Hotels in Wales

Who needs the Caribbean when you’ve got beaches as stunning as the ones on the Pembrokeshire coast? Ok, so maybe the weather’s not always as good but you can’t beat the beauty of Presipe near Tenby. Large crags of red rock jut out towards the sea to form secluded coves. You’ll most likely have the beach to yourself.

The Gower boasts some of the finest beaches in the world. While Rhossili Bay is the most famous, there are plenty of other spectacular stretches of coastline to enjoy. Why not spread out with a picnic at Three Cliffs Bay Beach in front of the imposing limestone cliffs and dunes?

With its maze of lakes, streams and lagoons set along salt marshes on the Burry Inlet, this fantastic wetland attracts thousands of birds to its shores. While you’re here you can handfeed a rare Hawaiian Nene goose and watch the preening rituals of Caribbean flamingos.

Wales’s largest indoor market has been at the heart of Swansea life for more than half a century. It sells everything from clothes and jewellery to fresh seafood and sweets. Try some fresh cockles, laverbread and traditional Welsh cakes.

The route around the vibrant bay to the charming Victorian seaside town of Penarth is full of surprises. Along the way, see the home of the Welsh Assembly The Senedd, the Norwegian Church where Roald Dahl was baptised, a wetlands reserve, modern artworks and a white water rafting centre.

This one-time working coal mine is now Wales’s Big Pit National Coal Museum. Explore historic colliery buildings and go 300ft underground with a real miner to see what life was like for the thousands of men who worked at the coal face.