Exploring Wales - Best of the North [Snowdonia/Waterfalls/Lakes/Villages/Hidden Gems/Castles]

Welcome to a country full of stunning natural beauty. A country of rugged coastline, extraordinary national parks and medieval castles. A land filled with rich history dating back from over 200,000 years. Here you'll see picturesque lakes and the most unique village in all of the United Kingdom. Mountainous terrain where you can climb to some of the most fascinating viewpoints as well as seeing some of the most beautiful waterfalls in all of Wales. We'll show you the secret infinity pool deep within the Snowdonian mountains and some of Wales's most beautiful gardens. In this video we drive all over North Wales covering all of these highlights and much more showing you the outstanding natural beauty from this wonderful country Wales. Starting off our tour of North Wales we start off with its waterfalls. Wales has some of if not the most beautiful waterfalls in all the UK and in this video I have selected the top three. The first being Abber Falls. Situated near the north coast of Wales and surrounded by huge mountains is an easy pathway leading to one of the most visited waterfalls in Wales. Okay so we are now up the trail to Abber Waterfalls and it is not 20 minutes and also the satellite navigation takes you to the wrong place so make sure you go to the website the top 10 to do list website that is where I'll have all the right coordinates for if you want to come here. It's also a lovely setting for you to enjoy a picnic with grassy areas to relax and streams to paddle in all while admiring the breathtaking views. Arriving at the second of our top three waterfalls is Swallow Falls located in Snowdonia National Park an area of outstanding natural beauty you'll find a river which flows down a narrow chasm with lots of smaller waterfalls all surrounded by conifer and birch trees. This waterfall is really easy to access from the parking area just outside and it's just a few steps leading down or up to the two viewing platforms where you can grab yourself some great photos. Now this is the only waterfall that you actually have to pay for there's nobody to assist you but it only costs a few pounds so make sure that you have some coins or your bank card otherwise you're not getting in. We now arrive at one of the seven wonders of Wales a waterfall that easily tops the list of most breathtaking waterfalls in North Wales. At a height of 80 meters you'll find this gigantic waterfall nestled between the extravagant burn mountains. Now if you don't mind walking a 30 minute trail then I extremely recommend doing so as it will take you to the peak of this waterfall where you can look out to a mesmerizing view and watch the water cascading down the mountainside. As we left the top of the waterfall to make our way down we did find a faster way however I would only attempt this if you are extremely fit as it is very steep and it could easily cause you an accident. If you want to go this way then all you need to do is follow the barbed wire fence to the top or you can just stick to the easy path which offers lovely mountain views and places to rest. As we made our way down we came to find the view equally as stunning from the bottom as it was from the top. The walk from the car park is only one to two minutes long to see some stunning views from the bottom and you can easily make your way right to the front of the waterfall if you don't mind stepping over a few large rocks where you can admire the view all the way to the top. Now the next two places on my list I strongly recommend visiting around sunset as they truly are outstanding. The first being South Stack Lighthouse. This 200 year old lighthouse was originally built to warn ships of the dangerous rocks below. The rock formations that surround the lighthouse as dangerous as they are are actually quite extraordinary especially during sunset when the golden lights reflect and bounce back off the walls. You'll find that the steps which lead all the way down to the bottom also provide seating areas for you to see the best views out towards the lighthouse. For the second of our sunset locations we now come to Lake Mernery. This picturesque lake is easily the best lake in all of Wales due to the spectacular still waters which reflect the sun like a mirror and a 24,000 acre reserve all surrounded by the towering burn mountains. Now for the best view of this lake you can actually head over to the Lake Vernery Hotel and Spa which welcomes non-hotel guests where you can enjoy a nice cold beer at their bar overlooking the lake from inside or outside on their balcony terrace. As we now leave the beautiful Lake Vernery we come to arrive at the most unique village in all of the United Kingdom, Port Merion. Situated on the northwest coast of Wales this colourful Italian themed village brings in over 200,000 tourists every year. Inside the village you can easily spend the whole day wandering the grounds. You'll find lots of decorated pathways leading you to many places such as viewpoints looking out towards the ocean and beautiful gardens filled with colourful flowers, trees, ponds and fountains. There are also cafes serving food and drinks with lovely seating areas and by the way make sure that you try out their ice cream. As a huge lover of ice cream I can assure you that this ice cream is extremely good. Now there is a lot to say about the village's history I don't want to go into too much detail about this village as we have other places to see however if you do want to know more and especially if you're coming here then you can watch my separate video which I'll be making on Port Merion very soon by clicking the grey box in the top right corner or waiting until the end of the video. As we now make our way through some of the most beautiful roads in the UK we travel in search of the secret hidden infinity pool deep within the Smokedonian mountains. Okay so we've made it to the top and there it is. Well we've just met this really lovely couple that allowed me to film them. Chris and Megan I believe their names are and so yeah here's some footage great place to come for couples bring your girlfriend along bring your boyfriend along whatever. Now getting to this hidden pool can be a bit tricky so I have made a separate video on how to get here which I recommend watching if you do plan to come. Now before we head over to another fascinating attraction it's time for some good old Welsh tea and one of if not the most famous in all of Wales just happens to be a 20 minute drive away from this hidden pool. Situated right on the riverside in the small town of Capel Curig sits this wonderful tea house. Not only is the location perfect for some afternoon tea but it also serves some great homemade cakes along with some really good tea and coffee. Now just in case you decide to come here make sure that you book ahead of time because it does get very busy and we were pretty lucky today just just walking but again it is off season so just give them a call. Also if you do come to this tea house it's well worth visiting the stone circle which sits just across the road. We now come to follow the river all the way down to one of the most stunning sites in all of Wales the Pont Gasoltyr Aqueduct. Completed in 1807 and taking over 10 years to build this aqueduct it is the longest in Great Britain and the highest in the world. The walk along the aqueduct is easily one of the most unique walks in the UK but if you want to really make something special out of it you can take a small boat such as a kayak along the canals or take a trip on one of the long narrow boats. The aqueduct and its canal runs for 11 miles through magnificent scenery and is well worth a visit. We now come to Wales's castles. Wales is famous for its castles as it has more per square mile than anywhere else in the world. The country has a total of 427 castles and in this video I have chosen three of the best ones to visit the first being Caernarfon. Okay so we have just arrived at Caernarfon castle which is absolutely gigantic has all these really cool towers that you can climb all the way to the top looking up to the beautiful ocean and the surrounding town. Let's go and take a look shall we? The Caernarfon castle is recognised all over the planet as one of the most impressive buildings of the middle ages and it still to this day holds people in wonder like no other Welsh castle. The castle eventually took a whopping 47 years to complete and was the most expensive castle ever to be built by an English king. Coming to a medieval castle now near the Welsh pool area we arrive at Powys castle and gardens. Sadly I wasn't allowed to film inside this castle but what I can tell you is the castle has an amazing collection of sculpture, furniture, paintings and tapestries as well as a museum which contains over 300 items from the far east and India being the largest collection of its kind in the UK. But what many people come here for are its wonderful gardens filled with Italianate terraces, statues, beautifully cut new hedges and an abundance of flowers. The Powys gardens always impresses its visitors. The castle is also surrounded by a huge woodland area which is nice to explore and if you're lucky you can find some deer roaming the grounds. However remember to keep a safe distance as deer can get aggressive especially when taking care of their young. Last of our top three castles is Conwy castle. It's one of the most picturesque and best preserved castles in all of Wales. So apparently Conwy castle only took four years to build. Now the walls of this castle actually go all the way out around the town making it a really unique castle. Inside you'll find sculptures which let you know what each part of the castle was used for. Plenty of spiral staircases which lead all the way to the top of the castle offering great views out to Conwy town and the surrounding Welsh valleys. It's also well worth walking along the wall which surrounds the town of Conwy which is free of charge. The town itself is also nice to explore. You'll find many archways through the town's wall and down by the harbour you can grab yourself some fish and chips and visit the smallest house in Great Britain. Now just before I leave you I'd like to show you the cabin that I've stayed in during this lovely visit in Wales. If you just follow me. So it's all made of wood, beautiful lighting, lovely sofa bed there, very cosy and if you come this way you have your own little bedroom with lovely lights and a lovely decorated bed. You want to come in for a closer look? Okay and then I'm going to show you the bathroom now. So this is the bathroom, lovely little bathroom. You've got a nice shower, works very well. All three of us have had showers, heating's nice and hot. Yeah it's very clean, very cosy and a lovely place for a couple or a very small family. Okay guys so I hope that you found this video useful. If you like it please let me know by giving me the thumbs up and if you want to see more videos like this then please make sure to subscribe and hit that bell button to be notified of any future videos that I post. If you are traveling to Wales make sure to watch my South Wales video which has the tips at the end as they are relevant to North Wales also or you can just pop over to the website which provides all the information you need. Now I believe that I've highlighted all the main places to visit in North Wales but if you think that I've missed anything please let me know in the comments section below and maybe I'll make a separate video covering those. Now I just want to say a quick thank you to all of those that helped model for the video. I really had a great time and the video wouldn't have been as good without you. So that's it from me, I'll see you in the next one.