Is this a reasonable potential 4-day itinerary for South England/Wales?

[-]

rcp9999@reddit

The isle of wight is boring AF and you're just going to be driving round in the rain all day.

[-]

MiserubleCant@reddit

Honestly sounds ridiculous and totally unenjoyable to me, but maybe your travelling style is different

[-]

Would it be better to just head to Cardiff instead then? I've only heard things about Cardiff though, and google doesn't show me many super interesting attractions or things to do there, but I am also looking for an immersive cultural experience which is something harder to find on the google.

[-]

WhiteDiamondK@reddit

Going to Cardiff and saying you’ve been to Wales is like saying you’ve been anywhere because you flew through the airport.

Technically true, but not really.

[-]

beartropolis@reddit

Well that's not fair.

Cardiff is a city (granted a small one) with lots of things to do in the way that cities have.

If someone is after the Wales of countryside walks with farmers shwmae-ing you as you walk past cows with cottages built into valleys. Then Cardif isn't going to give that.

But both are valid experiences of Wales. You don't tell people who go to Edinburgh that they haven't been to Scotland because they didn't go to Stornoway.

[-]

WhiteDiamondK@reddit

It absolutely is fair.

I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with Cardiff, but you really could be in any big city.

I was just in Glasgow for work and I felt like I was in Manchester the whole time. The differences between big cities are not that huge. That being said, as a non-Scot, Edinburgh DOES feel like Scotland. Glasgow just feels like a big city. (I’m bound to upset a few Glaswegians with that comment.)

If someone is desperate to visit Wales, a day in Cardiff is unlikely to scratch that itch, unless there is something Cardiff-specific they want to see.

It’s like saying “I’ve always wanted to see Cornwall” and having an afternoon in Plymouth.

[-]

tmstms@reddit

If you want beautiful stuff to look at in S Wales, you can consider Gower Peninsula or Pembroke (St David's, St David's Head etc); that will still be a bit quicker than Portmeirion.

Don't worry too much about the evenings, as you can google nice country pubs, but you need to do careful research so you do the boring bits of driving in the dark.

[-]

xian0@reddit

Your trip is really short so if you want to be immersed in a place just pick one of them. Look at TripAdvisor for some things to do in the local area (probably one activity a day), check for any shows, make note of some nice looking places to eat quickly while walking around (like bakeries), some restaurants, particularly social/cosy pubs etc. Also check if there are any Christmas events going on. You'll need a day to settle in and then some full days enjoying the place. This will be nothing like your usual "drive to place, drive through place, drive off" though.

[-]

MiserubleCant@reddit

tbh I've only been to cardiff once for job interview, never for leisure; i know there's a big castle, and some cultural stuff around the waterfront, but really, not the person to advise i'm afraid.

for me it's just generally too bad a driving to actually-seeing-things ratio especially given the short daylight in december. I would say, let's imagine Stonehenge was priority bucket-list stuff because you're obssessed with ancient monuments, well then combine it with Avebury; chuck in somewhere like Shaftesbury/Lacock to sate that Cotswoldsy quaint village urge; if you want culture as in theatre etc then maybe add in Bath; if you really want Wales just for the excuse to say you've been, you could nip over the border to Chepstow, it has a pretty cool castle. then you're covering basically all the same themes but with a lot less driving

just one example obviously, equally if you're mega keen on NW Wales and stonehenge was more of a "well since I'm passing" thing then I'd skip stonehenge and focus on Wales

[-]

kantzn@reddit (OP)

I don't like to 'vacation' per se, and I rarely want to revisit places I've already been, although I'm making an exception to that rule to visit some friends. But in general, yeah, I cramp as much as I can in as short as time as I have. This is more driving than I usually prefer, but the only things in Wales that interested me were in the Northwest and I wanted an excuse to say I've been to Wales.

[-]

tmstms@reddit

I am against the majority of comments replying to this kind of post in that I think the 'driving a lot, cramming a lot in' way of doing stuff is a reasonable way to see a country you do not have a lot of time in, so my caveat is above all the same as in my initial comment

i) daylight matters, and you don't have much in December - I mean- Stonehenge is amazing just seen from the top of the hill on the A303, and then you don't need waste a lot of time parking and to go in, you'd arguably be better off going a few miles N to Avebury, where you can park next to the stones. The Cotswolds are lovely just to drive around and get out of the car occasionally, but you do need daylight. So if you did stuff like get somewhere to stay with a late check-in and do the drive from the Cotswolds to N Wales in the evening, then you can wake up and see Snowdonia and make the most of the daylight.

ii) as you are driving a lot, you do need to calculate the journey times really carefully (with the help of Google Maps/ Waze or whatever app) because traffic jams etc can really stuff up your schedule. Yesterday we had to make a 50 mile journey for work. Because of a motorway issue there was no quick way to do it; we went partly across country and we averaged 25 mph/ 40 kmh both ways.

iii) If you go to the IOW, Old Military Road is a fantastic drive, one of the best in the UK.

[-]

tmstms@reddit

Oh! You climb?

Llanberis Pass (not far from Portmeirion) is VERY historic for rock climbing history and v beautiful, though ofc the wrong time of year actually to climb on.

In the next valley, you can run/scramble up Tryfan in 45 mins or so, but you need good boots and waterproofs in December and it might be unsafe if wintry. There are easy climbs up the side of Tryfan, but you'd still have to be good to solo them, and probably Decemeber will be too cold.

[-]

kantzn@reddit (OP)

I did look into climbing options, but I think I'd have to dedicate the entire trip for that to make it worthwhile and I am only flying to England to meet friends. I'm going because Norse airlines has a sale, but they only fly out of Vegas on Tuesday and Thursday (and I just recently got a new job so don't really have the time off, but I haven't bought the flight yet either so might be able to fight for the extra couple days). I technically could change the dates I think too, but only to late Feb/early March and that's not much better.

[-]

tmstms@reddit

1) Yeah- I just meant driving past really historic crags significant for the history of rock climbing here and nice to look at. Tremadoc (next to Portmeirion) is a famous wet weather area because it is in a rain shadow, so when it is raining in the Pass, it is often dry at Tremdoc and everyone goes there.

2) Tbh late Feb early Mar has more light than early Dec (2-3 hours per day), but, as I say, if you can be really organised about when you do the boring motorway bits of your journey, you can definitely see what you plan to see.

[-]

kantzn@reddit (OP)

Last time I was there it was part of a tour on which I saw 10 countries in 19 days so I'm used to the driving around a lot bit. I initially chose December because 1. It's my birthday weekend and 2. It's an anniversary of sorts from when I was last in England. But I think I'm leaning toward moving it to the end of March because I'll have more Time off then. And it might be nice to see the country in a different season.

[-]

WhiteDiamondK@reddit

That’s full on. Don’t underestimate driving times, especially to Wales.

Whilst Cardiff is, of course. The capital of Wales, I doubt it will tick any box of your romanticised image of Wales. You need to be going deep into the valleys or head to the West Coast to get “postcard” Wales. Trust me, driving from anywhere to get to, say, Tenby, is an absolute BALLACHE.

Wales is worthy of a few days by itself.

Stonehenge is a box tick. Drive, see it, take a photo and leave. It’s is the tourist attraction in the UK win the biggest gap between expectation and reality. There are a million more impressive places in the UK than Stonehenge, it’s just famous.

I’m also curious what you’re planning to do on the Isle of Wight. It’s not a bad place. I was just there last month and we had a glorious day of sunshine, sat in some pub gardens and drove around. There is some stunning scenery. But, in reality, there isn’t much there, especially if the weather is bad. And the ferry to the IOW is expensive!

If you’re in that area, you’d be better off going to the New Forest. See the wild horses and common grazing cows. Have lunch at a rural New forest Pub. Visit Bucklers Hard for an insight into historical England, maybe even visit the Beaulieu motor museum if that is your thing. It’s a great day out, even in bad weather. And you can tour the Stately home there if you want that element of Britishness.

[-]

kantzn@reddit (OP)

I wanted to see some Victorian-style buildings so someone recommended the Osborne house in IOW.

[-]

vientianna@reddit

I think if you skip the Isle of Wight it would be very doable. Just be prepared to get up early and drive in the dark so you have enough daylight to see things

[-]

Squoooge@reddit

If you just want to see a stone circle and already going to the cotswolds sack off stone henge and go see the rollright stones instead.

You can even stand in the circle and touch them, plus there's a nice short walk between sites. No visitors centre and hundreds of tourists either.

[-]

Pristine_Telephone78@reddit

Why don't you try Brecon instead of trying to get to North Wales? It has the scenery that you're (presumably) after but will be easier from the Cotswolds that Eryri/Snowdonia.

[-]

newnortherner21@reddit

Cardiff Castle and the nearby Museum of Wales (check opening hours) are probably the two things you would appreciate in Cardiff.

[-]

PetersMapProject@reddit

If your idea of holiday heaven is primarily seeing the inside of a car, then that's the perfect itinerary for you, but not one I'd choose for myself.

Bear in mind that it will be getting dark by 4pm, and it will be cold, wet and windy.... but you've chosen mainly outdoor activities.

[-]

EvilTaffyapple@reddit

Driving in the UK is not comparable to driving in the US (I’m guessing you’re American by other posts you’ve made).

You’re not going to enjoy driving that much in a short amount of time, especially when it’ll be dark most of the day.

[-]

However, Cotswolds to Portmeirion is a long drive.

[-]

AutoModerator@reddit

Please help keep AskUK welcoming!

Top-level comments to the OP must contain genuine efforts to answer the question. No jokes, judgements, etc.
Don't be a dick to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
This is a strictly no-politics subreddit!

Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.