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We hadn't managed to make a game in Cardiff so decided to do a tour of Wales instead and chose the Haggis tour Welsh Explorer. We got to cover a large area of Wales and also fitted in a few walks so it was ideal for us. We left London on a bus with 12 others and our tour guide Ed and set off for North Wales. It was a long day driving but we managed to fit in a stop at the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct which is 40ft above the valley below. Fortunately for us there were a couple of canal boats going along it so we could all take loads of photos. We also walked up to the ruin of Castell Dinas Bran which was a bit of a climb but much appreciated after a long day on the bus. The first night was spent in a farm stay near Tyddyn Bychan where we cooked up a BBQ in a yurt. After a hearty breakfast on the farm the next day, we set of for some more exploring. We tried freshly cooked Welsh Cakes, visited 'the Ugly House', went for a short hike in Snowdonia along an old miners track and visited Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. This is one of the longest place names in the English speaking world, formed when 2 towns joined to form a tourist destination, and it worked! We visited the seaside town of Conway that contained the smallest house in the UK (probably not work the £1 entry fee) and a pretty impressive old stone wall around the city, much of which we could walk around. We stayed in Caernarfon which was another seaside town with a great castle. We didn't have a lot of time to explore as we needed some chill out time before dinner. We left early the next morning for the long drive from North West Wales all the way down to Cardiff in South East Wales. We set off in the morning with stops in Aberystwyth for lunch and a walk along the pier, The Devil's Bridge - essentially 3 bridges built on top of each other as the previous one was no longer suitable for requirements and the Elan Valley to view the impressive dams built for Birmingham city in the early 1900s. We arrived in Cardiff late in the evening so there was just time to check in before we headed out for dinner. The next day we set off to explore the Big Pit - a coal mine in Blaenavon. We went down 90metres below ground into the mine equipped with headlamps and oxygen masks (fortunately only the lamps were needed), after the below ground tour we went above ground to watch a mining simulation and visit the miners baths. We had a short stop at the Rhymney Brewery for a few tasters then drove on to Hay-on-Wye which is the second hand bookstore capital in the UK. There are 30 book stores there and not much else. We had lunch and wandered around exploring a few stores. Finally we went for our daily walk, this time in the Brecon Beacons. I must admit that Snowdonia was more impressive scenery wise, although we only saw a bit of the Brecon Beacons. Back in Cardiff for our final night we had our last supper at the great Zerodegrees brewery and had a drink and a boogie at an Irish pub. We had the next morning to explore on our own in Cardiff so we walked down to the Mermaid Quay for a look around then headed back to the Castle gardens before we got back on the bus towards London. We had one stop in Chepstow which has a bridge where if you stand in the middle you are in Wales & England. Fortunately the bridge doesn't get too much traffic so we could take all the necessary photos. Then it was finally time to head back to London and say goodbye to our new friends.
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