Curious Traveler

- With a patron saint named Dewi Sant and a castle named Carreg Cennen, and a beautiful National Park that stretches for miles and miles called the Brecon Beacons, it is time to get curious about southern Wales.

(upbeat music) "Curious Traveler" is made possible by the following.

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(gentle music) - Southern Wales is chock full of darling market towns, breathtaking natural beauty, and plenty of curious history.

Croeso I Gymru!!

Today we explore Southern Wales, including the national parks of Brecon Beacons and the Pembrokeshire Coast.

Roughly between Cardiff to the east, Hay-on-Wye to the north, Tenby to the south, and St. Davids to the west.

And in between those curious stops, lies the natural beauty of Wales, with its mountains, its moorlands, river valleys, quaint villages and that seemingly never ending patchwork quilt of green.

Dotted with some fuzzy white sheep and sometimes a cute little pony too.

And it is this glorious natural beauty that has inspired the poets, the songwriters, and the artists for centuries.

While Wales is a small nation, it has a rich and proud history.

It was once an important center of Celtic Europe.

Its culture and its language is quite different from its English neighbors, whom they have had a long history of let's just call it bickering with.

In fact, the reason why there are so many castles in southern Wales is because of that Welsh English feud.

And all that history leads to the great Welsh pride of today, especially the pride in the Welsh language.

Street signs are always in Welsh first, English second.

I will give a Welsh teacake to anyone who can pronounce this one on the first try.

(gentle music) So here's what I'm curious about in southern Wales, who built this castle way up here?

And what does a snake have to do with this castle?

Where is the smallest city in Britain, and where's the location of Wales' first parliament building?

Why are there so many books in one small market town, and why so many sheep and ponies on this mountain?

When was this mysterious chamber built, and how did a medieval trading port become this pretty as a postcard Victorian seaside resort town?

So much to be curious about in beautiful southern Wales.

("The Ash Tree") We begin our curious journey into southern Wales way up high on top of a rock, overlooking the breathtaking Welsh countryside.

Carreg Cennen Castle sits high upon its hill overlooking the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Its history goes back thousands of years, possibly even predating Roman times.

We do know that the stone version we see today was built around 1277, but there are many wonderful legends surrounding the castle too, including one with King Arthur.

Carreg Cennen simply translates to, castle on the rock above the Cennen, which is the name of the river below.

Its location and its beauty have been the source of legends for centuries.

Oh yes, this coveted spot has a long and curious history.

It is possible that the earliest fort on this spot was built during the Iron Age.

Fast forward to the Middle Ages and a Welsh prince is believed to have built his castle here.

Later, King Edward I of England seizes the castle.

He was always seizing Welsh things, and gave it as a gift to an ally, who built the castle we see today, although much of it was reconstructed in the 19th century.

And then there's the King Arthur legend, of course England claims King Arthur was English, and Wales claims King Arthur was Welsh.

And there's a wonderful legend that says that there is a warrior asleep beneath Carreg Cennen Castle, awaiting the call to rise and fight for the Welsh.

And of course, that warrior is King Arthur himself.

But it is the view from up here that is truly legendary.

Once you climb to the top, you can almost understand why the spot was so fought over over the centuries.

(gentle music) Part of the view from the castle is our next curious stop, Brecon Beacons National Park.

Beautiful Brecon Beacons, say that three times fast, is one of three national parks in Wales.

It stretches more than 500 square miles across the south.

We cross it from Llandeilo near Carreg Cennen Castle on the west to Hay Bluff on the east.

It can get a wee bit windy here on Hay Bluff to say the least, but the views are worth it.

Hay Bluff is more than 2,000 feet high, overlooking the beautiful Wye Valley.

And depending on which spot you stand on, you could be standing in Wales or in England.

The border runs right through here, no fighting guys.

As you can see, the terrain here looks like a patchwork quilt, rolling along in various shades of green for miles and miles.

Over grassy moorland, hills, and even a few mountains.

And the best part is, this whole region is designed a freedom to roam area, so you will see lots and lots of hikers and explorers here.

And if you look closely, you can also see little dots of white fluff on that patchwork quilt.

Those are the many many sheep who live here.

Some on privately owned farms within the park.

But there is another roaming creature here who is not fluffy white, he is usually brown, short, and sturdy, I mean seriously sturdy.

Look at how nonchalant he is whilst balancing on the edge of that hill.

This is the wild Welsh mountain pony, a rare breed that roams freely here.

These ponies are known for their even temperament and are actually quite polite to their human guests who visit their park, how British.

And the cuteness continues at the far east end of Brecon Beacons, you can almost see it from Hay Bluff, is a town so storybook-esque, it not only looks like the setting for a fairy tale, but it is stocked and stocked and stocked with storybooks, and every other type of book you can think of too.

This is the darling market town named Hay-On-Wye, in this historic county of Breconshire.

While the population is small, right around 2,000 people, they have dozens and dozens of bookshops.

In fact, Hay-On-Wye is known as the town of books.

Hay-On-Wye got its name from Hay, an old English word meaning enclosure, and Wye, for the river Wye and the Wye Valley.

But if you look at those street signs, you will see another name, Y Gelli Gandryll, the Welsh name for the town of course.

No matter which name you use, you will find that this is truly a storybook town because it is stocked full of books, books, and more books.

This book mania started in the 1960s when one man known as the king of Hay bought up hundreds of books from American libraries that were closing down.

He shipped all those books here to Hay-On-Wye and the book mania began.

This book town became so popular that they now have an annual Hay Literary Festival, drawing famous authors and voracious readers here to the small market town from around the world.

In fact they love books so much here that they created this unique bookstore, called The Honesty Bookshop.

You literally just pick out any book that you like, big or small, and then it's on the honor system of course since its the Honesty Bookshop.

And book that you choose is only one pound.

You come over here and you pay right there, how cute is that?

The Honesty Bookshop is at the foot of Hay Castle, but its not just the books and the castle that make this town so fairytale-esque, it is all these darling shops, hotels, homes, and pubs.

And all these wonky little buildings tell the town's history.

Before it was a book town, Hay-On-Wye was a traveler's town, because it was on the way to the important town of Brecon.

And where you have travelers, you must have inns and pubs and all those hospitable things needed to feed and lodge one's visitors.

Today those same little cottages and buildings house little shops for produce, clothing, and of course for books.

Even the old town hall is still here, once used as a cheese market, now used as a weekly farmer's market, so these buildings are still serving their original purpose, providing goods and services to guests just passing through.

(gentle music) Next just a few miles away from Hay-On-Wye we go a world away, through the Wye Valley from small and quaint to large and lavish, with a splash of royal history and Welsh mystery.

Llangoed Hall is this gorgeous sprawling country estate here in the heart of the Wye Valley.

Now today it is a luxury hotel, but of course it has a curious history.

Once upon a time it was owned by designer Laura Ashley's husband and before that, it was lost and then won during a card game.

And way before that in 560 AD it was believed that the original building on this spot was the legendary White Palace, home of the Welsh Parliament.

That's right, the fabled White Palace, the original parliament of Wales is rumored to have been on this spot in the sixth century.

And here's what's really interesting, some of today's most prominent British politicians and leaders like to stay here.

But the building you see today was completed in 1919.

Later in the 1980s, Sir Bernard Ashley purchases it.

He was the husband of the famous Welsh designer Laura Ashley, whose flowery designs you will still see in the gorgeous bedrooms today.

And there are still bits of that old history intact at Llangoed Hall, including the library, with pieces dating back to the 1600s.

The beauty continues outside across 17 acres here in the Wye Valley.

It almost makes you want to go for a Sunday drive, doesn't it?

Well that brings us to this beauty, this is a 1938 Rolls Royce.

A very, very rare vintage car indeed, but that is not what makes it so curious.

These cars were once owned by the Queen Mother.

So, time to practice one's royal waves.

We are amused, we are very amused.

(gentle music) Next from the rolling hills and valleys of Brecon Beacons, we now journey to the coast, the western coast of Wales, and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Here we find a Victorian seaside resort full of curiosities and some of them are pretty darn tasty.

How's this for a living postcard?

The harbor side town of Tenby sits within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

It is known for its 13th century city walls and its castle.

In fact, its beach is named Castle Beach.

But the jewel in Tenby's crown of course are all of those gorgeous colorful Georgian townhouses, where you can find everything from traditional fish and chips to traditional boiled sweets.

(gentle music) The first thing you notice in Tenby are those colorful beach townhouses, and those are a lovely remnant of Tenby's heyday, the Victorian era.

When visitors flocked here to soak up the sun, recover in Tenby's healing waters, and of course be fashionable and strut one's stuff, and promenade down its darling seaside streets.

But before all this see and be seen leisure time, Tenby had lived through some pretty curious adventures and misadventures, including a Civil War and even the plague.

At one point, Scandinavian pirates settled this coastal region, and then Flemish settlers arrived.

And then this Norman Castle and its walls were built, which you can still see bits of today.

In fact, Tenby's medieval walls are considered some of the best preserved in all of Britain.

And just across from Castle Hill is St. Catherine's Island, once owned by the Tudors, later roamed by sheep, it has been home to everything from a small chapel to a defensive fort, to a private home, to a zoo.

Now we go back down Castle Hill to visit all those lovely maze like streets and bright and happy Victorian and Georgian beach houses.

And along that same promenade path is another bit of Victorian history, candy on the beach.

Candy was once considered a very special treat, perhaps only enjoyed when on vacation, and since Tenby was a vacation spot, it's no surprise that you will find darling candy shops here like Lollies Traditional Sweet Shop.

You may be familiar with the word lolly in certain part of the world, lolly simply means candy, but here in this shop, lolly is also the nickname for the owner's daughter, named Lauren.

I have heard that maybe its an old fashioned term, but sweets used to also be called boiled sweets.

What's a boiled sweet?

- Boiled sweets is a hard candy, so these are the hard candies here okay, so you've got your rhubarb and custard, your pear drops.

- But rhubarb and custard is just the beginning.

There are more than 250 of the traditional boiled sweets in those giant jars on the shelves and some are indeed quite curious.

Okay so we have milk teeth and fried eggs.

Sounds like an interesting breakfast.

I see something called shrimps, can I try a shrimp, and what pre-tell does that taste like?

- This is a foam sweet now, so this is a little bit different again.

- Do they taste like shrimp, are they made of shrimp?

- No, just like a sweet.

- Okay they just look like one.

- Just want to try one of those there.

- Yeah I got a little nervous there.

So this is a shrimp that does not contain shrimp.

- Correct.

- Okay.

Oh it's like a marshmallow almost.

- Like a strawberry sort of foamy sweet, yeah.

Very popular.

- Very good.

And perhaps the most Welsh lolly of all, well those are easier to eat than to pronounce.

We also Welsh made is the Lossin Dant, so that's just a mid-sweet all the way through, hard boiled, but this is very very Welsh here.

- Can you help me say that word?

- Lossin Dant.

- Lossin Dant.

- Lossin Dant.

- Lossin Dant.

But here is a tip, remember what your mother taught you and don't try to talk with your mouth full.

As good as those traditional boiled sweets may be.

It's gonna be really hard to talk when I'm doing this but it's delicious.

(speaking in foreign language) Aww, look at all my candies thank you!

- Enjoy.

- Thank you.

(gentle music) Next from a Victorian seaside resort to another medieval castle, we travel back in time to experience another wonderful Welsh legend.

Wales has more than 600 castles, that is more castles per square mile than in any other country.

Some castles were built for defense, others built to live in, but I bet you there's only one that was built to escape a snake.

Yup, Roch Castle was built in the late 12th century for a Norman knight named Adam de Rupe.

Rupe means of the rock in Latin, as does roch in French, so that's where we get the name Roch Castle.

But why it was built on this spot is another story altogether.

That goes back to the English Welsh feud again.

This area was once known as Little England, a region within Wales populated by the English and the Flemish.

The castle was built to a height to be able to protect Little England against the Welsh, and also to be able to see all the way to the Bay of St.

Brides to keep a lookout for attacks from the sea.

But the other reason this castle was built is a wee bit more curious.

What does a snake have to do with this castle?

- So Lord de Rupe, the Norman lord, who built the castle on this rock had a phobia of snakes.

An old crone told him that one day you're going to die of the bite of a viper, he was horrified, we had poisonous vipers then in those days in Wales in the 12th century.

So he thought oh that rock's a good place to stay away from snakes, so he built the Norman tower that we're standing in now, the chapel behind us and so on, and he decided to live right at the top of the castle in the bedroom we now call de Rupe, 'cause he thought that's further away.

- It's the safest place, snakes can't make it up this high.

- Unfortunately for Adam, his manservant brought a basket of logs everyday and one day there was a viper in amongst the logs, he did die of the bite of a viper.

- Yikes, what a story.

Other important events in Roch Castle's history include being lived in by all manner of lords, ladies, viscounts, knights, even a high sheriff.

And today, Roch Castle is a luxury hotel, so you can sleep in your very own castle.

But don't worry, they have a no snakes allowed policy.

(gentle music) But for an even more mysterious story, we travel just a few miles northeast to a remote location with an ancient history.

This is the legendary and curious Pentre Ifan burial chamber possibly built back in 3,500 BC.

That top stone alone weighs more than 16 tons, and scientists are still trying to figure out how the ancient people built this.

Just to make this site even more mysterious, in these hills behind me, that is where the blue stones of Stonehenge came from.

Or at least that is the latest theory, that ancient people quarried special blue stones from the Preseli Hills here in Pembrokeshire, then somehow moved them nearly 200 miles to the Stonehenge site in England.

Why they would have done this, and what made these blue stones so special is still being discovered.

And here's what is amazing, those same blue stones were used here at Pentre Ifan.

So that's what we do know, but how in the world these rocks are still balancing like this some 5,000 years later we may never know.

Just think of how often your own modern day home has to be repaired.

(gentle music) Our final stop has a unique and cute claim to fame, this is St. Davids, known as the smallest city in all of Britain, with a papulation of just over 1,600.

With loads of little shops and little cafes, a little town square, a little pub, a little art gallery, a little post office, and a little market.

But, while St. Davids may be small, it has a big and proud history.

And it all begins when you enter the medieval gate and see this giant resident of the town, St. Davids Cathedral.

Saint David is the patron saint of Wales and this is his beautiful cathedral.

This version that you see today was built sometime around 1180, but there have been several versions over the past 1,500 years.

Why so many churches all in the same spot?

Well it is believed that Saint David himself built his monastery here back in the sixth century.

That's right, this is the spot where it is believed that Saint David or Dewi Sant in Welsh founded his monastic order.

But who was Saint David, and how did he become the patron saint of Wales?

It is believed that Saint David was born sometime around 520 AD and that he was descended from Welsh royalty, and that he was also the nephew of King Arthur, or maybe the uncle of King Arthur depending on who's story you believe.

It is also believed that he performed many miracles in his life, the most famous one is where he created a hill so that his large crowd of followers could see and hear him better while he was delivering a sermon.

And during that sermon, a white dove apparently landed on his shoulder.

So that is why you often see Saint David depicted standing on a hill with a white dove.

And while the city of St. Davids is so so small, the cathedral became one of the most important pilgrimage sites during the Middle Ages.

Both the cathedral and the palace are nestled in this cozy little valley.

Some say so that they couldn't be seen by invaders from the sea.

Whatever the reason, this setting gives the area an even more mystical quality.

(soothing music) So from a castle built for a Welsh prince high atop a hill that overlooks a patchwork quilt of every shade of green, dotted a few fluffy white sheep that leads to another lookout point 2,000 feet up in the air, where since ancient times, people have felt like this dramatic terrain was the end of the Earth.

Although those sheep and the wind ponies don't seem to mind.

And nestled into these picture perfect rolling hills lies a picture perfect town named for the valley in which it sits and is a true haven for those with a book addiction problem.

Then there's the site of the fabled White Palace, which today is still a palace of sorts, all decked out in a Welsh artist's work.

To a coastal town so colorful and sweet with a history of the Victorian well to do, surrounded by some sturdy medieval walls and a little bit of its once mighty castle.

To yet another castle that is a monument to that old Welsh English feud, as well as a monument to a pesky little snake phobia.

To another monument of a very different sort, a remnant of the Stone Age tribes who lived here and must have been pretty strong to hoist up a roof like this.

And finally, to a sweet little valley that holds the home of the patron saint of this beautiful country.

Southern Wales has so much to be curious about.

Thank you for joining us on our educational journey and hopefully now you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, when, and how's of curious southern Wales.

As the Welsh say, Deeth Dah!

(gentle music) Curious Traveler is made possible by the following.

- [Announcer] For more than 45 years, Vacations by Rail has been helping travelers explore the world with a collection of rail journeys and luxury river cruises through awe inspiring nature and cosmopolitan cities, from America's natural parks to Europe and beyond.

Vacationsbyrail.com.

At GET, we believe travel is more than just getting away, it's about experiencing a destination at iconic sites and delving deep into local culture.

Learn more at GETours.com.

smarTours offers group tours to over 50 must see destinations around the world.

With smarTours, we want you to enjoy the fun of travel while we do the planning for you.

The journey begins at smarTours.com.

- [Christine] Still curious?

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