A Whistestop Tour of Wales

We recently visited Wales for a long weekend to celebrate my parent's 30th wedding anniversary staying at Bethany Baptist Chapel, just on the outskirts of the Brecon Beacons.

Our home for the weekend was an amazing converted church in the village of Treherbert, a great base for our adventures and you can find out about that here.

Barry Island

Whilst there were eight of us for the weekend, Glen and I came up early on the Thursday with Bridget and Beatrice and enjoyed a night's stay and a full morning taking in Barry Island. 

I'll admit our shared love of Gavin & Stacey and checking out the tourist spots from the show were a big motivator, but actually, as we travelled at night and our first real glimpse of Wales was Barry and Whitmore Bay, we were really pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it actually is. 

Whitmore Bay, Barry Island, Wales

Barry Island

We enjoyed a cooked breakfast at Whitmore & Jackson, a surprisingly hipster-esque joint that we found via Trip Advisor, a stroll on the beautiful sandy beach and then a round of the crazy golf, which was £4 per person and which was completely empty on a Friday in early September aside from us, which with a four year old and a 20-month old was rather good luck.We took our time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We found that the Pleasure Park didn't open until 11am and so killed a little more time with a beach-front stroll and a photo opportunity at Marco's Cafe, of Gavin & Stacey fame. 

From there we had half an hour in the good old-fashioned amusement arcades, where the girls were in their element and then we literally had the run of the Pleasure Park for an hour to ourselves too. A charming man was designated to be our guide around the otherwise deserted fair, and took us from ride to ride of the suitable ones for the girls. It was very reasonable and typical of a British seaside town. We were meeting my parents at lunchtime, but otherwise we could have easily spent the day in Barry and would definitely return.

Us at Barry Island

Caerphilly

We met the parents at Caerphilly, famous for it's cheese and the beautiful Caerphilly Castle. We had a wonder around the town and moved on for a drive closer to our weekend retreat.

Caerphilly Castle

Me, Bridget and Beatrice outside Caerphilly Castle

We lunched at the Red Cow Inn in Pontsticill, a spot popular with ramblers and dog-walkers. We ate good, hearty, honest and most importantly, home-made food and the drive to and from was exceptional. 

Brecon Beacons

Brecon Mountain Railway steam train

Brecon Beacons

Views from the Brecon Beacons Mountain

The Brecon Mountain Railway Selfie

On the Saturday, when the entire party was in situ we enjoyed a wet morning at the Brecon Mountain Railway starting at Pant station in Merthyr Tydfill. The Brecon Mountain Railway, is a range of steam trains, with a heritage of over 100 years and is described as a 'special way of seeing some of the scenery in the UK'. Despite a rather grey, drizzly day we couldn't disagree, it really was something special. The magnificent steam trains were quite fascinating and did put me in mind of the Hogwarts Express but the views were just sensational over the Brecon Beacons, taking in Pontsticill, the gorge of the Taf Fechan River and the Pentwyn Reservoir it was a wonderful way to while away the morning. The Brecon Mountain Railway is priced at £14.50 per adult and was well worth it, it was £7.25 for Bridget and Bea was free as she is under three year's old. 

We enjoyed a late lunch that day, at the award-winning Pen-y-Cae, a gastro pub, boasting good food and a mini-zoo outside which was a great incentive for Bridget and Beatrice. 

Before heading there we were able to visit the nearby Henrhyd Falls - something I was very keen to do. Unfortunately due to the rain, it was a difficult task with Beatrice in tow, so Glen stayed with her in the car where she happily napped and Glen stayed out of the rain. 

Henrhyd Falls, Wales

As the tallest waterfall in South Wales, with a drop of 90 feet, Henrhyd Falls is nestled within National Trust woodland and the walk down is quite vigorous for a trek, particularly in wet weather. I'm certainly no regular hiker, and bringing Bridget, who was almost four, was risky, but well worth it. 

I was so proud of her for making it both down the valley to the falls and then up again, no mean feat for an adult let alone a child of her age. She got a little scared when we were close to the fall, as the ground was very slippery. The greenery on the way down was beautiful but the actual fall itself was just stunning. My brother, Dad and brother-in-law had a stroll behind the fall, but Bridget was really nervous so we admired from afar which was just fine for us. 

Bridget with proud Grandad and Uncle Dan at Henrhyd Falls

Having only stayed for three nights in South Wales, I feel as though we only scratched the surface of what's on offer for families in this beautiful part of the UK and I have a yearning to return and explore more with my family - watch this space. 

Bethany Baptist Chapel - A Family Retreat in the Brecon Beacons

Bethany Baptist Chapel, Treherbert

I wanted to share a post about an absolute gem of a holiday home; Bethany Baptist Chapel, that we had the pleasure of enjoying a weekend's stay at recently via airbnb. 

We visited the Brecon Beacons, Wales as the final celebration for my parent's 30th wedding anniversary in September and our party included the four of us, my parents, my brother and his partner - eight of us in total. 

Finding spacious, comfortable accommodation for eight that happens to be child-friendly, and within a reasonable budget can be a tricky ask, but this quirky, Grade II listed building and former church provided the perfect base for our stay.

Nestled at the bottom of the Rhigos Mountain, which you through en route to several places and which offers fantastic views of the beautiful countryside and valleys, the house is in a great location for exploring the nearby Brecon Beacons and surrounding areas. 

As a former church that has been renovated well, this house has maintained many original features and transformed them into this eccentric home; from the organ that forms a feature wall in the master bedroom and a walk in wardrobe on the other side, a stained glass window, and the hand-crafted pulpit with mezzanine which creates a rather dramatic dining area where we enjoyed our breakfast each morning.  

Bethany Baptist Chapel, The Pulpit and dining area

Bethany Baptist Chapel, Treherbert, Wales

Master bedroom complete with organ

Bethany Baptist Chapel, Airbnb

Bethany Baptist Chapel

Bethany Baptist Chapel has five bedrooms, one king, two doubles and two singles in the remaining rooms, and three bathrooms, which made it perfect for us. 

It's difficult to convey the sheer size and space of this unique property, set over two floors, the ground is largely open plan and has a great living area with sofas and coffee table, as well as armchairs in front of a wood-burning oven. A small play corner with a vast amount of children's books and toys made it popular with Bridget and Bea on arrival, and the small upstairs lounge area with a huge bookshelf packed with novels was incredibly inviting for the bookworms amongst our party (me). 

There was also a selection of board games and a darts board which provided great evening entertainment. We booked it as a base but actually found ourselves wanting to get back and enjoy the property in the evenings, which is testament to how much we enjoyed it.

The village of Treherbert was quite residential and had a few local shops, takeaways and a couple of pubs if you wanted to order in or venture out for a local pint; we didn't but the option was there.

Overall the house really was fantastic, it wasn't perfect, there were a few little niggles, the sofa was a little tatty and could have done with a new cover or even a throw to freshen it up, but in general we were more than satisfied and in terms of what we paid for the weekend, we were delighted. When we arrived we had been gifted with fresh milk, bread and butter as well as essentials such as tea bags, sugar and coffee too, a nice touch.

If you are looking for a beautiful base by the Brecon Beacons I would urge you to check out Bethany Baptist Chapel; priced from a hugely reasonable £150 a night, it's an absolute steal.

This was my first trip to Wales since I was a teenager and I really did fall in love with the beautiful, rugged and gloriously green country. We got to enjoy plenty which you can read about here but I'll look forward to returning with the girls when they are a little older and can do some more energetic hiking.