4 Days in South Wales: A Road Trip Through Castles, Abbeys and More

Back in July, Luke and I spent four days exploring South Wales, squeezing an impressive number of castles, abbeys, beaches and very steep hills into one long weekend.

We stayed in Salem, in a cute little annex on a Christmas tree farm. It was comfortable and made a great base for exploring the area. It did remind us of staying over at your grandparents place, and I wouldn’t have wanted to stay longer then we did (just being honest). There wasn’t a kitchen, but we already knew we would be eating out during the trip, so that wasn’t really an issue.

Our trip ran from Friday to Monday, with the drive there and back becoming part of the adventure. Naturally, neither journey could simply involve driving directly to our accommodation. There were castles to visit.

Day One: Goodrich Castle and Raglan Castle

We began the drive down with a stop at Goodrich Castle.

Goodrich is a brilliant castle to explore, with plenty of rooms, passageways and towers to investigate. There is one particularly tiny tower you can climb, although coming back down felt slightly dangerous. The steps were narrow, steep and not exactly designed with modern-day health and safety in mind.

There is also a wonderfully dark dungeon. It was such a hot day that stepping inside was a welcome chance to cool down, although it took a moment for our eyes to adjust to the darkness.

From Goodrich, we continued to Raglan Castle.

Raglan is one of those castles that immediately impresses you. It is huge, dramatic and feels slightly more luxurious than many of the medieval ruins we usually visit. The Great Tower stands separately within the castle grounds, surrounded by its own moat, which gives the entire place a very distinctive appearance.

There was plenty to explore, and the moat was particularly impressive. It felt like a castle designed not only for defence, but also to show off.

After Raglan, we finally made our way towards Salem, arriving at our accommodation at around 7pm.

Our Airbnb host came out to greet us and was absolutely lovely. She recommended that we visit The Plough Inn, which we had driven past on the way and was only about ten minutes away. We called to check whether they had a table available, and luckily they did.

The food was really good and it was the perfect relaxed ending to our first day. I can’t remember exactly what we had, but I know we both had the duck for a main (which was stunning) and we enjoyed a starter each as well. Luke also recommends the beer that he had!

Day Two: Talley Abbey, Dinefwr and the Gower

We got up early on Saturday, although neither of us had slept particularly well. The bed was not the most comfortable, but that could have just been because it was different to our own bed.

Our first stop was Talley Abbey, which was close to where we were staying. We did not really plan the route. We simply spotted the brown tourist signs and followed them, which is often how the best stops happen.

Talley Abbey is a peaceful little ruin that you could explore in around 30 minutes, although you could easily spend longer taking photographs and enjoying the surroundings. There is also a church next door that is worth looking at.

Parking is limited, but it does not seem like the kind of attraction that becomes overwhelmingly busy.

From Talley, Luke drove us to the Dinefwr estate.

We knew there would be a walk up to Dinefwr Castle, but knowing about a hill and actually climbing it are two very different things. It took us a good 20 minutes of walking uphill to reach the castle.

Luckily, we arrived at around 9am, so there were not many people around to witness me struggling my way to the top.

The climb was absolutely worth it. Dinefwr Castle is a brilliant ruin to explore, with fantastic views across the surrounding countryside. It is not enormous, but there is enough remaining to make it feel like a proper castle rather than simply a few stones on a hill.

Once we had made our way back down, we visited Newton House, which is located on the same estate.

Newton House is interesting, although I would not necessarily describe it as a traditional stately home. There are lots of paintings, historical displays and rooms to explore. We also discovered some photographs of a very young Anthony Hopkins, which was an unexpected addition to the visit.

Our next stop was Neath Abbey.

Neath Abbey is in such a random location. You are surrounded by roads, houses and industrial buildings, and then suddenly there is a huge medieval abbey ruin sitting among them.

It was a really lovely place to explore. One of my favourite features was an old handrail built into the stone wall beside a staircase. It is still usable, so naturally I had to walk up the steps holding the same piece of stone that generations of monks would have used centuries ago.

By this point, we were extremely hungry and had not properly planned where to eat.

We happened to drive past The Gower Inn, which looked busy, so we decided to stop. We only ordered a few starters and drinks because we did not want to spoil the dinner we had booked for later that evening.

Unfortunately, the food was not particularly impressive. Had we not been so hungry, I am not sure I would have enjoyed it at all. There were lots of people sitting outside, so we assumed it would be really good, but I think it was more popular as a drinking pub than somewhere to eat. But maybe if we had gone for mains, it might have impressed more.

Once we had filled up enough to continue, Luke drove us to Weobley Castle.

There was a festival taking place nearby, so the area was absolutely heaving. The castle was not technically open as normal, but we were kindly allowed to go in and have a quick look around.

There were children playing a shooting game inside, so we could not explore much of it properly. I would definitely like to return on a quieter day because it looked like an interesting place.

By then, it was getting late and we had dinner reservations at Langland Brasserie.

Before our table was ready, we sat beside Langland Bay for a while and enjoyed the view. It was a lovely setting, especially after such a busy day.

For dinner, we ordered the seafood platter for two, which cost £90. It was expensive, but it was really good. My only complaint was that it came with chips rather than bread. There were so many lovely sauces and juices on the platter that some bread to mop everything up would have been perfect.

We would definitely return if we were back in the area.

Day Three: Revisiting Familiar Places

While we were driving through the area on our first day, I realised that I had visited parts of South Wales more than ten years earlier while completing my Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

My parents had stayed in Crickhowell while I completed a horseback-riding expedition across the Brecon Beacons. Afterwards, we had stayed in the area for a holiday with my grandparents.

Recognising some of the roads and place names made me want to revisit a few of the places I remembered, so we started our third day at Tretower Court and Castle.

I absolutely love Tretower.

There were people dressed in medieval clothing, the tower was great to explore and the historic house was stunning. It felt much more alive than many historical sites, and you could really imagine how the buildings might have been used.

I enjoyed it so much that I started thinking it would have been a lovely place to get married. Slightly too late now, but never mind.

From Tretower, we travelled to Llandovery Castle, which made a convenient stop on the way to our next destination.

The castle is located beside a car park and takes about five minutes to explore. There is not a huge amount left, but it is still fun to climb up and look around. Not every castle needs to occupy an entire afternoon.

We also stopped at a local café for lunch, which was reasonably priced and exactly what we needed before another castle climb.

Our main destination that afternoon was Carreg Cennen Castle.

Carreg Cennen is stunning. It sits dramatically on top of a limestone hill and looks like the kind of castle someone would invent for a fantasy film.

The walk up is steep, but the views make it worthwhile. One important thing to know is that there are no toilets at the top, so make sure you use the facilities near the café before beginning the climb.

There is not a huge amount inside the main castle ruins, although enough of the shell remains to make it feel impressive. The real highlight, however, is the cave beneath the castle.

You can follow a dark stone passage deep underneath the ruins. It is incredibly atmospheric and completely pitch black in places, so you will need to use the torch on your phone.

When I visited with my dad more than ten years ago, we had brought our own torch because visitors could also rent one from the site. Our torch died when we were nearly at the bottom, but luckily another group was coming down behind us, so we simply joined them.

These days, everyone just uses their phone, although I would still recommend making sure it is properly charged before going inside.

After climbing up to Carreg Cennen, exploring the castle, going down into the cave and then walking all the way back, you might assume we would have been finished with hills for the day.

Luke, however, found another castle for us to hike up to.

Our final castle of the day was Dryslwyn Castle, and I am so pleased we went.

The ruins sit on top of another hill overlooking the Tywi Valley. It is more peaceful and less developed than some of the other castles we visited, but that was part of its charm. The climb offers brilliant views, and the remains are spread across the hilltop, giving you plenty to explore.

For dinner, we drove to The Welsh House in Carmarthen and ordered the Sunday roast platter for two. After a day involving several steep hills, castles and caves, it was very much needed. Parking here was a bit of a pain, as there was road works and whilst there was plenty of parking in the nearby, it was a bit pricey!

Day Four: Strata Florida, Borth Beach and Montgomery Castle

By Monday morning, we were definitely feeling tired.

We wanted the journey home to be slightly more relaxed, but Luke also wanted to visit the seaside and enjoy some mountain views. We asked ChatGPT to help us plan a route that combined both, while still allowing us to visit a few historical places along the way.

Our first stop was Strata Florida Abbey.

We ate croissants in the field car park while looking out across the surrounding countryside, which was a lovely start to the morning.

The abbey contains sections of its original medieval tiled floors, which are well worth seeing. There is also a museum, but it was closed when we visited, so we only explored the ruins.

From Strata Florida, Luke drove us to Borth Beach.

It is a nice, family-friendly seaside spot with a long stretch of sand and plenty of space. We ate our lunch there and spent a little while enjoying the sea before continuing into the mountains. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any photos – I was more interested in eating my sandwich I think at this point.

Our route also took us past Bryntail Lead Mine, so naturally we had to stop.

The remains are located in a dramatic valley beside the Clywedog Reservoir. It takes around 30 minutes to explore, with several ruined mining buildings and information boards explaining how the site once operated.

It was an interesting change from castles and abbeys, although it still involved wandering around old stone ruins, so it was very much our kind of place.

We finished our holiday at Montgomery Castle, close to the border between Wales and England.

The castle sits on a hill above the town, with beautiful views across the countryside. There is enough remaining to explore without it becoming another enormous stop, making it a good final castle before beginning the journey home.

Was Four Days in South Wales Enough?

We were incredibly lucky with the weather. It was hot, but not unbearably so, which made all those castle climbs much more manageable.

Our four days in South Wales were busy, action-packed and filled with far more hills than my legs would probably have chosen. By the time we arrived home, we were exhausted.

I was back at work on Tuesday, while Luke had wisely booked another day off. I simply ploughed on and tried not to think about how tired I was.

We managed to visit castles, abbeys, a historic house, a lead mine, a cave and a beach, while also finding some excellent places to eat. Even after fitting all of that into one long weekend, there is still so much more of South Wales that we would like to explore.

We will definitely return, particularly to travel further south and revisit some of the places we did not have enough time to properly enjoy.

Although next time, I might request slightly fewer uphill castles.