PARKS AND RECREATION
WALES
› Brecon Beacons
Famed for its wild terrain and used as a training ground for the military, Brecon soars to a summit at Pen y Fan (at 886 metres, the highest peak in southern Britain) and offers a majestic mixture of mountain and moorland.
Peppered with ancient castles, farming communities and more grand views than you can shake a stick at, it sits in the heart of Wales both literally and symbolically.
Walkers and cyclists are spoilt for choice with the many excellent routes, and the area’s cavernous geology lends itself to potholing exploration.
Star-spotters should be sure to bring binoculars to this International Dark Sky Reserve, while those with a cultural bent can check out significant towns, notably Hay-on-Wye, with its famed book festival. Talking of the Wye, don’t miss the many riveting rivers that flow through the area.
Need to know…
Size 520 square miles
Landscape Mountains and moorland
Animal spotting Mountain ponies
Best view The Milky Way in the night sky
Stay at
■ Bryndu Farm
■ Brecon Beacons CAMC Site
■ Pencelli Castle Caravan & Camping Park
› Pembrokeshire Coast
One of the UK’s most popular National Parks, Pembrokeshire, in south-west Wales, could have been designed for tourism, graced as it is by exquisite sandy beaches (it has more Blue Flag and Green Coast beaches than any other county in the
