Length: 19 days (6 days in Scotland, 2 in Wales, 11 in England)
Tour Company: Over the Horizon
Tour: UK Self Guided
Traveler: Dave
Places visited:
1 – Edinburgh, UK (See UK – Scotland – August 2017)
2 – Rosslyn Chapel, UK (See UK – Scotland – August 2017)
3 – Scone Palace, UK (See UK – Scotland – August 2017)
4 – Loch Ness, UK (See UK – Scotland – August 2017)
5 – Torridon, UK (See UK – Scotland – August 2017)
6 – Duntulm Castle, UK (See UK – Scotland – August 2017)
7 – Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls Viewpoint, UK (See UK – Scotland – August 2017)
8 – Torridon, UK (See UK – Scotland – August 2017)
9 – Glasgow, UK (See UK – Scotland – August 2017)
10 – Lake District National Park, UK (See UK – England – August 2017)
11 – Southport, UK (See UK – England – August 2017)
12 – Dinorwig, UK
13 – Zip World Penrhyn Quarry, UK
14 – Southport, UK (See UK – England – August 2017)
15 – Dudley, UK (See UK – England – August 2017)
16 – Avebury, UK (See UK – England – August 2017)
17 – Stonehenge, UK (See UK – England – August 2017)
18 – Highclere Castle, UK (See UK – England – August 2017)
19 – Windsor, UK (See UK – England – August 2017)
20 – Cheshunt, UK (See UK – England – August 2017)
21 – St. Albans, UK (See UK – England – August 2017)
22 – London, UK (See UK – England – August 2017)
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the East, the Irish Sea to the North and West, and the Bristol Channel to the South. Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline and is largely mountainous, with its higher peaks in the North and central areas.
At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, development of the mining and metallurgical industries transformed the country from an agricultural society into an industrial nation. The South Wales Coalfield’s exploitation caused a rapid expansion of Wales’ population. Two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff (the capital), Swansea, and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the country’s traditional mining and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales’ economy depends on the public sector, light and service industries, and tourism.
Although Wales closely shares its political and social history with the rest of Great Britain and a majority of the population speaks English, the country has retained a distinct cultural identity and is officially bilingual. Over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the North and West.
Dinorwig
Continuing my trip around the United Kingdom, I took a brief detour into Wales to go on the world’s fastest Zip Line! The drive from Southport to Dinorwig was 109 mi (175.5 km) and took just over 2 hours. I used Booking.com for my stay at Lodge Dinorwig for the night. Lodge Dinorwig is a cafe and hostel located on a beautiful hillside right on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park. Enjoy fantastic views of Snowdon, Llanberis, and Anglesey while planning your route to walk up Snowdon or while you are getting ready for the fastest Zip Line in the world. If you are looking for affordable accommodation for your adventures in North Wales, you have found the perfect spot!
The hostel portion is a single room with 14 beds (7 sets of bunk beds). Each bunk is like its own little room, none of the shaking bunk beds when the other person gets in or out of their bunk. Built of solid wood, the bunks are anchored to the floor and wall and each has a sliding privacy curtain, a personal light, and a power outlet. Just outside the main room is a set of 14 lockers for use by guests. There is a single, unisex restroom that has 3 enclosed toilet stalls, 3 showers/changing rooms, automatic air freshener, 2 sinks, and is well heated. Access to the building is via a key fob that you get at check-in. Free WiFi is available throughout the property, breakfast is included, free parking is available behind the building. Prices start at £25 ($32.50) per night and it was well worth it. For most of the day/night, I was the only one in the building. 4 other guests arrived around midnight, but it was just the 5 of us in the 14 person room. Check-in is only available from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm, but arrangements to have someone meet you later in the evening can be made if needed.
The cafe portion is a single large area with counter service, some tables, and a seating area with small library. The cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and late afternoon cakes and coffee. I was leaving before breakfast, so the staff offered to make me a bacon butty (bacon bap, bacon sarnie, a rasher sandwich, a bacon sanger, a bacon sandwich, whatever you call it where you live) to go and left it in the refrigerator for me!
I highly recommend staying at the Dinorwig Lodge if you’re heading to Snowdonia National Park or Zip World Penrhyn Quarry.
For more pictures, check out my album on Facebook.
Zip World Penrhyn Quarry
Zip World has 9 different adventures at 3 locations in Northern Wales. Zip World Velocity at Zip World Penrhyn Quarry is why I came to Wales. It is the fastest Zip Line in the world and the longest in Europe. This adventure takes you on the Little Zipper to build your confidence and get instructions on slowing down before you journey up the quarry on their famous red quarry trucks. Take in the stunning views from the Big Top of Velocity, with views of the Isle of Man on a clear day (which I did not have). You will then descend down the Big Zipper over the quarry lake, possibly reaching speeds well in excess of 100 mph (161 kph)!
The cost was £70.00 ($91.00) for the experience, which I feel is too much for what you get, but that’s the price you pay for getting to say you’ve been on the fastest Zip Line in the world.
For more pictures, check out my album on Facebook.
I hope to some day spend more time exploring the rest of Wales.
The journey continues into England, which you can read about here:
I hope this gives you some inspiration to take a trip to Wales (even if just for Zip World!). For photos from the entire trip, check out all my albums on Facebook and my YouTube channel.
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Thanks for reading!
Over The Horizon, LLC 