For A Warm Welcome in Wales - Drive West - Cardiff Castle, Welsh cakes, whisky, wine and wooden spoons

 

A Weekend Or Week In Wales

Drive west our of London, past Heathrow. on the M4 motorway, past Reading on your right, Windsor on your left, and across a wonderful bridge into Wales.

Padding Station's Bear and Brunel

Or you could take the train from Paddington station, stopping to see the station's statue of Paddington Bear. Then see the seated statue of Brunel. He built the railway out West, tunnels, big bridges, and finally the big ship taking travellers further west America.

On the road you will see signs in Welsh, Croiso, which means welcome. The train has bilingual signs, and the stations as you come into Wales also have bilingual signs.

The train takes you to the Welsh capital, Cardiff. You will rcognize the Welsh flag, of the red dragon against a green background.

Cardiff is a great city, with a great castle, and a big free museum. Castles and impressive castle ruins make greaaat photo opportunities and walks along the coasts. 

Welsh delicacies, include the dessert dishes, Welcsh cakes which I bought on the train home. I should have waited until I reached home, Small fat panckes with raisins, best when you heat them up with melted butter. Wales is also known for whisky and wine, weaving, and wooden spoon carving.

Old Wales

Just across the border, a drive over the hill to your right, is Caerleon, with its Roman Museum.

Along the coast is the Dylan Thomas area. If you drive on, or stay on the train to the end of the railway line, you reach Fishguard, where the ferry will take you on to Ireland. The west is wet, with rain on the hills of Wales, where you see white sheep contasting with the green greass in summer, Welsh lamp on the menus of restaurants, bed and breakfast places, and histotoric hotels. You might recall the name of the book, How Green was my valley. 

New Wales

What's new in Wales? A football museum in Wrexham opening in 2026. If you are planning ahead, you have time to learn a few words of Welsh, with the help of Duolingo.

Here are some signs you may see

Welsh Words - English

aber - estuary

allanfa - exit 

bore - morning

bws - bus

car - car

cath - cat

croeso - welcome

eglwys - church

fach - small

felin - mill

fferi - ferry

llan - church

mawr - big (I think of more or magnificent)

o - of

plas - mansion (not just a place, a mansion)

pont - bridge

toiled - toilet

toiledau dynion - men's toilets

toiledau merched - ladies toilets

twr - tower

tywel - towel

y - the

English - Welsh

Good morning.

Bore da. (BOR-eh dah) (The adjective is after the noun, literally morning good.)

Good night.

Nos da. (NOHS dah)

Useful Websites 

Languages

duolingo.com

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Welsh_phrasebook

translate google