katahdin25

Hi everyone,
I know this has probably been asked several times over, and I have read through the forum a few times over the past 3 years, but the time has come for my trip finally. My husband and I were supposed to travel to England, Scotland, and Wales back in 2020, but the pandemic killed that trip. Initially, we were going to go on a 21-day extravaganza darting here and there. Since then, we are realizing our limitations and know we can't go go go like we used to in our 20's (we're now middle-aged), spending 7-8 hours solid hours in the car each day with stops along the way. We still have a pretty aggressive itinerary, but I am working on it.

I've come here to first ask for the Wales portion of our trip. We are going to be in the UK for 32 days (give or take a day), but can only spend a few days in Wales. We land at Heathrow at 7:00 AM on a Friday in early summer. We will be renting a vehicle at the airport. We have from the moment we leave Heathrow until the following Thursday to spend in Wales. However, there is one caveat: our must do is Skomer Island to photograph the puffins. They do not do any landing tours on Mondays, so it has to be a day other than Monday. We are traveling in a clock-wise fashion, so we are planning on leaving Conwy (our other want-to-do) on that following Thursday and head towards Keswick, along our way to Scotland. We love wildlife photography and landscapes (mountains, seascape, waterfalls, you name it). I am also fascinated with the churches and cathedrals. However, we are not ones to sit in one place for very long. We also will be jet-lagged because we will be coming from the Eastern U.S.

I have done so much research that I want to see so much yet realize my limitations. I also have a lot of old family connections (we're talking 24th great-grandparents) who built castles in various areas, but have decided once I see a few castles, I probably will be ok. I read about the ponies/horses at Gelliager Common (is there an easy way to get there?). Is there a reliable, fairly easy location to see wild/free roaming horses/ponies in Wales? That would be a wish to see, and Tintern Abbey is another. I figure Tintern is easy to fit in on that 1st day when we are traveling from London. Perhaps even stop in Bath for lunch along the way to Wales.

So if you were to travel to Wales with that timeframe (Friday morning driving from Heathrow to following Thursday leaving Conwy towards Keswick) and knowing that Skomer Island cannot happen on that Monday, what would you choose for a route? Brecon Beacons and waterfall country? Hay-on-Wye? Tenby? Snowdonia? I'm open for any and all suggestions as long as Skomer and Conwy are included.

Thanks for your help! I would love to eventually post my rough itinerary for the entire trip at some point, as well, for critiques and suggestions.

janisj

I don't have time just now to digest your whole post but just two quick comments . . . I'll dig more into it later this evening.

• Not knowing your full itinerary -- Skomer Island may in fact not be a 'must'. For instance there are daily trips out to the Isle of May from Anstruther in Fife. So if you are visiting Edinburgh and/or St Andrews/Fife your could see many Puffins (and other sea birds) up close an personal. It might be a better fit depending on your whole itinerary.

• And please PLEASE do not attempt driving to Wales or anywhere else on your arrival day. You could take an express coach (or trains) to Bath or Cardiff and spend the first day/night there car-less. Then collect a rental car the next morning and head into Wales. It isn't just the jet lag but micro sleeps which you may not even realize are happening.

katahdin25

Hi janisj,
I have also looked into the Isle of May trip. We were thinking of perhaps doing both. But, maybe we will just go with Isle of May for now. Has anyone done both trips to do a comparison?

janisj

I've been on the Isle of May 3 X -- but not Skomer. The one time I was hoping to visit Skomer- years ago, the sailing was cancelled. I LOVE Puffins

Nelson

I was about to give you some tips on getting the Skomer tickets, basically be standing on line REALLY early, but I just looked and see now you can pre-book on the website. We were there in late June 2018, as part of about 12 days on the Pembrokeshire coast. We had a few days where we could try to get to Skomer, and by luck we were successful on our first attempt.

Good thing because every other day that week the boats didn't run because of rough weather. For example, we met a couple in St. Davids who drove all the way down there before the crack of dawn, got the tickets, but then the boat was cancelled.

So to echo what janisj said, getting out to Skomer is a gamble, and given the other parts of Wales you want to visit it might be best to stick to those areas and not drive all the way out there. The Skomer puffins were an absolute highlight, but I have not done Isle of May so can't compare. Have a great trip.

Heimdall

I’m originally from the USA, and can tell you that driving on the “wrong side of the road” when you are tired and jet lagged is not a good idea. Compound that with London and M4 motorway traffic on a Friday makes it even worse.

MikeS

If you make it to Tintern Abbey and have the time take a walk across the street to St. Mary's Church. You can see it from the parking lot of Tintern Abbey. The church is a ruin but I find it very scenic where I found Tintern Abbey very manicured and sterile, St Mary's Church is in my opinion a real ruin with overground vegetation and an unkempt look. There are people that try and keep the cemetery cleaned up but it is quite a challenge.

https://www.tinternvillage.co.uk/wha...anddo/stmarys/

I also agree on not driving on the day you arrive. I stay at a B&B in Chelsea for the first couple days to get over jet lag and just wander around the neighborhood.

katahdin25

Thank you, all, for posting. I had told my husband that we should stay close the first day and not drive too far (I just want to get out of the city), but he thought he would be ok to drive because we did so when we went to Hawaii. But, with your responses being read to him, he decided maybe I did know what I was talking about, lol. Perhaps we’ll do Hampton Court Palace and call it a day.

Is it worth driving to the New Forest area to photograph the free range horses? Visiting the Dorset/Jurassic Coast for 2-3 days? We enjoy beach combing, but don’t want to eat up time just for the sake of doing so. We will be stopping in Seaham on the way south later in the trip to comb for sea glass.
We’re spending our last few days of our trip in the Cotswolds, so that area will be covered. I think now a decision has to be made between Bath and Avebury vs time further south in New Forest and Jurassic Coast. Any thoughts there?

katahdin25

MikeS,

I will certainly look to visit St. Mary’s Church, as we will be stopping at Tintern. Thanks for the tip!

MikeS

You mention Dorset and the Jurassic Coast

Old Harry Rocks: https://www.visit-dorset.com/listing...cks/130693301/

You might like the Durdle Door area. https://www.visit-dorset.com/listing...cks/130693301/ West Lulworth next door is a very scenic village. Word of warning, there could be a lot of people there.

Lyme Regis for fossils: https://www.visit-dorset.com/lyme-re...to-do/fossils/