Here in Wales we are blessed with idyllic stretches of beach, dramatic, rugged mountain ranges that are simply epic and picture perfect luscious green countryside that screams tranquility. What we also have are quaint towns and welcoming villages that are also pretty impressive, remaining almost untouched by mass tourism, keeping the heart and soul of the area alive.
And now four in Wales have been named among The Telegraph's 30 greatest villages - all untouched by mass tourism: Solva in Pembrokeshire, Laugharne in Carmarthenshire (yes, we know it is technically a town), Aberffraw on Anglesey and Beddgelert in Gwynedd.
With staycations becoming an immense popular holiday option for those who don't want to board a plane or ferry, spending hundreds of pounds, and go too far from home - especially since the pandemic - locations once quiet have become riddled with tourists, particularly in the summer. For more what's on stories, sign up for our newsletter here.
Read more: The Welsh town in Tripadvisor's top three UK destinations for this summer
But there are a few magical spots that have remained more quiet than others that don't seem to be inundated with a large influx of holidaymakers compared to others. Here's what the publication had to say about the four from Wales included in the round up.
The Telegraph's Kerry Walker wrote about harbour side village Solva - which is en route to the most heavily-populated and touristy destination of St Davids: "In a county full of seaside lovelies, Solva stands out. But be warned: once you clap eyes on this village, with its flower-draped, stone cottages in bright ice-cream pastels and deep, fjord-like harbour where boats gaily bob, you’ll be sorely tempted to jack in the day job and move to the coast pronto. No, its charms haven’t gone unnoticed, but visit in spring or autumn instead of the height of summer and you’ll feel the magic.
"You’ll be happy to hang out in the village itself, with its galleries, craft shops and pubs: the Ship Inn (cosy beams and craft beers) and the Harbour Inn (waterfront views). Or go for an exhilarating ramble on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, up and over gorse-clad cliffs and coves to St Davids. Stop for a spiritual moment at St Non’s where, legend has it, St David was born in 500AD."
The best places to stay, eat and visit have also been broken down - the Cambrian Inn (a favourite of The Times critic Giles Coren) which "blends period features with bright, modern flair in rooms named after Pembrokeshire islands", a seafood platter for local legend Mrs Will the Fish and welsh cakes from MamGu - which was saved from closure earlier this year.
As for Carmarthenshire town, Laugharne, Chris Moss penned: "Famous as the one-time home and resting place of poet Dylan Thomas – whose former residence in the Boathouse is now a small museum – Laugharne is more than a pilgrimage site. It’s located on the right bank of the River Taf, with the estuary glistening half the day, and the mudbanks drawing in waders and corvids the rest of the time.
"The main drag, King Street, is lined with Georgian-style terraces, two of which house the popular Brown’s Hotel and New Three Mariners pubs. The skeletal castle ruin and old walls overlook lawns ideal for a picnic and Sir John’s Hill, a forest-clad hill protecting Laugharne from the Bristol Channel breezes, is great for a short poetry-themed walk. Without a railway station or a main road and with few bus links, Laugharne is quite cut off – which perhaps explains its romantic air."
Brown’s is recommended as the place to stay while its restaurant, Dexters is vouched for as a great place for a bite to eat. You can traipse along Wales Coastal Path over St John's Hill and onto Penine Sands from here too.
The third location, Aberffraw on Anglesey, is described as have a "huddle of pretty stone and pastel-painted cottages peeking above the tidal waters of the River Ffraw".
Kerry Walker suggests the The Prince Llewelyn as a cracking place to stay while the Oyster Catcher serving up Menai Oysters is recommended. She added: "Looking at dinky, sleepy Aberffraw on Anglesey’s southwest coast, you’d never guess it was the chief seat of the Princes of Gwynedd in the Middle Ages – a legacy still celebrated in its scallop-shaped biscuits.
"With the first glimmer of sun, you’ll race with childlike joy over wind-whipped dunes to its gorgeous sweep of powdery sand, Traeth Mawr. Views stretch across the Irish Sea to the glowering mountains of Snowdonia and the Llŷn Peninsula. If you fancy a slightly longer ramble, hook onto the coast path, which passes a Bronze Age burial cairn en route to the cove of Porth Cwyfan. Here medieval St Cwyfan’s Church sits on a rugged little island that gets completely cut off at high tide."
Last but by no means least is Gwynedd's Beddgelert - in English, translated to Gelert's Grave - a place of a Welsh legend who shares the same name and whose tragic story has been told for centuries. Read more on that here.
It's summary by Kerry began: "Nestled deep in the heart of Snowdonia’s wildest mountains, riverside Beddgelert is a heart-warming glimpse of a bygone era, with its sprinkling of stone cottages, humpback bridge, pubs with roaring fires and singing locals, and a highland railway puffing on by."
Kerry added. "In summer everything blooms, while in winter chimney smoke hangs in the air. The village’s quirkiest feature is a statue of a famous hound. Myth has it Beddgelert (‘Gelert’s grave’) was named after Prince Llywelyn the Great’s dog, though in reality a local landlord made the whole thing up a couple of centuries ago to boost tourism." She concluded by explaining how it's a "cracking base" for keen walkers, giving a quick run down of the lush highlights you'll get to see - "the high moors of Grib Ddu, glacial Llyn Dinas lake and the Aberglaslyn Pass, a narrow gorge where the boulder-smashing Glaslyn River thunders past cliffs and lichen-wisped forests."
To see the full list, see The Telegraph here.
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