If you’re planning your next family holiday, you might want to consider North Wales. Not only is it an incredibly beautiful part of the country, it’s perfect for young families from Essex because it’s within driving distance. That means you can get you and yours into the great outdoors without the stress of an airport, or the tedium of a flight.
Snowdonia National Park
Snowdonia National Park is of course home to Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales and the highest point in the British Isles outside of Scotland. 558,000 walkers ascend Snowdon every year, and a further 140,000 people take the train to Snowdon’s peak and enjoy the stunning scenery from the comfort of a seat.
Not only do visitors flock to Snowdonia to enjoy the dramatic and stunning landscape, but they also go there for mountain biking, climbing, cycling, horse riding, golf, fishing and even white-water rafting. You’d probably need several holidays to fit everything in!
Beaches
North Wales is home to some gorgeous beaches. For example, Abersoch is on the South coast of the Llyn Peninsula and people flock there for water sports. If you prefer a more sedate and picturesque experience then you can’t go far wrong with Barstock, which William Wordsworth actually wrote about in 1824.
There are so many beaches to experience in North Wales that you’ll want to go back again and again so that you can visit them all. A lot of people do just this, and even buy a holiday home of their own so that they can visit whenever they like.
Goats!
Llandudno is a seaside town, complete with a pier and a tram. It also made headlines earlier this year when a flock of goats moved in. The Kasmiri goats usually live on the Great Orme Headland, but when the streets of nearby Llandudno became practically deserted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the goats decided to take advantage of the situation. They’ve been pictured eating hedges and even climbing on roofs!
Walking and hiking
North Wales is home to fantastic walking and hiking trails. Some of them are incredibly challenging, but there are plenty that are suitable for children, including the Llangollen history trail which crams in Llangollen Canal, the Horseshoe Falls, Llantysilio Church, Valle Crucis Abbey, the imperious remains of Dinas Bran Castle, and not to mention the town of Llangollen itself. Or if you’d prefer a walk that takes you down into the heart of Snowdonia’s dramatic mountain scenery that skirts a glacial lake, then you could do the Cwm Idwal walk. There’s even a cafe at the start/end point. Why would you even walk if there wasn’t cake afterwards?
Adventure and the Great Outdoors
There are a multitude of outdoor activities all over North Wales, from sea kayaking to gorge scrambling. There are of course also plenty of climbing activities and caving for those of you who are happy in enclosed spaces.
The landscape is practically designed for outdoor sports and the people of Wales really do make the most of it!
