel by bus the 5 miles to Porthcawl and Rest Bay for surfing or quad biking as well as a traditional seaside fun fair. Fish and Chips on the promenade and a pint of cold beer at the The Anchor bar on the seasfront. Magic

we are already back from Cardiff :) we added an extra day so we visited ST FAGANS, COCH and CAERPHILLY and we loved them all! thanks everyone for the suggestions!